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!
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