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PHILIPPINE NORMAL UNIVERSITY

MINDANAO
The National Center for Teachers Education
The Multicultural Education Hub

TOP 5 PROBLEMS AND ISSUES IN THE


PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM....
3/16/2015

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AS I STUDENT I NOTICED THAT THERE ARE TOO MANY PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE
FACING TODAY IN THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND I AM CONCERN
ABOUT THIS. AND BASED ON MY RESEARCH I CHOOSE MY OWN TOP 5
PROBLEMS THAT REALLY AFFECT OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM SPECIALLY IN THE
21ST CENTURY.

1. GRAFT AND CORRUPTION


HE CITED EVELYN CHUA'S BOOK ENTITLED "ROBBED" BY PHILIPPINE
CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM (PCIJ) TELLING HOW THE
CORRUPTION IS GETTING WORSE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
(DEPED). HE SAID THAT LEEWAYS FOR CORRUPTION IN THE AGENCY ARE
THROUGH BOOKS AND TEACHERS' SALARIES. THE BOOKS, HE POINTED OUT,
ALSO HAS A LOT OF PROBLEMS SUCH AS WRONG INFORMATION AND
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. "THE BACK PROBLEM IS CORRUPTION. EVEN THE
SALARIES OF THE TEACHERS ARE BEING CORRUPTED".
2. REALITY IN THE PHILIPPINE BUDGET
EDUCATION AS A SECOND PRIORITY IS THE TOP PROBLEM IN THE
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. EVEN THOUGH THE 1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE XIV SECTION 5 (5) STATES THAT " THE STATE SHALL ASSIGN THE HIGHEST
BUDGETARY PRIORITY TO EDUCATION AND ENSURE THAT TEACHING WILL
ATTRACT AND RETAIN ITS RIGHTFUL SHARE OF BEST AVAILABLE TALENTS
THROUGH ADEQUATE REMUNERATION AND OTHER MEANS OF JOB SATISFACTION
AND FULFILLMENT," IN REALITY, MOST OF THE BUDGET OF THE GOVERNMENT
GOES TO THE PAYMENT OF DEBT.
3. LOW OF SALARY ON THE TEACHING WORKFORCE
THE LOW OF SALARY FOR THE TEACHERS "DEMORALIZES" THEM. "IF YOU
WANT THE BEST MINDS TO TEACH, YOU MUST GIVE GOOD SALARY TO THEM. "
EVEN THOUGH PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO III SAID THAT THERE ARE NO
BUDGET TO RAISE THE SALARIES OF THE TEACHER, SALGADO SAID THERE ARE
ADEQUATE FUNDS BUT THAT THERE IS MISAPPROPRIATION LIKE THE P10
BILLION PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUND (PDAF) CONTROVERSY. "WE
DO NOT HAVE MUCH MONEY IN THE WORLD, BUT IT COULD BE DONE BY THE
GOVERNMENT," HE SAID ABOUT RAISING THE SALARIES.
4. TUITION AND OTHER FEES INCREASE
HE POINTED OUT THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM ON THE COMMERCIALIZATION
OF EDUCATION THROUGH THE CONTINUING INCREASE OF TUITION AND
EDUCATION BECOMING MORE EXPENSIVE. HE CONCEDES THAT PRIVATE SCHOOL
RAISING THEIR FEES IS JUSTIFIABLE BUT THE QUESTION LIES NOW ON THE
JUSTIFICATION AND APPROPRIATION OF THE FEES COLLECTED.
5. BULLYING
STUDENT RIGHT VIOLATIONS, HOWEVER, DEPEND ON THE STRICTNESS OF
A SCHOOLS DIVISION OF THE STUDENT AFFAIRS, HOW TIGHT THEY ARE IN
SCREENING AND COMPOSING A STUDENT ORGANIZATION. THE PROBLEM ON
BULLYING, FOR HIM, ALSO LIES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW IN
SCHOOLS. "IF SCHOOLS CAN'T IMPLEMENT IT, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG
WITH THE SCHOOLS, HE SAID". IT WOULD BE GOOD IF THE SCHOOL WILL
INSTANCE CLOSE CIRCUIT TELEVISION (CCTV) CAMERAS IN THEIR AREAS TO
MONITOR THE ACTIVITY OF THE STUDENTS. TEACHERS MUST ALSO BE TRAINED
TO HANDLE BULLYING. "THE LAW IS THERE, BUT THE LAW IS GOOD AS THOSE
WHO IMPLEMENT IT".

