New thread! (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=12833808#post12833808) :colgate:

Thread One: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=143978

Legarda spells out education agenda (http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics4_april28_2007)

Front-running senatorial candidate Loren Legarda unveiled yesterday her legislative agenda to improve the quality of education in the Philippines and promote the welfare of teachers nationwide through economic and professional incentives.

Addressing the regional congress of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers at the Philippine Public School Teachers Association auditorium in Quezon City, Legarda emphasized that the first reform area in government should focus on education.

Foremost in the legislative initiatives Legarda bared are raising the level of educational investments in the Philippines to at least 6 percent of the country’s gross national product, and undertaking a crash program in the next five years to ease the shortage in classrooms, textbooks, school desks and teachers.

“Educational investments by our own government are one of the lowest in the Asian region. In public schools, 40 out of 100 students that enrol in grade 1 drop out before finishing high school. Roughly 30 percent of school kids suffer also from various stages of malnutrition,” she said.

“We are third from the bottom in science and math proficiency, a great tragedy in a global economy dominated by information technology. Our public schools are now turning out a generation of ‘under performers,’” she added.

She also clarified that contrary to the malicious text messages being sent to teachers, she did not file any bill that scraps the vacation pay or lessens the benefits of teachers as attested to by the certification issued by the Senate Bills and Index section.

On the contrary, Legarda said she filed Senate Bill 579 during the 12th Congress to provide teachers additional pay when they are asked to work during summer or semestral breaks or when they are required to work in excess of their regular working hours.

She said she intends to file anew in June the same bill, which also seeks to ensure that salaries in private schools shall compare favorably with public schools. The bill also provides regular upward adjustments of teachers’ salaries to cover the effects of inflation as measured by the consumer price index.

Aside from increasing money allotted for education and implementing the five-year crash program mentioned above, Legarda’s educational agenda includes the following:

• Implementing creative strategies such as a viable debt-for-education swap to raise additional money to support educational investments;

• Expanding the voucher system for secondary and college students; creating satellite universities specializing in IT; transforming the University of the Philippines to remove constraints that hamper its education of the best minds;

• Instituting a sustained and adequately funded teacher training and re-training program with emphasis on the languages, science and math;

• Promoting teachers’ welfare through various economic and professional incentives;

• Strengthening the delivery of vocational-technical education by decentralizing this function to local government units;

• Strengthening and enhancing distance-learning education; and

• Promoting and popularizing arts and culture through a coordinated and varied medium that can be appreciated by the Filipino youth, particularly through establishments of local museums, performing arts centers, organization of seminars, lectures and field trips, among others.

Legarda said the quality of education must be improved to produce a competent and well-informed citizenry.

“A Unesco report on Philippine education noted that 1.7 million Filipino children in the seven to 12 age bracket are out of school, most of whom are from the poorest provinces,” she said.

“Although public elementary education is free, school-related expenses like transportation fares, food, school supplies and other materials are beyond the financial capabilities of the poor,” Legarda pointed out.

30 private colleges in WV to hike tuition (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2007/05/17/30.private.colleges.in.wv.to.hike.tuition.html)

Parents and students will carry another heavy burden on their pocket as 30 colleges and universities in Western Visayas have applied for a tuition fee increase in this coming school year. Five of the applicant schools come from Iloilo City.

Records from the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) identified the five schools from Iloilo City as Central Philippine University, Iloilo Doctors College, Saint Paul Iloilo University, John B. Lacson Maritime University and Western Institute of Technology.

However, the entries made in the log-book does not contain the percentage of increase that will be imposed from the current tuition fees. It was learned that private schools can impose as high as 50 percent increase provided it is approved by the student organizations and alumni associations.

Prior to their request for tuition fee increase, these universities are mandated to have a consultation with all the stakeholders especially the student organizations of each university and alumni association. The consultation is a basic requirement for each colleges and universities before their requests are forwarded to the CHEd national office.

The colleges and universities can go on with their tuition fee increase after the CHEd memorandum circular 14 which deals on the guidelines and procedures to be observed by the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) intending to increase tuition, other school fees and introduce new fees.

CHEd regional office or the national office do not have control over the rate of increase proposed by each school administration but the applicants should base their increase on the "allowable increase in the tuition and other fees in all levels should not be more than the prevailing national inflation rate contained in CHEd memorandum circular."

Philippines dangling carrot to Gujarat students: be doctor in Rs 20 lakh (http://www.gujaratglobal.com/nextSub.php?id=2877&cattype=NEWS)

Government of Philippines has launched a special campaign for its medical colleges to rope in students from India. The campaign which talks about similar tropical diseases pattern between the countries, same Asian culture, English language and easily available Indian food emphasizes on certain other points.

First of all anyone with 50 percent marks in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English is eligible for the admission. The Philippines government recognized institutions with this basic criterion of the Medical Council of India do not have any other test criteria. Consequently, anyone with these qualifying marks and ability to pay around Rs 20 lakh in five years can get admission into the courses which are recognized even in the advanced countries like the US.

With Indian students in focus, as many as seven colleges of Philippines have started MBBS courses from this year. There are 30 institutions in Philippines that offer DM equivalent to MD of India with basic qualification of B Sc. This has opened floodgates for Indian students who are not able to get admission in Medical colleges in India. Even the management quota in India is much more costly than Philippines degree in Rs 20 lakh with boarding-lodging and a tag of foreign education with global recognition.

This entire project medical education is so high on the agenda of the Philippines government that Chairman of its commission on Higher Education Dr. Carlito S Puno was here in Ahmedabad today on a two day visit of India. The fact that he selected Ahmedabad as his first destination and his team campaigning here for last four five days show where does Gujarat stand in Philippines priority list.

The logic of selection of Gujarat as a pilot project is very simple. But Philippines should be given credit for hitting the right strategy. Every year hundreds of students from Gujarat go to South India for medical education at a much higher price. It is this ready market that Philippines is aiming to tap. In the final year these students are offered full fledged training for clearing part three of the License examination for medical practice in the US.

What more is needed. The gateway of medical education the official slogan of Philippines is basically gateway for entry into the US with a much more dignified status- a professional, a doctor. It is a known fact that many Gujarati students go to Australia, New Zealand and Canada to ultimately go to dream destination of the US.

Dr. Puno announced at a seminar of prospective students that parents of students studying in Philippines will get Visa for five years so that they have no problem in visiting their wards. He has also promised to initiate move for direct flight to Manila from Ahmedabad.

Only yesterday, Ahmedabad had another agency, a Pune based educational institution who offered admissions to DM courses to students. He, however, did not talk about the MBBS courses. Today, the Philippine officer with Cabinet Minister status introduced HCMI as an official agency for admissions to medical colleges. Mainly, for the seven medical colleges offering undergraduate MBBS course. Unlike India , Philippines has no restriction on number of seats in a college and so a college can accommodate large number of students provided they have 50 per cent marks and Rs 20 lakh to be paid in installments. And they know that Gujarat has plenty of them.

Philippines, right place to study (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=237719)

In a bid to strengthen the cooperation between Philippines and India in terms of medical education, the government of Philippines has opened new vistas for aspiring medical students of India, said chairman of the education commission Carlito Puno on Wednesday.

Speaking on the ‘Need of the students to study MBBS in the Philippines’ at Ahmedabad Management Association, he said that medicine is a diverse profession with many employment opportunities and the degree the student gets will prepare him/her to specialize in any field.



“Our aim is to aid prospective students and their parents, and to develop regional cooperation with India in any field. I believe that Philippines is the right place for students to study is because it is the third’s world largest English-speaking country. We provide better opportunities to secure employment and permanent residency,” he said.

University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERMMMC) is in collaboration with the Health Care Medical International (HCMI) on MBBS programme to give more individuals opportunities to pursue their dreams, he said.

According to president of HCMI Baljit Singh, MBBS programme is developed to meet the requirements of the Medical Council of India and is approved by Philippines Commission on Higher Education.

The four-and-half year course will be conducted at UERMMMC campus in Philippines and followed by one-year compulsory internship at UERMMMC centre and the fee is around Rs 1 lakh, he said.

Vinavalue talaga ng Philippines ang education.:):okay:

Hmm Interesting idea...

Japanese Retirees To Have Chance At New Careers In the Philippines (http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007440475)

May 24, 2007 12:08 p.m. EST

Komfie Manalo - AHN Correspondent

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - Japanese retirees deemed too old by their government to find new employment but still young enough to be productive, may find themselves in new careers in the Philippines. They could become science teachers in the Philippines if the agreement between the Philippine Retirement Authority and Japan pushes through.

Edgar Aglipay, chairman of the PRA said Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is currently in Japan for a four-day visit, is set to sign a pilot deal with 30 Japanese research and development firms. That deal would allow retired Japanese scientists to work at the University of the Philippines.

Aglipay said, "These are people who want to continue working, but cannot anymore do so in Japan, so we offer them a chance here."

He said the deal would also benefit the country that is suffering from a brain drain because of the increased migration of local manpower abroad.

These retired Japanese technicians would be compelled to bring in technology to adapt the country to the information they import to the UP.

"A Japanese marketer" was brokering the agreement between Japan and PRA, he said, and was offering the formula to other Japanese firms that had this problem.

He said Japanese firms were being asked to set up extension companies at the UP, to be beefed up with their retired personnel.

Aglipay is himself a retired police director-general, who managed to win a new government post.

He said the emigrating Japanese experts could be farmed out to other UP facilities such as the UP Baguio here in Manila.

Aglipay credited a Japanese consultant for providing Malaca?ang with this new concept in 2006. That happened after the expert realized that the country has a comparatively lax policy regulating retirees.

The Civil Service Commission serves a mandatory retirement notice to soldiers and uniformed personnel who reach 55, and to civilian employees who reach 65.

Adelina Sarmiento, an assistant commissioner at the Civil Service Commission, noted that the Philippines "has the oldest retirement age" in Asia when she presented a paper to a forum in Japan in 2000.

