Sen. Gatchalian wants whole-of-gov’t approach to fix PH education issues

On Thursday, April 13, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian gave emphasis on the importance of using a whole-of-government approach in addressing the problems and challenges in providing quality education to learners.

The concerned agencies could take advantage of their respective expertise to come up with concrete, targeted and transformative policies for the country's education sector... Together, we can fulfill our vision of providing quality education for every Filipino learner,

Gatchalian said during the meeting between the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) and Department of Education (DepEd) officials at the Senate.

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The lawmakers hoped to align their priorities with the DepEd's "MATATAG" agenda, which was launched this January to set the new direction of the agency and stakeholders in resolving basic education challenges.

In the meeting, Senator Pia Cayetano and some senators pointed out the need to urgently address the problem of fresh graduates lacking “soft skills” and practical expertise, especially after the Commission of Human Rights revealed these among the challenges faced by new job seekers during the pandemic.

How do we do that? I am not proposing a new subject, but I am proposing that it is integrated every step of the way,

she said.

She also added that among all Asian countries, chief executive officers (CEO) find Filipino graduates very hardworking and very reliable and that people skills such as communication, leadership, confidence, problem-solving and the ability to collaborate would help them greatly in their careers.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said he filed Resolution (SR) No. 8 calling for the review of the K-12 program in view of the country's poor performance in assessments conducted by different international organizations and to ensure that the objectives of the said program are achieved.

While we still believe that the K-12 curriculum remains in line with education systems worldwide and ensures mobility of Filipinos, especially access to universities abroad, it also needs constant updating to reflect changes in our job market and to adapt to the post-pandemic realities and opportunities,

he said.

Right now, the call to review the curriculum in basic education, TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training), and higher education is already being responded to by EDCOM 2, but not only curriculum review as the Commission is also looking into improving learning outcomes, assessment of learning, teacher quality, coordination among education sub-sectors, education financing, employability of our graduates, among others,

he added.

Villanueva said he is looking forward to see bigger and better reforms in Philippine education system once the work of EDCOM 2 is complete.