AS FAR AS I OBSERVED, THERE ARE A LOT OF PROBLEMS IN OUR PHILIPPINE


EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND THIS IS VERY ALARMING. AND BASED ON MY
RESEARCH ALL OF THEM HAVE SIMILARITIES LIKE "LOW OF SALARIES OF THE
TEACHERS". BUT MY BIG QUESTION IS, WHY ALMOST OF ALL STUDENTS WANT
TO BE A TEACHER IF THE SALARY OF TEACHER IS TOO LOW?. MAYBE BECAUSE
THEY ARE LIKE ME, ALL I WANT IS TO HELP THE STUDENTS OR THE LEARNERS
TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING IN WHAT OUR COUNTRY IS FACING TODAY.
ALL WE NEED NOW IS TO HAVE A BETTER LEADERS THAT ARE NOT CORRUPT.
CORRUPTION IN OUR COUNTRY IS WIDE-RANGING AND AFFECT A GREAT VARIETY
OF AREA OR DIFFERENT THINGS IN OUR COUNTRY. SO HOW OUR COUNTRY
DEVELOP OR IMPROVE IF OUR OWN LEADERS ARE THE ONE WHO COMMIT
CORRUPTION. I THINK WE STAY THE SAME OR REMAIN THE SAME THAT WE ARE
INCLUDED IN THE POOR COUNTRY AROUND THE WORLD. SOMETIMES I THINK IT
VERY DEEP FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY
ESPECIALLY IN THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. BUT NOTHING IS
IMPOSSIBLE IF WE HAVE FAITH IN GOD, THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS THAT HAVE
NO SOLUTION. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO FACE
EVERYTHING AND THE REALITY IN THIS WORLD. AND I'M DOING ALL OF THIS
BECAUSE SOMEDAY I WILL HELP MY COUNTRY EVEN IF IN A SMALL WAY.

REFERENCE:
WWW.SUN.STAR.COM.PH
JK22BLOGSPOT.COM
WWW.AJSSH.LEENA-LUNA.COM.PH
ENGAGE.INTEL.COM
WWW.BING.COM
WWW.GOOGLE.COM
Serious Problems with the K-12 Senior High
School Curriculum
Posted on February 18, 2014by Joel Tabora, S.J.
During the DepEd-CEAP Mindanao Summit organized by CEAPs National Basic
Education Commission (NBEC) and co-hosted by Ateneo de Davao University on 17-18
February, the intention was to appreciate progress attained in the implementation of the
K-12 educational reform and to understand the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Act of
2013 (RA 10627) for the Mindanao schools.

The presentation on the content of the Anti-Bullying Act was straightforward. Atty.
Joseph Estrada combined competence with humor overcoming an irksome cough!
to describe the content of the law and clarify its requirements for the schools.

But the presentations on the K-12 were more problematic. Brother Armin Luistro, FSC,
DepED Secretary, whod come to the Mindanao Summit despite an injury sustained in a
basketball match among Cabinet members, spearheaded the presentations with an
update on where K-12 is. He reminded all of a prior commitment: basic education was
not merely to be reformed, but transformed. It was to be genuinely learner centered.
He pointed to a nearly-completed K-12 curriculum that would allow for creativity,
innovation, and in Mindanao, a Mindanao perspective. Therefore, such features as
the mother-tongue based education, and an assessment system based on the conviction,
No child is a failure! were to be appreciated. He encouraged Catholic schools in
Mindanao to return to their original religious charisms to understand how each might
contribute uniquely to the success of the educational reform. In Mindanao, special
challenges that Catholic schools might address would be the educational needs of the
Indigenous Peoples, of the out of school youth, and even of the street children.

Over-Congested Curriculum
No problem with that. When Mr. Elvin Ivan Y. Uy, DepEds K-12 Program Coordinator,
presented the status of the Senior High School curriculum, problems began to emerge.
He echoed Bro. Armins summary of the reform as Learner-centered education. But
from the Power Point Presentation entitled: The K-12 Curriculum: CEAP-NBEC
Summit he spoke of 31 total Subjects required for Senior High School, 15 of which
were Core Subjects and 16 of which were Track Subjects, the latter broken down into
7 Contextualized subjects and 9 Specialization subjects. From the same slide came
the non-negotiable announcement: Each subject will have 80 hours per semester.

The latter came as a shocker to curriculum planners from within the assembly like Dr.
Gina Montalan, Dean of the College of Education Ateneo de Davao University, who was
quick to point out that this would mean 6.5 hours of contact hours daily in the senior
high school for the DepEds required courses. If this were to be reckoned in todays
college units, this would be the equivalent to a whopping 32.5 units where college
students who need time to read and study outside of class should be taking no more
than about 20 units. The heavy daily 6.5 hours of required DepEd courses allowed little
room for mission-driven schools as all CEAP schools are! to add courses required
by their educational mission. These include subjects such as religious education or
theology, philosophy, and special formational courses such as in leadership training.