I am not sure if I will agree with this ^^ but they need to be transparent in the terms of these retirees. Honestly, I believe UP doesn't need this, or any other universities or colleges here in the country. What we need is budget/funding. Ano tayo, tapunan ng retirees nila? Maraming kabataan pa sa Pinas ang walang trabaho.

I am not sure if I will agree with this ^^ but they need to be transparent in the terms of these retirees. Honestly, I believe UP doesn't need this, or any other universities or colleges here in the country. What we need is budget/funding. Ano tayo, tapunan ng retirees nila? Maraming kabataan pa sa Pinas ang walang trabaho.

Usually the people who like to work at that age really loves what they do and therefore, may have the passion to teach other people, trying to share their interest of the subject.

Let's put it this way, if a scientist/technician would retire, he's not really going to retire he will more likely taking things apart and then putting them together again.

If you had a chance to learn something from an older generation who has lot of experience in that subject wouldn't that be better in the long run?

And there's also a big chance they can speak english and not only japanese if they work for research firms.

If a Einstein retired to the Philippines and then say "I want to teach here..." (more likely he would say, I want to do it just for fun) would UP turn him down? I don't think it's right to turn down these people if they have passion to teach and if they have the right background.

Or a great classical music player retires... but still want to teach would you pass up the opportunity to learn if possible?

Ano tayo, tapunan ng retirees nila? Maraming kabataan pa sa Pinas ang walang trabaho.

That's why they need more education to be able to be more competitive.

Usually the people who like to work at that age really loves what they do and therefore, may have the passion to teach other people, trying to share their interest of the subject.

Let's put it this way, if a scientist/technician would retire, he's not really going to retire he will more likely taking things apart and then putting them together again.

If you had a chance to learn something from an older generation who has lot of experience in that subject wouldn't that be better in the long run?

And there's also a big chance they can speak english and not only japanese if they work for research firms.

If a Einstein retired to the Philippines and then say "I want to teach here..." (more likely he would say, I want to do it just for fun) would UP turn him down? I don't think it's right to turn down these people if they have passion to teach and if they have the right background.

Or a great classical music player retires... but still want to teach would you pass up the opportunity to learn if possible?



That's why they need more education to be able to be more competitive.


I understand your point. However, I am just concerned with the terms and policies that our government will be offering them. If this will be at the expense of the University or of the Philippine government then it's better for us to hire our own teachers. In fact, there are lots of great and talented teachers in the country and they prefer not to stay here because of the low pay. In UP, most of the profs are so passionate with their job that they decided to stay and teach in UP. A lot of brilliant products of the institution transferred to high paying institutions or went abroad. If this will be funded by the companies of these retirees, then that's good but we have to consider the pros and cons of this, like for example to what extent are we going to allow them to be in the instutition and what level. Because if we are not going to pay attention then we will end up having Japanese professors in almost all classrooms.

I suggest "scientific collaboration" will work just like "Ayala Technology Incubator" inside the campus. But letting them to have professorial position in the campus is not really a good plan. If this will happen, how come the government cannot create a good strategy in providing the needs of its own "brilliant" educators? Actually I cannot reconcile the thought that the government has time to resolve the problem of the "Retirees" of Japan but it cannot solve our problem of "brain-drain."

actually, to become more competitive, our Philippine universities should also think about tapping foreign talents to improve our level of education. I have no doubt that our local teachers are talented and competent, but there are also people who are better. Just imagine if we hire those people from MIT or any noble laureates, the transfer of knowledge and experience would be tremendous. And paying them higher is not in any way unfair, since they deserved it.

now going back to the Japanese retirees, I dont think they would be offered with higher paying jobs (compared to their local counterparts) since from what I understand, it is their choice to work here. I mean no one's forcing them to work. If they really could contribute a lot in our schools and universities, at a very reasonable price, then hiring them should be put into consideration.

actually, to become more competitive, our Philippine universities should also think about tapping foreign talents to improve our level of education. I have no doubt that our local teachers are talented and competent, but there are also people who are better. Just imagine if we hire those people from MIT or any noble laureates, the transfer of knowledge and experience would be tremendous. And paying them higher is not in any way unfair, since they deserved it.

now going back to the Japanese retirees, I dont think they would be offered with higher paying jobs (compared to their local counterparts) since from what I understand, it is their choice to work here. I mean no one's forcing them to work. If they really could contribute a lot in our schools and universities, at a very reasonable price, then hiring them should be put into consideration.

Entry level teaching in UP is about 11k-14k and I am not sure kung may mga prof sa UP na umaabot ng 50k. These are foreigners and I am not sure if they will be contented 11k-14k monthly salary.

Yes. It is important for us to have foreign lecturers in our universities but this does not solve our "teaching force" problem and that is sustaining and providing them adequate compensation.

I would agree if the government won't shell out anything for this. But I just don't want to see someday that our internal education problem had not given enough strategic solution while we have given other countries a viable solution (and based here in our country) with their internal problems.

I think this is just one of the desperate options provided by the government to ratify PH-Japan Economic Pack.

We need foreign lecturers but in reality we cannot really afford them yet. I am not sure about this plan but have they consulted the UP BOR? Have they inquired the institution if this won't be a mediocre plan?

I guess they won't be teaching para sa pera lang. Marami na silang pera, retired na papahinga na lang, at siguro nga kung gusto pa rin nilang magturo, pampalipas oras hindi na nila titingnan kung magkano ang sueldo. Al;am namn nila na mahirap lang ang Pinas, hindi na sila mag eexpect na susuelduhan sila ng level sa kanila.

Entry level teaching in UP is about 11k-14k and I am not sure kung may mga prof sa UP na umaabot ng 50k. These are foreigners and I am not sure if they will be contented 11k-14k monthly salary.

Yes. It is important for us to have foreign lecturers in our universities but this does not solve our "teaching force" problem and that is sustaining and providing them adequate compensation.

I would agree if the government won't shell out anything for this. But I just don't want to see someday that our internal education problem had not given enough strategic solution while we have given other countries a viable solution (and based here in our country) with their internal problems.

I think this is just one of the desperate options provided by the government to ratify PH-Japan Economic Pack.

We need foreign lecturers but in reality we cannot really afford them yet. I am not sure about this plan but have they consulted the UP BOR? Have they inquired the institution if this won't be a mediocre plan?

I still believe that in the long run, we Filipinos are the one that would benefit if we let them become part of our educations system, provided that they could really contribute more. And in the first place, if UP is really as good as you are saying, then I don't think they would easily jump at this bandwagon if they don't think that it's going to be beneficial for them.

Providing our local teachers just compensation is just one side of the problem. Empowering them and enriching their knowledge is another way of upgrading our education system. And one way to do this is to let foreign people with the right knowledge and experience to collaborate and share their expertise to the Filipinos. Moreover, foreign talents taking over our schools is a farfetched idea. For one thing, we got people like you who will surely won't allow this to happen.

Now that is what I am trying to say here - "Collaboration" instead of direct "Penetration." I am fearing that in the long run we will forget the thought of "Collaboration." And I am hoping the premise of "Collaboration" will hold. Hopefully the UP community will weigh the options very well.

Honestly in the long run we don't need the Japanese... we need the bullish Chinese scientists.

And also if this will materialize in what field are they going to dispatch these retirees?

Education in the Philippines
Chinese Schools

Chinese schools add two additional subjects to the core curriculum, Hôa-gí (Chinese grammar and literature) and Tiĉng-hàp (Chinese communication). Some add two more, namely, Chinese History and Chinese Culture. Still, other Chinese schools called cultural schools, offer Confucian classics and Chinese history as part of their curriculum.

-Wikipedia

in the past there were more chinese subjects. they would have separate history subject, a separate subject on chinese literatures and confucian classics. another subject for calligraphy then another for mathematics and so on...

During the Martial Law, Chinese language schools were ordered closed or else to limit the time alloted for Chinese language, history, and culture subjects from 4 hours to 2 hours, and instead devote them to the study of Filipino languages and culture. This method of teaching persists to this very day. Marcos' policy eventually led to the formal assimilation of the Chinese Filipinos into mainstream Filipino society.

chinese schools now basically had 3 subjects.

华语 / 华文 or hoagi/hoabun (chinese grammar, communication and arts, literatures, chinese calligraphy, the language taught is mandarin.)

综合 chonghap (integrated lessons) - includes chinese and philippine history and some philippine literatures. usually after 2nd year high school, it becomes exclusively a subject on chinese history and culture.

and the 3rd is mathematics (sohak). there is one more subject (non-academic) that is included in the grading system and that is community service (hokbu).

time alloted for chinese classes is 2hours a day, monday to friday, some add 3hours of saturdays. in some schools, before it was compulsory but i think after 1990, it becomes voluntary, and students are given the choice between a chinese (mandarin) class or an elective subject (includes a chooice of learning chinese hookien language or learning accounting or a vocational lessons.) for that 2 hours that should have been devoted to learning chinese (mandarin).

Now that is what I am trying to say here - "Collaboration" instead of direct "Penetration." I am fearing that in the long run we will forget the thought of "Collaboration." And I am hoping the premise of "Collaboration" will hold. Hopefully the UP community will weigh the options very well.

Honestly in the long run we don't need the Japanese... we need the bullish Chinese scientists.

And also if this will materialize in what field are they going to dispatch these retirees?

I'm not sure about Chinese... I mean, they may be good at reasearch, but teaching, umm, let me just say that's something they don't excel at.

Sa pagkakaintindi ko dun sa article, hindi ata sila nangangailangan ng suweldo they only need jobs because it's their passion to work. Oo nga naman, kung walang gastos ang government, why not?

Sa pagkakaintindi ko dun sa article, hindi ata sila nangangailangan ng suweldo they only need jobs because it's their passion to work. Oo nga naman, kung walang gastos ang government, why not?

