MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has tasked the Department of Education (DepEd) to take necessary steps to improve the Philippines’ ranking in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

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The country’s performance in PISA from 2018 to 2022 showed that more than 75 percent of 15-year-old students scored below the minimum level of proficiency in mathematics, reading and science.

In a meeting at Malacañang, Marcos instructed education officials led by Vice President Sara Duterte to focus primarily on improving the quality of teaching in schools, as well as the welfare of Filipino teachers, according to DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa.

“Para sa ating Pangulo, napakaimportante ng ating mga teachers. And we agree, teaching quality will really improve. Sabi nga ng ating Pangulo, he believes around 60 percent improvement kung mapabuti din natin iyong ating teaching quality,” Poa said in a Palace briefing.

“Gusto niyang magkaroon talaga ng expertise iyong ating mga teachers, so he emphasized on the necessity of proper training programs for our teachers, of course, hand in hand with teacher welfare.”

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Education Undersecretary Gina Gonong said the DepEd’s immediate target is to initially raise the country’s PISA scores during the next assessment scheduled in 2025.

“Siyempre ang immediate target natin, kung hindi man tumaas na tayo kaagad in terms of proficiency level, tumaas pa iyong scores natin, okay – hanggang maabot natin iyong minimum level of proficiency,” she said.

“Alam naman natin na hindi ganoon kabilis ang pag-increase ng proficiency level – it takes years bago talagang ma-develop ang mga estudyante natin. So, we’ll just have to continue doing the reforms that we have started in this administration,” the official added.

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TECHNOLOGY

During the meeting, the President also directed DepEd to train teachers on the proper use of technology to improve their performance.

“We will really train all of our teachers kasi nga marami nang nagbago na technology, even in a span of a year ‘no, maraming nagbabago. Like ngayon, sabi nga natin, mayroon na tayong AI, hindi ba. So that’s something we are looking at. At we will use, of course, the training facility of DepEd to do that,” Poa said.

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Meanwhile, Marcos also called on DepEd to ensure the proper nutrition of students and address the problem of bullying in schools, which could significantly affect children’s academic performance.

Poa noted that for 2024, the Department of Education was allocated a total of P11.7 billion for its school-feeding program, which would allow them to feed schoolchildren for the entire school year.

“For the school-based feeding program, mayroon po tayong P5.6 billion na budget for 2023. Nataas na po natin iyong budget na iyan this year to P11.7 billion. What does that mean? It means na dahil sa pagtaas ng pondo, kung dati ay nasa 120 days lang ang feeding natin, ngayon po ay masasakop na natin iyon buong taon,” he said.

“But, of course, the President wants us to still see kung ano pang enhancements ang magagawa natin dahil napakaimportante ng nutrition," Poa added.

Gonong meanwhile said that the DepEd is reviewing mechanisms to address bullying in schools, noting the need for schools to engage parents and communities in resolving the problem.

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“Addressing bullying can’t just be DepEd’s responsibility so we’re reviewing mechanisms to address bullying in schools pero we’ll have to remember na kailangan ng parental support at nakita rin naman sa results sa PISA ‘di ba kung gaano kahalaga iyong parental support sa performance ng bata. So, we need to engage our parents and the communities to reduce if not to eliminate bullying in schools,” she said.

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Poa said the DepEd is strengthening child protection committees in schools to address bullying, including cases of bullying being done online. DepEd also launched a dedicated hotline service to receive complaints of bullying, he said.

“So far, ang na-resolve natin na cases sa ating Learner Rights and Protection Office, at least iyong latest report na nakuha ko is around 120 cases na iyong na-resolve natin. But, you know, pagdating kasi sa ganitong reporting system, dalawa iyan eh – puwede kang magsabi na, yes, naka-resolve ka ng 120 cases pero we still don’t know if there is underreporting going on," Poa said.

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"That’s why we need to make sure that our system is accessible to everyone, even to anonymous complaints kasi maraming takot na mag-complain to make sure that people are really being encouraged to report,” Poa added.