From the floor, Dr. Montalan suggested that the 80 hour per semester per course
requirement be tempered into 80 hours for some courses, and less for others. She even
suggested that if the 80 hours per course be truly required then classes be allowed on
Saturday in order for the mission schools to be able to accommodate their subjects. Bro.
Armin, sensitive to the learner, was not too enthusiastic about the latter, and suggested
that some of the mission courses might be the content of the required DepEd courses.
How that might sit, however, with zealous guardians of disciplines or DepEd officials
more sensitive to the letter of rules than their spirit is a serious concern.

It was because of this that the CEAP-DepEd Mindanao Summit unanimously passed a
resolution that the DepED, in consultation with Mindanao educators on the ground
revisit the 80 hours per subject requirement.

Tec-Voc Track Wont Prepare Students for Work as Industry Requires


A similarly serious problem came with the presentation of Fr. Onofre G. Inocensio, Jr.,
SDB, Superintendent of Don Bosco Schools and TVET Centers, on Implementing the
SHS Tech-Voc Track. All know that the Don Bosco schools are long-time recognized
experts in technical vocation educational training. Basically, Fr. Inocensio explained
that the senior high school core curriculum requirement is so heavy that there would
be no time to develop the hands-on skills in the students that such as the manufacturing
industry requires. There is adequate time to train manicurists and pedicurists, but shall
these provide the skills necessary for industrial development of the nation. Within the
time-constraints of the senior high school, Fr. Inocensios thesis is that it is not possible
to truly develop the multi-skilled students needed for industry. He confirmed his thesis
in recent dialogues with industry: what is important is not that the student has gone
through a required number of hours in vocational training, but that the student actually
have the skills required by industry. His solution: for the Don Bosco schools, they will
focus on teaching the skills as required by industry, using skilled teachers and the
industrial machinery and equipment required to impart them, and insure thereby that
the student be employed. To do so they will set aside the DepEd requirement of the core
curriculum. Once employed without having graduated from senior high school! the
student will be given the opportunity to come back to school and finish the academic
requirements that might also qualify him for college.
For the K-12 program, however, this position is disastrous. The K-12 program was
precisely supposed to either prepare students for gainful work after basic
education or prepare students for college. The either/or has become a both/and. It
intends both to equip the students with the skills necessary for gainful
employment and to prepare them for college within the same time constraint. And
because the designers are all college graduates with PhDs from the best of higher
educational intentions, but without the experience of training students in handling a
lathe or a welding machine, we now have a policy which has effectively shut out
meaningful skills development in favor of pre-college preparation. The K-12 program
has been reduced thereby to pre-college preparation whose core curriculum, according
to Mr. Elvin Uy, will prepare the student for college according to the College Readiness
Standards of the CHED.
Originally, there was supposed to be a pre-work track and a pre-college track. Pre-work
would equip students with industry-required skills. The pre-college track (not the core
curriculum common to all!) would prepare students for college according to CHEDs
college readiness standards.

Despite the fact that the K-12 reform was inspired by the conviction that not all need to
go to college, it is designed so that all can go to college. This either disrespects the
requirements for work, or disrespects the requirements for college. DepEd has chosen
to disrespect the requirements for work. For Fr. Inocensio to continue respecting the
requirements for work, he must sacrifice the DepED requirements for senior high
school.

In fact, in the presentations given by Dr. Tina Padolina on the Science, Technology and
Mathematics (STEM) strand and by Dr. Maria Luz Vilches on Humanities in Senior
High School, many of the subjects like Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research
sounded very HEI like belonging more to college or even graduate school education
rather than to basic education. I squirmed to find out that future nurses shall be
categorized under STEM and so be required to take even modified calculus. Is this
really necessary?

So again, the participants of the CEAP-DepED Summit in Mindanao unanimously


resolved that the DepEd revisit the requirements for the Tech-Voc Track.

Flexibility Required: Less May Be More


Of course, putting together curricular requirements for the K-12 reform is one thing.
Teaching them is quite another. A curriculum is like a wish list, but all the components
of curricula need real teachers. Here is, I think, where reality will demolish the
conceptual castles some may be taking satisfaction in in the formulation of these
curricula. For K-12 to succeed in being truly learner centered if must be realistically
teacher and region sensitive.

In the implementation of the K-12 reform, it must be clearly set in policy that these
curricular requirements for a long time cannot be decreed FYI for your
information (as was asserted by one speaker at the Mindanao Summit), but shall have
to be tentative and subject to the educational, pedagogical and industrial realities of
the countrys many different regions including the actual skills sets of our available
teachers. The outputs of a relatively high concentration of highly-qualified educators in
the Metro Manila areas cannot be expected in provincial areas. Tec-Voc training in
industrial areas will have to be different from that in rural areas. Policy must be set so
that there is ability to put the senior high school together and operate with the limited
resources of particular regions.
At this point, DepEd needs to take more of a dialogical rather than a prescriptive
stance; it must be encouraging and empowering, not over-demanding and
discouraging. It must capitalize on the good will of people who want this reform to
work.

In this sense, less may truly be more.

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