Kaya nga hindi pa ako sure kung mag-aagree ako or hindi. Sa first comment ako - they just need to be transparent.

I'm not sure about Chinese... I mean, they may be good at reasearch, but teaching, umm, let me just say that's something they don't excel at.

Kaya nga "Collaboration."

in the past there were more chinese subjects. they would have separate history subject, a separate subject on chinese literatures and confucian classics. another subject for calligraphy then another for mathematics and so on...

During the Martial Law, Chinese language schools were ordered closed or else to limit the time alloted for Chinese language, history, and culture subjects from 4 hours to 2 hours, and instead devote them to the study of Filipino languages and culture. This method of teaching persists to this very day. Marcos' policy eventually led to the formal assimilation of the Chinese Filipinos into mainstream Filipino society.

chinese schools now basically had 3 subjects.

华语 / 华文 or hoagi/hoabun (chinese grammar, communication and arts, literatures, chinese calligraphy, the language taught is mandarin.)

综合 chonghap (integrated lessons) - includes chinese and philippine history and some philippine literatures. usually after 2nd year high school, it becomes exclusively a subject on chinese history and culture.

and the 3rd is mathematics (sohak). there is one more subject (non-academic) that is included in the grading system and that is community service (hokbu).

time alloted for chinese classes is 2hours a day, monday to friday, some add 3hours of saturdays. in some schools, before it was compulsory but i think after 1990, it becomes voluntary, and students are given the choice between a chinese (mandarin) class or an elective subject (includes a chooice of learning chinese hookien language or learning accounting or a vocational lessons.) for that 2 hours that should have been devoted to learning chinese (mandarin).

I feel bad about not taking those classes seriously, ako lang ata hindi marunong gumamit ng mopit sa amin. Pinaglalaruan lang namin yung obak during calligraphy class, parati drawing ng cartoons :D
Magaling tatay ko, he must have mastered all the strokes on Chinese calligraphy kaya he went to a fine arts school. (8 or 9 strokes lang ata yun) But it is really hard to coordinate all the strokes.

It seems that the Chinese school in the Philippines are more linient now on their classes not like my time in the 60's to 70's. Especially now with the use of the computer and internet.
Yes, Marcos' policy in education did help in merging both cultures, as anyone can see along the street of Masangkay during school days. :lol:

Entry level teaching in UP is about 11k-14k and I am not sure kung may mga prof sa UP na umaabot ng 50k. These are foreigners and I am not sure if they will be contented 11k-14k monthly salary.

Yes. It is important for us to have foreign lecturers in our universities but this does not solve our "teaching force" problem and that is sustaining and providing them adequate compensation.

I would agree if the government won't shell out anything for this. But I just don't want to see someday that our internal education problem had not given enough strategic solution while we have given other countries a viable solution (and based here in our country) with their internal problems.

I think this is just one of the desperate options provided by the government to ratify PH-Japan Economic Pack.

We need foreign lecturers but in reality we cannot really afford them yet. I am not sure about this plan but have they consulted the UP BOR? Have they inquired the institution if this won't be a mediocre plan?

The chances of the people on the said article with no life savings are slim and the chances of them having passion for teaching is relatively due to the fact they are not being forced. They can be happy with their family in Japan, but unfortunately Japan is having increased problems with their family relationships.

More likely than anything, the faculty in UP will see them as guest lecturers and the value of what they have to offer will be base on their experience in the field. And I'm sure they there will be other profs. that will be observing in their lectures to make sure the students are getting valuable input.

I highly doubt that there will be Japanese in every classroom, you have to remember the difference in culture. Sure the profs. in UP are smart, etc. but you also need experience which I don't doubt they have too. What they bring to the table is a different set of skills that they can share. And who are to benefit... your children.

About the Chinese, due to the Cultural Revolution in China, the Chinese have a different mind set than rest of the world. And more keen to keep stuff to themselves or what they can take advantage off.

Of course the Chinese from Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan (but they will be soon) are different.

It's a good thing DepEd still decided on using English as the medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science. Yun nga lang, Social Studies/History has been taught in Filipino since school year 2006-2007 :ohno: It was still English on school years 2003-2004 and 2005-2006. I remember they used Filipino on school year 2002-2003 and earlier years. How inconsistent!

And we also have this Efren Abueg (whose literary works we see in Filipino books) fighting for the restoration of the Filipino language as the medium of instruction in all schools nationwide. He says, "Sa wiking Filipino, mga batang Pilipino, madaling matuto". :ohno: If he insists then let him find for the equivalent Filipino words of some Math and Science terms :lol:

Rules on suspension of classes stressed
(http://www.mb.com.ph/MTNN2007053194967.html)
By SHIANEE R. MAMANGLU

The Department of Education (DepEd) reiterated yesterday the guidelines on the suspension of classes which become necessary during months when typhoons and other weather disturbances come in succession.

Classes on the elementary and high school level start on June 4, Monday. Others start on or before June 12, Independence Day, which celebration has been moved to June 11, Monday, according to reports.

On the college level, classes start June 13.

Per DepEd Order No. 28, Series of 2005, the following rules on class suspension are to be followed when typhoons and other weather disturbances occur:

1. Classes are automatically suspended in all public and private schools on the pre-school level when typhoon Signal No. 1 is raised by the Philippine Athmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

2. Classes are automatically suspended in all public and private schools on the pre-school, elementary, and secondary levels when typhoon signal No. 2 is raised by PAGASA.

3. DepEd does not have jurisdiction over tertiary schools, and as such, suspension guidelines for the tertiary level are referred to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

4. In the absence of typhoon signal warnings from PAGASA, localized suspension of classes in both public and private schools on the pre-school, elementary, and secondary levels can be decided by the local authorities, including the DepEd regional director, DepEd division superintendent, school principal, or local government officials concerned.

5. The ultimate responsibility for determining whether or not their children should go to school is given to the parents.

While recognizing students’ need to be protected against the ill-effects of bad weather, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus stressed that class disruption should be minimized in order for them to spend more time in school.

"This policy gives a clear direction in cases where there is no typhoon warning issued by the PAGASA by allowing the local authorities and parents to handle the situation in their respective areas," said Lapus.

Almost 20 million public and private elementary and high school students will go back to school on June 4.

Gov’t support for Philippines public education declining
http://davaotoday.com/2007/06/03/lack-of-govt-support-for-philippines-public-education-declining/


MANILA - Government support for the public educational system has been declining and this is manifested by the severe shortages besetting the sector, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.


The 2006 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd), expressed in real terms (2000=100) has fallen by almost 6% from 2001 allocations. This means that, based on school year (SY) 2005-2006 enrolment figures, each public school student is allocated a share of only P5,082 of the DepEd budget, down 11% from P5,726 in 2001.

Declining allocations for education are reflected in the severe shortages of teachers and teaching materiel that have crippled the public education system.

The shortage of teachers reached 49,699 in SY 2005-2006, a 31% increase from the 37,932 recorded in SY 2001-2002. Over the same period, the shortage of classrooms grew by a whopping 586% from 8,443 in SY 2001-2002 to 57,930 in SY 2005-2006, and the lack of seats increased 65% from 2.11 million to 3.48 million. Meanwhile, in SY 2004-2005, the lack of textbooks reached 34.7 million.

The chronic lack of teachers and educational materials highlights the low priority government gives education. According to the law, the education sector should receive the highest share of the national government budget, but its allocations are dwarfed by the huge amounts government shells out for debt servicing.

In fiscal year 2006, for example, education, culture and manpower development was allocated P131.2 billion in the national budget. But debt service of both the principal and interest of the country’s debts was allotted a total of P784.43 billion or almost six times the total budget for education.

Lack of government resources has resulted in falling participation and completion rates. 5.7 million children (1.8 million in the elementary level and 3.9 million in the secondary level) are not enrolled in school. Further, for every 10 Grade 1 students enrolled, 3 will not finish elementary and four will not finish high school.

The lack of adequate government resources for education compromises the future of the country’s children, 14 million of whom are already considered poor.

In remote schoolhouses in the countryside the schoolweek goes like this :

Monday : teachers start their trip to the brgy school. this usually means walking several kilometers. they usually arrive in the afternoon
Tuesday: Class start but part of morning is devoted to cleaning the schoolhouse.
Wed: Regular school day
Thurs: Kids are usually dismissed at midday so the teachers can do their laundry.
Fri: teachers go home to the poblacion

tough education quality wise, but at least the kids learn how to read and do simple math

^^ Here's a similar one. It's funny because the title gives the wrong message. :lol:

Lack of gov’t support for Philippines public education declining

MANILA - Government support for the public educational system has been declining and this is manifested by the severe shortages besetting the sector, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.


The 2006 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd), expressed in real terms (2000=100) has fallen by almost 6% from 2001 allocations. This means that, based on school year (SY) 2005-2006 enrolment figures, each public school student is allocated a share of only P5,082 of the DepEd budget, down 11% from P5,726 in 2001.

Declining allocations for education are reflected in the severe shortages of teachers and teaching materiel that have crippled the public education system.

The shortage of teachers reached 49,699 in SY 2005-2006, a 31% increase from the 37,932 recorded in SY 2001-2002. Over the same period, the shortage of classrooms grew by a whopping 586% from 8,443 in SY 2001-2002 to 57,930 in SY 2005-2006, and the lack of seats increased 65% from 2.11 million to 3.48 million. Meanwhile, in SY 2004-2005, the lack of textbooks reached 34.7 million.

The chronic lack of teachers and educational materials highlights the low priority government gives education. According to the law, the education sector should receive the highest share of the national government budget, but its allocations are dwarfed by the huge amounts government shells out for debt servicing.

In fiscal year 2006, for example, education, culture and manpower development was allocated P131.2 billion in the national budget. But debt service of both the principal and interest of the country’s debts was allotted a total of P784.43 billion or almost six times the total budget for education.

