Philippine Business for Education: “We have a learning crisis.”
MANILA – A leading non-profit organization organized a decade and a half ago and composed of the country’s chief executive officers of different companies yesterday said the country is experiencing a “learning crisis” – further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a virtual press briefing, PBEd executives led by its chairman Ramon Del Rosario, Jr. said Filipino students ranked among the lowest in the world in terms of science, mathematics and reading competency as reported by three international learning assessments.
The group said Filipinos students scored low in skills required to survive the 21st Century.
Among the factors that contribute to the near dismal state are issues on malnutrition and stunting, protracted school closures and distance learning, poor teacher quality and unequal access to learning materials and unequal access to learning materials that are all affected by economic recession and resource constraints with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the strategies PBEd suggesting are the targeting early-age and grade nutrition, increase in resources for education and addressing equitable access along with the establishment of an autonomous learning assessment agency to measure progress.
The also cited the need to investments to produce the best and brightest teachers as well as bridging the faps in the implementation of the mother tongue based multilingual education.
PBEd also called for the convening of an Education Commission (EdCom) to set the vision for Philippine education which ought to be multisectoral, composed of members of the legislature, private sector, civil society, parents’ association, the youth and school teachers as well as school leaders supported by a competent and objective secretariat. (Melo M. Acuña)
PBEd Chairman Ramon Del Rosario, Jr. (Screen shot from PBEd briefing/January 14,2021/Melo M. Acuna)