SONA OF PBBM REGARDING EDUCATION

 

Education

Investing in our own people is not only a fundamental moral imperative for us, but an economic one as well. 

In its report, the World Bank revealed that our promising economic growth is largely attributable to our people. The great bulk of the country’s wealth is being created by the skill, industry, and resourcefulness of all Filipinos. 

Ngunit sadyang marami pang ibubuga ang Pinoy! 

We must harness the totality of the Filipino’s potential. 



Thus, for consecutive years, we have prioritized an increase in budget for the inclusive development of the Filipino. Not just in food, nutrition and health, but moreso, in their education and training. 

Recent assessments have revealed the reality that more than half of our grades 6, 10, and 12 students have failed to reach the ideal proficiency levels, faring low in information literacy, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. 

Therefore, our national learning recovery program must proceed without the slightest disruption, especially in basic education. 

Our system of education must be strategically calibrated to make sure that our youth are not only taught to become literate. But, it must also consciously develop them into problem-solvers, and into critical thinkers — hungry for success and ready for the future! 

Similarly, as we relentlessly address the classroom gap, the digital gap must also be bridged with equal intensity. 

We are working towards the day when all students will be equipped with computers, smart TVs, essential programs, digital books — and once again, access to reliable power and Internet. 

Digitalization and solar-powered electricity must now be standard features in our schools and our classrooms. Simply put, this is educational reform through technology. 

The perennial problem surrounding textbooks shall be resolved. 

The production of instructional materials, especially textbooks, which are up-to-date and error-free, must be ensured. The whole process, from approval of manuscript to procurement, all the way to distribution, will be cut short from its present three years to just one year. 

Ito ngayon ang magiging hamon sa ating bagong Kalihim: na tiyakin ang pagbangon at pagtaas ng kalidad ng edukasyon sa bansa, sa lalong madaling panahon. 

Clearly, the quality of our education rests on the quality of our teachers. 

Every classroom that we build will be but an empty and lifeless structure without its moving force — the teacher. 

But our teachers are not just perfunctory figures in our schools; they are the very foundation of our educational system. 

And so, as we build and upgrade schools, so too must we uplift and upskill our teachers, whose competence and trademark Filipino patience, determination, and compassion will be at the core of our national learning recovery. 

Dinagdagan natin ang mga empleyado na hahalili sa mga guro upang magampanan ang mga sari-saring gawain sa paaralan. Sa gayon, ang ating mga guro ay makakatutok nang mabuti sa kanilang propesyon ng pagtuturo. 

Katuwang ang Kongreso, naisabatas na ang “Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo” Act na magbibigay sa mga guro sa pampublikong paaralan ng taunang teaching allowance para pambili ng mga kagamitan sa pagtuturo at mga kaugnay na gastusin. Matatanggap na nila ito simula sa susunod na taon. 

Meron na rin silang Personal Accident Insurance mula sa GSIS. Makaka-paghatid din ng dagdag na ginhawa ang Special Hardship Allowance para sa mga karagdagang public school teachers na masasaklaw nito, na nakaka-ranas ng matinding hirap at panganib sa kanilang araw-araw na pagtatrabaho. 

Wala na ring “Utang-Tagging” sa mga teachers. Hindi magiging hadlang ang kanilang pagkaka-utang upang makapag-renew ng kanilang mga lisensya. Bagkus, marapat lamang na sila ay payagan pa ring makapagturo, nang sila ay makapaghanapbuhay at kumita. 

Of equal significance, we have allocated funds to finally implement the expanded career progression system for our public school teachers, which shall promote professional development and career advancement within their ranks. This expanded system lays out two major career paths for our teachers to pursue: the teaching; and the school administration tracks, each of which shall have ample career growth opportunities. 

With this system in place, we will accelerate the career growth of teachers. Sa sistemang ito, wala nang public school teacher ang magre-retire na Teacher I lamang. 

Sa madaling sabi, kung talagang gusto nating magtagumpay ang hinahangad nating pagbangon sa larangan ng edukasyon, sila — ang ating mga guro — ang dapat nating itaguyod at patatagin. 

Last year, we reported that our system of higher education was gaining international recognition for all the right reasons. As further evidence, eighty-seven of our Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) have now made it into various world university rankings. Fifty-one of them are public universities or colleges. 

Also, we witnessed this past school year a significant rise in the enrollment rate in higher education, both in public and private. The same upward trend is likewise noted in technical-vocational education and training (TVET). 

Statistics do not lie. Eight out of ten graduates of TVET ultimately land decent jobs. With its high employability rate, TVET will definitely be instrumental in capacitating our people, and in maintaining our employment rate at consistently high levels. 

Cognizant of its potential, the DepEd, CHED, DOLE, and TESDA have joined forces to incorporate TVET in the Senior High School curriculum to further boost the employability of our students. 

The Filipinnovation and Malikhaing Pinoy programs have been launched, both drawing vast interest and inspiring key sectors and the public to generate solutions, to share ideas, and drive innovation forward across the country. 

The IT and creative sectors are burgeoning industries, knowing no territorial bounds, and hold great promise for our talented and hardworking people. 

This is the call of our times, and we are moving to answer that call. 

The schools will serve as the preeminent incubators of the innovative and creative energies of all Filipinos. 

Advanced learning systems and technologies, in the areas of robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, shall be made available in TVET Innovation Centers nationwide. Highly technical and professional-level training courses will soon be launched, notably in cybersecurity and in the creative industries. 

Of our globally ranked HEIs, sixty-three have made it into the WURI (Woo-ri) Global Top 300 innovative universities. 

In the face of tough global competition, the Mabalacat City College in Pampanga was awarded the Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year. While for the second straight year, Samar State University topped the rankings for its digitally pioneering R&D project entries. 

Relevant scholarships and R&D grants will continue to be available, aligned with our agenda to foster start-ups. To commercialize and mass produce R&D outputs, crucial support, such as intellectual property rights enforcement, and venture financing, have been put in place. 

We are also building essential infrastructure and linkages to support the ethical development of artificial intelligence systems for high-impact practical applications. 

Since the nation’s foray into space technology, our satellites in space have generated more than fifty-one thousand maps, images and space-borne data for various purposes. These now provide us with vital information that guide our country’s stratagems and decision-making in agricultural development, urban planning and environmental management, including the strengthening of our maritime domain awareness, to name but a few examples. 

Along with these discoveries, we are likewise in awe of our countrymen who have carved out their niche as pioneering space scientists and engineers in this emergent field, in collaboration with local space technology companies that provide the additional impetus. 

As we speak, sixteen of our space engineers are in the United Kingdom resuming work on the development of a Multi-Spectral Unit for Land Assessment, or the MULA satellite. Once completed, the MULA satellite would be our largest earth observation satellite to be launched in space so far. 

May they inspire the next generation of Filipino students to follow in their footsteps and reach for the stars!

 SOURCE: RAPPLER

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