Lack of government resources has resulted in falling participation and completion rates. 5.7 million children (1.8 million in the elementary level and 3.9 million in the secondary level) are not enrolled in school. Further, for every 10 Grade 1 students enrolled, 3 will not finish elementary and four will not finish high school.

The lack of adequate government resources for education compromises the future of the country’s children, 14 million of whom are already considered poor. (Ibon)

if the government will campaign for individuals or corporation to donate for public schools then...they won't need a bigger budget for education.

If the government will ask me to teach 5 hours a week for free..I will do it...in that way...the students can be informed of the current events and what is happening in the market.

We can all donate like 1 computer and that would really mean a lot to them. Digitize the books so we won't spend on papers...

This is just my own opinion to solve problems our public education..

Philippine students go back to school amid education worries

MANILA, Philippines (AP): Facing a shortage of classrooms and teachers, about 20 million Filipino students headed back to school Monday after a summer break, as police beefed up security to prevent kidnappings of children.

The quality of the Philippine education system has been deteriorating for years, as the population booms and money is scarce. Some classes are held in dilapidated buildings with leaking roofs.

Sixty percent of students will complete public elementary school, 40 percent will get through high school, and only 20 percent will enter college, according to the Department of Education.

A recent national career assessment examination concluded that more than half of high-school students were unfit for further education. And the World Bank cited a 2003 study of trends in mathematics and science that ranked the Philippines in the lowest 10 percent of countries in both subjects.

"The situation remains dismal,'' former Education Secretary Florencio Abad told The Philippine Daily Inquirer, citing problems of access, high dropout rates and low reading proficiency.

The government has set aside funds for new school buildings, education vouchers to subsidize the cost of tuition, teacher training and textbooks. Still, Education Department figures show a shortage of about 16,500 teachers and 6,500 classrooms this school year.

At the Rizal High School in Pasig city, a Manila suburb, as many as 60 students were crammed into one room, above the government's goal of 45 pupils per classroom.

"Our target is to lessen the number of students per classroom so they'll learn more. But we can't help it. There were simply too many students who enrolled,'' said principal Josephine Cruz.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the government has started a program to equip 30,000 schools with cable TV sets beaming educational programs.

Meanwhile, about 1,000 police officers were looking after schoolchildren in Manila to prevent kidnappings and other crimes, police said.

Manila Police district chief Senior Superintendent Danilo Abarzosa said additional officers were deployed to Chinese Filipino schools in the capital's Chinatown district. Ransom kidnappings frequently target wealthy Chinese Filipinos.

Abarzosa said undercover agents were patrolling schools and commuter buses.

Fixing education flaws: Textbooks shot through with errors
By Fernando del Mundo
Inquirer
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=69484

MANILA, Philippines -- Antonio Calipjo Go says you only have to look at the textbooks used in public schools to find out what’s wrong with the Philippine education system.

“Fifty percent of the books are defective,” says Go, 56, academic supervisor at the tiny Marian School of Quezon City tucked away in the working class district of Novaliches.

“That’s being kind. In fact, the figure is higher, closer to 75 percent,” says the man who, in 2002, stirred a hornet’s nest in education circles by exposing more than 400 errors he had found in one public elementary textbook.

This time, Go is referring to the seven Social Studies textbooks in Filipino from the Department of Education that will be used in Grades 1-5 this school year.

All told, 11.9 million of these books, including teaching manuals, have been published at a cost of P500 million and distributed by contingents of Boy and Girl Scouts after they were delivered across the archipelago in Coca Cola trucks.

They were published under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Education for All program, which receives funding from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The program, among other things, calls for the construction of school buildings in all municipalities to allow universal free education, train teachers and strengthen competencies in the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Filipino.

Books are updated every five years and the seven Social Studies textbooks to be used this year represent the first stage of the process. The books were supposed to have been published and distributed last school year, but protests marked the bidding and the initiative was delayed.

Around P800 million was originally earmarked to publish 17 million Social Studies textbooks up to high school in the first stage. Protests held up the rest of the project.

Losers are children

“Suppliers are like politicians; they don’t want to lose,” says Education Secretary Jesli Lapus. “The process gets to be protracted and the losers are the children.”

The next batch of textbooks on English subjects will be distributed before the end of the school year.

The latest effort to revise learning materials came amid rising concern that the Philippine education system has not kept abreast of the demands of globalization and unhappiness over the performance of Filipino students in international competitions.

When the seven new books came out, a set was received at the Marian School gate last November with an unsigned note to Go urging him to conduct a review.

“We have seen their contents and we need your second opinion. We are clutching at straws … Please do not disappoint us,” says the anonymous note writer.

Go, who has become a devil’s advocate to government functionaries and academicians with doctorates from elite schools, obliged.

Barely literate graduates

He has expressed alarm that the public school system has produced nothing more than “half-baked, barely literate graduates.”

Go has made improving education his advocacy. He has spent more than P800,000 to publish the blunders he had found in the DepEd textbooks, for which he has earned libel suits and brickbats. He shrugs them off.

In a congressional hearing called by Sen. Panfilo Lacson in January, Go detailed the “factual and conceptual” errors he had uncovered upon review of the seven books published under the $200-million Second Social Expenditure Management Project funded by the World Bank.

Over 100 errors

In at least one book for Grade 3, “Ang Bagong Pilipino” (The New Filipino) by Expectacion Castor-Gonzales and published by Daewoo International Corp. JV of South Korea and Mary Jo Publishing House Inc., Go listed more than 100 errors.

Example: Nahiwalay ang Pilipinas sa Asya at naging pulu-pulo nang lumubog ang mga tulay na lupa sa pagkatunaw ng yelo noong Panahon ng Yelo (The Philippines separated from Asia and became an archipelago when the land bridges were submerged as a result of the melting of the ice during the Ice Age.)

Webster says Ice Age refers to “a time of widespread glaciation.” It was freezing then. Global warming was not yet in the lexicon of the era.

The seven books had supposedly gone through a four-stage evaluation by a panel that included academics from topnotch schools.

Money-making

During the Senate inquiry, claims of irregularities in the bidding and the textbook procurement program were aired. However, there has been no resolution to the allegations.

Lacson himself says some congressmen have used hearings as money-making propositions, threatening to call inquiries and then dropping them off after receiving payoffs from publishers. However, he did not name them.

“It’s an unending cacophony. It’s all noise. We’re not doing anything about it,” says Go. “Delegations of congressmen come here. Nothing has happened after the photo ops.”

One good thing came out of the January hearing. Following Go’s exposé, the DepEd again had the newly issued books reviewed by its staff and academicians.

Invited by the department to discuss the purported blunders, Go declined and told Undersecretary Franklin Sunga that unless independent observers were present, he would not participate. He never heard again from Sunga.

The DepEd told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on May 17 that the panel had again reviewed the seven books after the Lacson hearing and found the percentage of “correctness” of each of them ranged from 90 to 99.48.

“Ang Bagong Pilipino” rated 89.95-93.97 percent. The errors were 9 conceptual, 20 factual and 47 language and others which were unspecified.

Correction leaflets

DepEd officials say leaflets containing the corrections have been published and are being distributed to teachers. They are hoping that the errata leaflets will reach all schools before classes open.

Edita A. Tan, a University of the Philippines-Diliman professor emeritus, laments that the DepEd has not developed a credible program for improving the quality of textbooks.

“Apparently, education majors instead of field specialists write the textbooks. I suggest that the DepEd launch a program for reviewing each textbook in elementary and high school and have experts in each field to write new ones,” she says.

“The education people should help in adapting the language to the various grade levels. They should not be the ones to write Math, Science, Social Studies, History and English as they have no expertise in these subjects,” Tan says.

“There are allegations that the textbook department in the DepEd works with writers for monopolizing the production of textbooks. There is money in this business. Textbooks are quite expensive despite their poor content and poor printing quality,” she adds.

“Elementary and high schools, public as well as private, do not provide libraries and laboratory facilities. How can our students learn if they do not have books to read and laboratories to experiment in?” she says.

Lapses acknowledged

Executive Director Socorro Pilor of the DepEd’s Instructional Materials Council Secretariat acknowledges lapses in the textbooks in spite of the department’s efforts to tighten evaluation procedures.

“They were not too sharp or meticulous, or perhaps the time given to evaluators was not enough,” Pilor says. On the whole, she says “the books are still useful.”

She also outlined plans to mobilize professionals from UP and the Ateneo de Manila University to be involved in the evaluation and review processes in English textbooks.

With Go’s exposés, however, she says the experts from the elite schools seemed a little gun shy for fear of being embarrassed. “It makes it doubly difficult to choose the better reviewers,” says Pilor.

Heads will roll

Secretary Lapus says the DepEd is introducing more innovations in the bidding process in an effort to eliminate flaws in textbooks.

“Heads will roll,” he says of those whose books are found to be flawed. “They will no longer be eligible … we will never use them again.”

Lapus took over as President Macapagal-Arroyo’s fifth education secretary. A former banker and congressman, he has a reputation as a crisis manager. He welcomes criticism of the department and is determined to push through education reforms.

Go suggests: “Pay good evaluators so the books come out right. Teach what is right. The abysmal quality of our textbooks is the root cause of the deterioration of our education system. When we teach wrong concepts, they are perpetuated.”

Education crisis deepens...DepEd gets into heart of systems breakdown
By Fernando del Mundo
Inquirer
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=69329


MANILA, Philippines -- The official figures remain grim as some 20 million students troop back to classrooms on Monday at the opening of the new school year.

Out of 10 students entering Grade 1, six will complete the elementary course, four will get through high school and two will enter college, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).

“We do not know if the two who will enter college will get a degree or even a job,” says Alice Alafriz Pañares, deputy director of the DepEd’s National Educators Academy of the Philippines.

Problems bedeviling the Philippine education system had been festering for the past three decades before officials agreed they had reached a critical stage. The analogy is made of a frog placed in a kettle of water that is put to a boil. The frog will not know it is dying until it is too late.

Experts both in and out of government say there are no quick fixes to the nation’s education woes. A band-aid approach, which is essentially what’s in place, will not do.

“The situation remains dismal,” says former Education Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad. He says the tragedy is manifested in the very fundamental problems of access, a high dropout rate and a very low reading proficiency.

“Half of the country’s student population is not even in school,” he says.

Abad recalls a national test on reading given to about a million Grade 6 students in 2003. He says it showed that 99.4 percent of those who took the test were unprepared to enter high school.

An analysis of the data showed that the level of proficiency of the Grade 6 students was only at Grade 4. When examined further, it was discovered that these students could not follow instructions and could not understand the questions well.

For years, says Abad, teachers who did not wish to be accused of incompetence gave “wholesale” passing marks.

In 2002, the late Education Secretary Raul Roco implemented a new basic curriculum. A product of years of study, it whittled down 10 subjects taught in the public schools to five -- English, Science, Mathematics, Social Studies and Filipino.

Art, Music, History, Physical Education and Culture were crammed under Social Studies.

Goal is functional literacy

“The idea is to develop functional literacy,” says former Education Undersecretary Fe Hidalgo, who took charge of the department for over a year after Abad quit in the midst of calls for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation over charges she stole the 2004 election.

“Every child should be a reader, functionally literate, be able to understand and apply in daily life the result of reading and numeracy,” Hidalgo says.

Another issue that has come up of late was a legislative proposal -- known as the Gullas bill -- to use English as the medium of instruction, reversing the current bilingual policy (English and Filipino) in a bid to raise language proficiency.

Some schools have been experimenting with using the lingua franca of the region -- there are 171 dialects across the country -- in Grades 1 and 2 to increase the level of comprehension before going into the bilingual policy in Grade 3.

It is a costly exercise as it means translating all the dialects into English and Filipino. To go straightaway to English can be doubly taxing both to teachers who do not have the competency to teach it in the first place and the students who have no clue. Some experts say this should be done progressively, starting in Grade 3.

Dangerous legislation

“The problem is not poor English,” says Juan Miguel Luz, president of the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction and a former education undersecretary who calls the Gullas measure a “dangerous legislation.”

“It is poor English, Science and Math skills. Weak English proficiency is not the sole determinant of poor overall achievement, it is merely a factor,” he says, pointing out the Chinese or the Japanese will never throw out Mandarin or Nippongo in favor of the King’s English.

Asked if she was satisfied with the Roco initiative to rouse the education system from its death throes, Hidalgo replies, “Of course not,” citing a whole range of problems.

Among others, she cites education’s allocation in the annual budget. Although it now comprises 13 percent of the pie -- the biggest share -- it still lags behind the budget allocation to education of neighboring countries, which is upward of 20 percent.

There are sectors critical of the new curriculum and want some changes.

Music is gone

Concert pianist Reynaldo Reyes, 73, grieves that music has been effectively scrapped from the school curriculum. He is critical of how music had been taught, which essentially was about organizing rondallas. But, he says, “at least, it was there.”

The little time allowed for Physical Education has deprived the nation of a pool of athletes to choose from in fielding representatives to the Asian Games and the Olympics.

For a nation that has been left behind by its neighbors in manufacturing and agriculture, its services sector should be strengthened, experts say. But when call centers can only accept 10 applicants out of 100, there is something terribly wrong somewhere.
Without access to material wealth, the only way to social mobility is a good education and when even that is not available, the poor have no way out of the rut, says Arsenio Balisacan, director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture based in Bangkok.

Pump-priming

The Arroyo administration in recent years has made huge investments in building and repairing schools to achieve its goal of providing free universal access to elementary and high school education.

It has been updating textbooks and teaching manuals, mobilizing resources from businessmen and private companies in exchange for tax incentives and tapping funds from international agencies.

In May 2006, Ms Arroyo authorized a “pump-priming program” to train and help teachers gain expertise in Mathematics and Science. Some 17,000 teachers entered the program initially last year, attending courses in summer or enrolling for regular semestral work.

Economics professor Edita A. Tan says the Roco curriculum is on the right track in reallocating of more time to them.

“The big question is how do we improve the teaching and learning of the core subjects,” she says.

“There are teacher training activities but they are of limited reach. Remember that there are about 500,000 school teachers and only a few thousands go for summer training program,” says Tan.

A summer will not do

“A summer of training will not produce English, Math, Science expertise. It takes time to achieve expertise in a field. Most of our Math and Science teachers have not majored in their teaching fields. They have to major in these fields to achieve competence to teach them,” she says.

Tan says another problem is that very few universities and colleges produce quality teachers.

Just the cost of training people who will train the teachers is staggering, say DepEd officials.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus has devoted most of his time -- since he was appointed to the helm of DepEd in August -- planning to fast-track projects to improve learning facilities and teacher training.

“You have to think out of the box,” says Lapus, a three-term congressman and former banker.

Learning via satellite

Lapus is in the midst of negotiations with China to provide initially half of the 50,000 schools nationwide 10 television sets each to receive learning materials to be transmitted via satellite.

Another of his priority projects is to design a program for legislation that will address the skills and jobs mismatch in the employment market. It’s the paradox of a surplus of graduates that cannot fill half a million waiting jobs.

Lapus repeatedly talks of encouraging high school graduates who cannot immediately afford a college education to go to technical and vocational schools and at least be assured there will be a job waiting for them at any point in their studies.

It is a program that has been successfully implemented in the United States and Europe for high school graduates who cannot pass college entrance examinations.

There’s still a long way to go, but there are determined moves to reach the goal of improving education one tortured step at a time.

“We’re getting into the heart of the systems breakdown,” says Lapus.


(First of two parts)

Here's a video from GMA News.

Lanao del Norte school has combination classes

http://www.gmanews.tv/video/7528/Lanao-del-Norte-school-has-combination-classes

Information at your fingertips: a giant leap for Philippines education (http://davaotoday.com/2007/06/07/information-at-your-fingertips-a-giant-leap-for-philippines-education/)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — A few months from now, the long queues of complaining teachers who cannot find their records will be history. No more going to and fro the different offices in search of those elusive documents. All information will be readily available through a fully-automated Human Resource Information (HRI) System, a brainchild of the BEAM Project and DepEd.

“This HRI System is the answer to DepEd’s pressing problems. It will make information readily available to the decision makers in - our department.” These were the words of DepEd Undersecretary for Budget and Finance Hon. Teodosio Sangil, Jr. during the roundtable discussion and consultation on the HRI model of DepEd Region XI.

The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) was initiated and supported by the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) Project in its bid to improve the quality of and access to basic education in Regions XI, XII and ARMM. The system was designed to improve the efficiency of DepEd personnel and finance departments in generating and transmitting teacher

The said system will contribute In generating and transmitting teacher’s information such as salaries, leave credits, employment status, increments and papers need for loan applications to other organizational units.

The system was piloted in Digos City Division and is now fully-operational in DepEd Region XI and parts of Region XII and ARMM. It was a product of a series of consultations with DepEd officials and staff and a Training and Development Needs Analysis (TDNA) that recognized a need for computerized records.

“Our records are now updated; processing time for transactions was significantly reduced. We were also able to cut-down costs and slowly, problems and issues are addressed. Payroll will now be prepared using the most up-to-date information. We are very grateful to BEAM for this,” said Virginia Alconcel, the chief of the Budget and Finance Division of DepEd XI.

Due to the success of the HRI system, DepEd Central Office officers and staff, headed by Usec. Sangil, visited DepEd XI for a discussion and consultation with BEAM and DepEd XI officials on adapting the HRI System nationwide. During the meeting, DepEd XI Assistant Regional Director Susana Teresa Estigoy said, “We are pleased that the department has seen the good things that are happening in Region XI that are beneficial to the entire DepEd. This is a small step for DepEd XI, but a giant leap for the whole organization.

“I will definitely support this system, not only for Regions XI, XII and ARMM, but all regions in the country as well. BEAM has shown the way for us,” expressed Usec. Sangil.

According to Leonila Joson, Personnel Division OIC of DepEd Central Office, “We recognize this HR/Payroll system is the best answer to the challenge posed to us to establish an updated and unified database for our teachers after a series of recent workshops across the country. It has long been our dream to automate our database. Now, it is turning into a reality.”

The HRI System will be fully-implemented in Regions XII and ARMM in Mindanao and proposed to be trialed in National Capital Region (NCR) and Regions IV-A and B. A technical working group will be established by the department with DepEd XI and BEAM officials providing support in its implementation.

“We are pleased to make a contribution to a significant area of the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA). Teachers will now feel happier and committed that will result to a change in classroom interaction and improve the quality of learning. BEAM has been a catalyst for this change” explains Dr. Ian D’Arcy Walsh, BEAM Australian Project Director. The Project will provide additional assistance to DepEd for additional functionality support of the HRI System.

BEAM is a Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) project aiming to improve the quality of and access to basic education in Southern and Central Mindanao. It is funded by the Government of Philippines (GoP) and the Government of Australia through a AUD36 million grant from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). (PIA Dispatch)

A nation of non readers...
by JUAN MIGUEL LUZ
http://www.pcij.org/i-report/2007/literacy.html


Why is it that despite our supposedly high literacy rate, many Filipinos can barely read and write? Why haven’t we been able to develop a reading habit among Filipinos?

THE Problem of nonreading lies at the heart of why the Philippines is so uncompetitive in the world economy and why so many of our people continue to live in poverty or barely escape it.

Straightforward questions about something so fundamental. Yet there are no easy answers to such a complex problem. Worse, the problem of nonreading lies at the heart of why the Philippines is so uncompetitive in the world economy and why so many of our people continue to live in poverty or barely escape it.

Someone once remarked that we are not a nation of readers; we are a nation of storytellers. Ours is a culture of oral history passed on by word of mouth not through the written word. Perhaps that is why most of the information people receive today is gathered from television (62 percent) and radio (57 percent). Newspapers and magazines are read by only 47 percent and 36 percent of the population respectively, according to a 2003 government survey.

In the modern era, however, this is too low a figure. And how did this happen when we pride ourselves as being a highly literate people? Then again, are we really?

To start with, let’s establish the difference between literacy and reading. They are related, but literacy is a level of competence, while reading is a skill. One can be literate but not necessarily a reader because reading, as a skill, requires the development of a habit that must be exercised daily if it is to be retained and enhanced. If left unexercised, the skill becomes rusty and can even be lost.

We begin this discussion with literacy, for which there are two measures: simple and functional.

Simple literacy is the ability of a person to read and write with understanding a simple message in any language or dialect. Functional literacy, meanwhile, is a significantly higher level of literacy that includes not only reading and writing skills, but also numeracy (the ‘rithmetic that completes the ‘three Rs’), which leads to a higher order of thinking that allows persons to participate more meaningfully in life situations requiring a reasonable capacity to communicate in a written language. The simplest, most direct measure of functional literacy is the ability to follow a written set of instructions for even basic tasks. Thus, functional literacy is the more important indicator of competence when it comes to adults in the workforce.


FOR DECADES, the Philippines has reported a simple literacy rate in the mid-to-high 90s. In 2003, the simple literacy rate was actually lower at 93.4 percent for the entire population at least 10 years of age. Girls show a higher rate of simple literacy than boys (94.3 percent versus 92.6 percent). Not surprisingly, Metro Manila reported the highest rate at 99 percent; the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had the lowest at 68.9 percent (and falling compared to the 1994 rate of 73.5 percent).

Over the last 10-year period (measuring simple literacy is part of the national census taken once a decade), there has been a disturbing occurrence. Nine of 15 regions (under the old regional configuration) showed a slight decline in simple literacy from 1994 to 2003. These included two of the three Visayan regions (VII and VIII) and all of the Mindanao regions. Overall, simple literacy for the entire country fell by 0.5 percent from 1994 to 2003.

What do these numbers mean? Based on a population of 80 million, 6.6 percent illiteracy translates into 5.3 million Filipinos who cannot read or write; a number that grew by about 1.6 million over the past decade.

I suspect, however, that our simple literacy rate might even be overstated, meaning there may be even more Filipinos incapable of reading and writing a simple message, with understanding, than reported officially. The measure of simple literacy, after all, is not determined by a test but rather by a census question. A census-taker asks respondents: “Can you read or write a simple message in any language or dialect?” It’s easy to imagine that quite a number of household heads would answer affirmatively to hide the fact that they are illiterate, out of a feeling of hiya (shame). And I do not think census-takers take the time to test the literacy level of a respondent during the survey.

Professor Dina Ocampo of the University of the Philippines School of Education says that literacy is really about the ability “to construct and create meaning from or through written language.” To do so will require a higher degree of abstraction. Therefore, the true measure of literacy must be functional, not simple.


THE FUNCTIONAL literacy rate in the country is more realistic — but again, it may be overstated, even though it is measured by a test and not the subject of a survey question. Curiously, the test itself is called the Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), which is done by the National Statistics Council in partnership with the Department of Education and the Literacy Coordinating Council.

While the overall rate for the entire country rose slightly in 2003 versus 1994, seven of 15 regions fell over the same period with Regions II, VIII, IX, X and XI showing drops in both simple and functional literacy rates.

More revealing is functional literacy by age group based on the 2003 FLEMMS: Adults closest to college graduation age (20-24 and 25-29 years) showed functional literacy rates of over or close to 90 percent. But school-age children (10-14 and 15-19 years) showed rates far below the 100 percent that would be assumed since functional literacy is based on a grasp and facility with the ‘three Rs’ (reading, writing, and arithmetic) that we hope our children are mastering. The numbers, however, say otherwise.

This relatively lower figure reflects the high dropout rates of children before the start of Grade 4 (or by age 10). Department of Education (DepEd) data show that for every 100 children who enter Grade 1, close to 15 do not make it into Grade 2, and roughly one-quarter (24 percent) have dropped out before Grade 4.

Grade 3 (10 years old) is a critical year in terms of formal schooling. Since preschooling is neither compulsory nor part of the package of free public education guaranteed by the Constitution, Grade 3 marks the third full year of basic education for children who attend public elementary school and the year when the facility to read, write, and do the four operations of arithmetic with competence is expected. (Less than 20 percent of those who go to public elementary school actually attend a full year of preschool education.)

Dropping out before this grade level thus becomes a major contributor to the lack of functional literacy, which in turn has a negative impact on adults and their eventual work productivity. This is assuming, of course, that by the end of Grade 3 (or the third year of formal full-time schooling), our children’s competence in the three ‘Rs are being honed fully. But as we are seeing, that may not be happening in far too many schools.


WITH LOW-LEVEL literacy comes poor reading skill. In elementary schools in the Division of Manila, reading test scores reveal that only one-sixth to one-third of pupils can read independently at the desired grade level. By the end of the elementary cycle (Grade 6), over one-third of elementary graduates were identified as “frustrated” readers; another one-third were “instructional” readers. Both levels are below the desired reading level at the end of the elementary cycle.

The Phil-IRI (Philippine-Informal Reading Inventory) test is an oral test given to a pupil to measure reading ability. Five test questions are administered constituting the entire test.

Independent reading level – Pupil can read with ease and without the help or guidance of a teacher. In the Phil-IRI test, they can answer four or five correct answers (out of five test questions) and can read with rhythm, with a conversational tone, and can interpret punctuation correctly.

Instructional reading level – Pupil can profit from instruction. In the Phil-IRI test, they answer three out of five test questions correctly.

Frustrated reading level – Pupil gets two or below in the Phil-IRI test (out of five test questions). They show symptoms or behavior of withdrawing from reading situations and commit multiple types of errors in oral reading.


What is troubling, in my view, is that the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) test is hardly a robust test and tends to score in favor of even poor readers. The DepEd has resisted using international test instruments based on the argument of cultural soundness (or lack thereof on the part of international tests with regard Philippine culture). The tendency to go with an “easier” test, however, defeats the purpose of measuring results.

If Metro Manila shows a higher literacy level than the rest of the country but low levels of reading competence, one can only expect even lower reading scores in other regions of the country with less endowments and educational facilities than the National Capital Region.

Here then is the crux of the problem: With poor reading comes poor learning.

In high school, science and math learning require a degree of reading ability since much of what is learned is actually self-taught. The classroom experience in science is expected to focus on experimentation. Learning basic facts and theory in science is supposed to be read as preparation for this. Since Filipino schoolchildren have shown low levels of reading, science and math proficiency are similarly poor because much of what is learned is not self-driven or internalized; rather, it is passed from teacher to student in the old-school rote learning fashion. This largely explains why so few high-school graduates are equipped for university-level science and the subsequent lack of a technical/technology culture among our working population. Without such, the manufacturing and technical sector will continue to be weak in this country — explaining to a large extent our lack of competitiveness in the global economy.

Poor reading is also a reflection of poor language proficiency, whether this be in English or in the national language. One sees this immediately in the language proficiency of public school teachers.

In 2003, responding to the reality that English language proficiency was sorely lacking or being lost among Filipinos of all ages, then Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus embarked on a nationwide campaign to raise the language proficiency of public school teachers beginning with high school teachers.

Starting with over 53,000 secondary teachers teaching English, science and math — languages that require a good degree of English communication skills — a Self-Assessment Test in English (SATE) was administered to determine the proficiency level of these teachers. Only one-fifth (19 percent) passed with a score of at least 75 percent correct. While the vast majority were able to answer more than 50 percent of the test questions correctly (65 percent), close to one-fifth were obviously deficient in English and should not have been teaching subjects that require a degree of English communication skills in reading and writing. (In education scoring, a mark of 75 percent or more constitutes “mastery.” A grade between 50 percent and 75 percent is considered “nearing mastery.” A grade below 50 percent is a measure of “no mastery.”)


THE KEY to learning is better reading skills. But this reading skill need not be confined to English only. The ability to read and write in any language or dialect is what is important. From this “life-long learning” or “survival” skill, one can develop the ability to “learn for life.” These are important elements for building individual competence and achievement that can be translated in the future into a competitive workforce.

Note, however, that the issue of English-language skill in the workplace is another issue altogether. At least it should be, but it often gets entangled with our plans on what to teach in our schools. We are concerned by the decline in English proficiency of our workers. But take note that Japanese, as well as Korean, Thai, and even Malaysian workers, are not required to speak in English on the factory floor. They communicate in their own native languages and they do so with competence.

The English language becomes important when workers are forced to work in situations where supervisors and managers are foreign or the work system is adapted from abroad. English then becomes the intermediate language of reference and a necessary element of communication. Because many Filipino workers are forced to work in such situations either in-country or abroad, English proficiency becomes a critical factor. But because the formal part of the language is stressed at so young an age when learning is still beginning, the ability to learn more science and math content is sacrificed. This is, in large part, why productivity among Filipino workers and managers suffers and why competitiveness, as a country trait, is low.

This bears repeating: Grades 1 to 3 are critical in the child’s learning cycle (assuming no preschooling for most public schoolchildren.) At this age, the fundamentals for literacy have to be established and the start of a reading habit developed.


SHOULD WE DESPAIR? Not yet — because while the vast majority of our public schools struggle to manage deficiencies and shortages in the system, there are diamonds in the rough sprinkled throughout that provide hope for all.

“Models-of-excellence” (MOE) schools were born out of a program called “Books for the Barrios” set up by a former Subic-based couple, Nancy and Dan Harrington, over 15 years ago. The Harringtons collected books from U.S. families, schools, and publishers (e.g. publishing overruns) and had these shipped to Philippine elementary schools to set up libraries and reading programs. In later years, Professor Isagani Cruz of Far Eastern University (and formerly De La Salle University) developed a reading program for them that focused on “words of the day” from Grades 1 to 6 to help hone a vocabulary set that would equip very young children to read.

In Agusan del Sur, Amy Ronquillo, the dynamic young principal of Pisaan Elementary School, took a poorly-performing school and transformed it into an MOE school where children are able to read well within the first year of their formal schooling. The result has led to a transformation of the school with parent involvement so high that what was once a school with a high dropout rate is now overcrowded, as parents compete to get their kids enrolled there.

In Negros Occidental, ESKAN or Eskwelahan sang Katawhan Negros (literally “school for the people”) set up district-level reading programs to improve on the achievement of pupils in schools in each of the towns. First started in the sixth-class towns of San Enrique and Toboso, the program has expanded to other towns in the province (E.B. Magalona, Murcia, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, and Silay) before being exported to the neighboring province of Iloilo (Concepcion and Ajuy).

Poor school performance was traced to a dearth of student-friendly instructional materials in most schools; inadequate skills and formal mechanisms for teachers to handle children with learning difficulties (chief among these, poor reading); and the minimal participation of the local community (i.e. parents) in local school matters.

To address these deficiencies, Grade 1 teachers in participating schools went through a 15-day rigid training on reading; para-teachers were recruited and trained to handle pupils with reading difficulties; and a pool of local trainers from DepEd developed instructional materials now being used by all Grade 1 pupils in schools in all ESKAN municipalities. The net effect: a decline in the number of slow and nonreaders in schools in all these municipalities, even within months of implementation.

Then there is the Sa Aklat Sisikat (SAS) Foundation whose program began in the Makati schools division before branching out to other cities and provinces. To date, SAS has set up reading programs for over 125,000 Grade 4 children in 525 public elementary schools. The program targets Grade 4 because it does not really teach reading; rather, it works on a school age group that already knows how to read in order to build a reading habit.


READING PROGRAMS, in fact, have been set up in all school divisions by both public and private groups. But in order to develop a reading habit, schoolchildren need books that tell stories in an interesting manner while developing a broader vocabulary. Textbooks, which are more lesson-oriented, lack the imagination that children need to develop the reading habit.

The problem of providing libraries of reading books in public schools becomes a question of logistics and the lack of resources. To provide reading books for over 37,000 public elementary schools becomes prohibitive in terms of cost. As an operating strategy to get around this constraint, the DepEd embarked on a program to build library hubs in each of the 186 school divisions.

These hubs are, in effect, warehouses of reading books in pre-packed book bins lent to schools within a given division on a wholesale basis. Teachers then lend out the books from the bins to children in their classes and encourage each pupil to read at least one book per week. After a 30-day borrowing period, schools return book bins and are eligible to borrow other book bins. Each library hub is stocked with anywhere from 25,000-50,000 reading books. Thus, while it is costly to build tens of thousands of school libraries with a small number of books, each school within a library hub area can have access to tens of thousands of books in a schoolyear even if it does not have a school library.

By early 2007, DepEd had set up 35 library hubs throughout the country servicing as many as 3,000 schools. In the plans are a total target of 300 library hubs, with larger school divisions getting as many as three to four hubs to service the hundreds of schools within their jurisdiction.

The DepEd, however, has been ambivalent whether this is the right strategy or not. Traditional administrators remain biased toward building school-based libraries, ignoring the high cost of such a policy. The success of the Library Hub program today, despite providing only 10 percent of the overall target, can be attributed to the sole staff working on the project: a young, energetic individual named Beverly Gonda. Working principally with local government units to set up library hubs under the sponsorship of the local school boards, Gonda has made library books available to hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren through this infrastructure-building program.

With people like Gonda and Ronquillo, and organizations like Sa Aklat Sisikat and ESKAN, along with the rest of the MOE movers and shakers, there is hope for quality education outcomes. Clearly, however, a system-wide approach to literacy, reading, and learning has to be implemented if we are to claim true literacy and become a nation of readers.

A nation of non readers...
by JUAN MIGUEL LUZ
http://www.pcij.org/i-report/2007/literacy.html

Then there is the Sa Aklat Sisikat (SAS) Foundation whose program began in the Makati schools division before branching out to other cities and provinces. To date, SAS has set up reading programs for over 125,000 Grade 4 children in 525 public elementary schools. The program targets Grade 4 because it does not really teach reading; rather, it works on a school age group that already knows how to read in order to build a reading habit.


Diyan sa SAS maganda magvolunteer. Makakasama mo si Lizzie Zobel at si Margarita Delgado. Sosyal na, marami ka pang maririning na tsismis na makakatulong sa pag pick mo sa stocks. :lol:

^^ Aba maka-volunteer nga! :lol:

China allocates P26.48 B for RP cyber education (http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2007062296343.html)


By SHIANEE MAMANGLU

China has approved P26.48 billion for a fiveyear project on Cyber Education in the country, the Department of Education (DepEd) said yesterday.

An initial amount of at least P5.8 billion will be used in the first quarter of next year for the construction of the main hub.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the first phase of the project will cover 3,000 elementary schools in fourth to sixth class municipalities, including those hard hit by recent typhoons in the Bicol region.

"We will prioritize those outside first and second class cities," Lapus said during a press conference.

"This will go in phases . . . and we will not proceed with phase 2 until there are repairs done phase 1."

Within this framework, $ 200 million will be allotted for phase 2 and $ 150 million for the final phase. The total investment is expected to cover all 37,794 school beneficiaries, and serve at least 13 million students and 800 classes for out-of-school youth.

Lapus said that satellite-based facilities will be positioned in 22,855 elementary schools and 3,763 secondary schools across the country. The schools are expected to receive live broadcasts, featuring lectures and presentations from top teachers, as well as course-wares on demand and other valuable resource materials.

The Cyber Ed project is in accordance with the information-technology based education agenda included in the economic cooperation agreement signed by the Philippines and China in June, 2006, and is undertaken with the help of Tsinghua University, China’s premier technology university and one of the world’s pioneers in distance education.

Aside from the electronic education project, the university also manages the China Education and Research Network (CERNET), which serves 320 million beneficiaries.

The DepEd’s Cyber Ed Project is based on China’s E-Education project which covers about 500,000 schools and universities, Lapus said.

Other countries that have satellite-based distance learning programs include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, El Salvador, Panama, Indonesia,Thailand, India, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Lapus said there is an urgent need for the Philippine education system to catch up with the demands of the times to compete globally and respond to the challenges of basic education.

He cited the unsatisfactory performance of students in science and mathematics, both in elementary and high schools, and the increasing number of dropouts that contributed to the rising number of functionally illiterate youths as major challenges in basic education.

"With the Cyber Ed project, we expect substantial improvement in student performance. At the same time, this will provide costeffective teacher training to close to 500,000 public school teachers, enabling them to upgrade their capabilities using virtual teacher training modules," Lapus said.

New Blog Post:

Manny Pacquiao: The New Poster Child of Philippine Education? (http://waketrex.i.ph/blogs/waketrex/2007/06/22/manny-pacquiao-the-new-poster-child-of-philippine-education/)

With the rate of Filipinos dropping out of school has been increasing, can Manny Pacquiao save them?

According to recent news, Department of Education has cited the education of the Philippines has been dismal. Everyone knows that education is a vital key to help fight poverty.

Manny Pacquiao has become a internationally known sports figure in boxing and also became Fighter of the Year.

Now here it comes… Manny Pacquiao has gone back to school:

HNl-gONsLZQ

Now what does this two have something in common? If I was part of Department of Education or any some sort PR person. I would have put the two together.

Manny Pacquiao being nationally known in the Philippines as a great fighter and a sports hero to the youth, he has been idolized by many children. Now that he is going back to school, he knows how education is very important. If the media and Department of Educations spins this in the correct way, this may help the youth to keep out of streets, keep them in school and motivate them to be like the Pacman.

Hmm I guess the video is not working....
http://waketrex.i.ph/blogs/waketrex/2007/06/22/manny-pacquiao-the-new-poster-child-of-philippine-education

^^I thought he got this certificate sort-of that makes him capable of skipping four years worth of high school?

But hey, this man's doing the right thing! Setting a good example to millions of children... who would rather brawl in streets than read a book.

he tested out of high school recently, and he went to college apparently

He's enrolled in a special program at notre dame which only requires him to be present at school at weekends.

It's special because the program has only one student, manny pacquiao.

mauubos kaagad ang pera ng taong yan. :ohno:

There are cheaper ways of gettting an alternative college education, like say at UP Open University.

BAD BA MAG TXT?
by RAMON C. SUNICO
http://www.pcij.org/i-report/2007/texting.html

cn hrdly wt 2 clmp
my tith on yr clt
2 brk my fall
my tngue nside n
around yr pnk cnt
2 lse n ur jus
d wrds i lie w/
n wht u wnt 2 hir

THIS IS the first stanza of the poem “Alba” by Ricardo de Ungria, professor and former chancellor of the University of the Philippines Mindanao. It is part of the book Eros Pinoy published by Anvil Publishing in 2002. It was the first poem I read in Text or SMS format — a lovely, ingenious piece that explored the tension between sexually explicit diction and the elliptical, almost cryptic abbreviation associated with text messaging. Showing even as it hid, involving the reader as both codebreaker and intimate, peeping tom and partner. I read the poem just a few months after the president of the Philippines was unseated by a series of Metro Manila-based protests that were fanned and fed by text messages. SMS-ing like mad were segments of the population upset by the outcome of the reality-show-cum-telenovela called the impeachment proceedings.

As early as 2002, students of media and members of academe were cataloguing and analyzing the relationship between Filipinos and the keypads of their mobile phones. For example, history professor Vicente L. Rafael, then with the University of California at San Diego and now with the University of Washington (Seattle), quoted from and interviewed various members of Jose F. Lacaba’s Plaridel Papers mailing list to write his essay “The Cell Phone and the Crowd: Messianic Politics in the Contemporary Philippines.” It remains interesting reading until now and has the added bonus of capturing the mood of — shall we call it text empowerment? — during the heady demonstrations against President Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada. (And lest we think that texting is another case of “Only in the Philippines,” Rafael recently informed me that the essay has been included in other books on media, in the United States, Italy, and India.)

Even before Edsa Dos, however, people were already using this “secondary feature” of the mobile phone to finesse the physical difficulties of going around the metropolis, to find family members lost in mallwide sales — and, yes, of course, to cheat during pop quizzes and unit tests. Yet today people still wonder (and worry) what texting does to the Filipino’s communication skills. The images are familiar and often cited: a couple sitting together at a table, holding, not each other’s hands, but their glowing mobile phones; visitors at a wake, heads bowed, not to pray but to better read the latest addition to their inbox; or (and this is from personal experience) a new graduate applying for an editorial position in a publishing house by sending:

Gud am. Pwde b po mg-apli 4 jb as cpy editr. Tnx. Pls rply & tu2loy ako s ofc nyo.

(No, I didn’t reply and no, hindi puwede.)

THAT PEOPLE worry is understandable. After all, television, when it arrived in the ’50s and ’60s, may have diminished the time families sat facing each other to swap stories or accounts of the day just ended, and undermined the communal observance of the Angelus or the saying of the rosary. But at least it still brought them together in living rooms or bedrooms, laughing and squealing at the same shows, sharing the same memories and accounts of Leila Benitez, Sylvia La Torre, Oscar Obligacion, “Sea Hunt,” and “Perry Mason.” Today, with more channels and cheaper sets, the children and grandchildren of these families watch their own shows on their own sets in their own rooms. Could texting do the same thing? Will it bring about a country of not only bad spellers, but of people woefully unable to interact when face to face?

I don’t think so — at least not yet. Television, after all, is one-way. It talks at you, not with you. And, despite epithets like kapamilya and kapuso, it remains, above all, a pusher: news anchors shout at you, commercials and station IDs (in what amounts to the same thing) have their audio tracks pre-set to decibels above normal programming. It acknowledges as much when it appropriates the phone and the modem as tools for you to share your thoughts, your pictures, and in the case of “all-text” channels, your desire for sexual adventure. The only way to communicate directly with a television set is to press the off button or the button that changes the channel. Even this is not a communicative act; it ends communication instead.

Not so with the mobile phone. Despite what the marketing divisions of phone makers trumpet about their everything-in-one devices, the mobile phone remains a tool for communication in a country that is A) an archipelago B) full of people torn apart by poverty, inadequate education, class, and culture. It allows people who have long been talked at (or talked to) to talk among themselves, allowing them, at a relatively small price, to complete the many small transactions of everyday life. Through the artful manipulation of a few plastic keys and their re-presentation as pixels on a tiny screen, the invisible in our society achieve a sense of presence and belonging in a greater community that has been typified by alienation, isolation, and separation.

We are a people of small groups who think in terms of family and barkada (close friends) before neighborhoods, of clans, classes, and tribes before nation, of provinces and regions before country. Texting allows us to affirm those few relationships that inform our lives whenever and wherever we want to. And if we take this sense of presence and belonging, of being part of a loop no matter how small it is, as a basis for communication, then texting — no matter the subject of one’s message — affirms the social nature of our being.

my nsetip wet
w/ ur pbic swet,
cum, n me own slva,
a fngr n ur ass alertd
ur nppls stpplng my beli
nothng around us s dry

TAKEN AGAINST this broad view of communication, the horrible grammar and quirky spellings can be seen not as omens of the death of our communication skills, but as contemporary expressions of the special “languages” small groups use to strengthen themselves. We can see, for example, how slang (from rhyming to hip-hop), and shibboleths assert the identities of groups and preserve their integrity, just as special handshakes identify Masons and the effete but mispronounced honorifics in a congressional hearing describe the rituals of political power.

Language after all is anything but a solid. It is being made all the time — and we (not just schoolteachers, writers, editors, and just plain word snobs) are the ones who make it. It is hardly an orderly process, of course. It shifts, slips, subdivides, changing those who change it.

Think about it: even as you read this, letters are being dropped, added, misplaced by millions of people; words are misspelled, misheard, mispronounced — and mistakenly applied. (Anyone who has ever been a teenager understands this.) In the process blossom new coinages, startling turns of phrase that capture the collective fancy of a community — or communities — and only usage determines which are remembered and which fall into disrepair. By now, for example, words like tsugi and crayola in the gay argot are already being seen as dated, while acronyms and Oplans remain as dependable and reliable as ever among those who speak militarese. Like Darwin’s little animals, words, phrases, and languages compete to be remembered in order to survive, each with its own particular strengths and flaws.

SMS is part of this glorious disarray. The whole burden of writing is basically borne by 13 keys (the all-important 13th is to delete), made even more difficult by a limit to the maximum number of characters. And yet, as with art, these very limitations invite ingenuity and wit. Consider what we are able to do with these 13 keys and be happy. No one ever minded the pronouns disappearing from telegrams or checked a shorthand transcription for perfect spelling. To hold texting to the standards of the classroom is to misunderstand what it is for. And to assume that all who text cannot spell or will eventually forget how to spell misses the point to say the least. As I said to dear friend and poet Beni Santos years before she became a doctor of literature and acting dean of Ateneo de Manila University’s School of Humanities, when one writes poetry, one writes as a lover of language and not just as a grammar teacher.

i swm n d undrsmll of u
n i rse nside ur mth
n u pul up n i
dsappr nside of u

EVEN BEFORE texting, we spoke differently to different people. When we want to make an impression, we try to speak better than we normally do. Among friends and family, we can choose to wear language in tsinelas (slippers) and sando (sleeveless undershirt). How we write depends on why we are writing and to whom we write. A college essay is not punctuated the way a letter for a lover is. Neither do smileys and flowers improve a written report for one’s boss.

The poor applicant who texted me can be faulted not for bad spelling, but for an immaturity that failed to recognize the importance of applying the right language to the right situation. And this shortcoming is not the fault of texting technology, but of the individual mind. In the same way, the poignant image of a couple sitting together but texting other people points out not the evil of this new communication technology but the daily tragedies, the daily little deaths of Sondheim, of human relationships. Just watch the breakfast scene in the black-and-white movie Citizen Kane. There, through some brilliant editing and well-applied dissolves, Orson Welles describes, in a few cinematic minutes, the sad parabola of marriage: how it begins with a couple solicitous over each other’s breakfast and, with the passage of years, becomes a wife watching her plate while her husband is engrossed with another revolutionary tool of communication — the morning newspaper.

In summary then, one can say that neither technology nor language is a zero-sum game. Technology is not evil, neither is it good. It does not lessen the work we have to do (indeed, it only makes us do more work faster). Besides, just to place things in context, texting is only one of the many ways with which we communicate and science continually spews new possibilities to stay in touch. Just entering its second decade, SMS could go the way of the feather quill, the telegram, the pager, and Morse code.

Language, too, is not an either/or affair. Texting, on its tiny own, neither debases nor guarantees it: it is the texter and the textee who determine this. Simplistic attitudes like those of politicians who espouse English-only rules or Cebuano vs. Tagalog moro-moros no longer have a place in this world where the distance between continents can be spanned by one’s thumbs.

We live in an environment that contains some of the most irresistibly gregarious people in the world who, wittingly or un-, are helping to shape a language still in its adolescence but already being spoken even in the dark corners of the globe. Texting, because it allows correspondence in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilokano and all the rest of our languages mixed in with English and Tagalog and Arabic and Italian, makes the dream of a truly national language like Filipino seem actually plausible. (It has even allowed, in contests initiated by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for example, “ordinary” people to rediscover ancient poetic forms like the tanaga and the dalit.) In language, it is not, as I’ve mentioned earlier, grammarians or politicos who determine its actual making but the waves and waves of small people who daily mangle and erode, remember and redeem what they learned at home and in school.

n my nid 4 u
am nothng agin
n i fil no pain
bt d old byuti of losng u
whn i wake

And what of bad spelling? Well, that’s what dictionaries and proofreaders are for, snapshots and photographers that freeze the snaking river of language to provide us buoys rather than tablets of stone that help us navigate our very lives. Let them do their job, while we tap happily away, improvising and syncopating like aficionados of jazz.

With text as with all language, the morer, the merrier.

Where a new generation of artists are trained (http://www.mb.com.ph/YTCP2007062896741.html)

De La Salle Philippines makes a compelling statement in support of the creative industries with the launching of De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde’s School of Design and Arts campus.

Located along Pablo Ocampo Street in Malate, Manila, the 14-storey academic complex created by Lor Calma Design, Inc. is the most advanced DLS–CSB building to date and undoubtedly one of the most progressive college grounds in Asia.

"This is probably the first building of its kind that manifests the multidisciplinary teaching approach of the school," says design principal Eduardo Calma. "The building takes its form from the spirit of design creativity; nothing was pre-conceived. This way, it would provide a much more stimulating learning environment compared to the usual box with corridors and flat lines."

Envisioned as a home for a new generation of artists and designers, Calma explains that the structure is a "vertical campus" which establishes visual interest with a sophisticated façade done in aluminum cladding, full glass curtain walls and intricate, multifaceted details. The interiors are bathed in natural light, with huge glass windows providing ample ventilation throughout the hallways – features that also help the building cut down energy consumption. The spacious corridors double as exhibition spaces, while the glass-paneled classrooms are marked by distinctive folded walls.

It is also the first building in the country equipped with G-10 technology, breaking down temporal and spatial barriers with its ability to hook up to ongoing arts-related events, anywhere in the world, in real time.

"If you have a place that already teaches you a vocabulary of space, then you already establish a kind of language for design and arts," avers Calma. "That makes the building a tool for education."

"The concept of the building encapsulates the unique features of the school," agrees Bro. Edmundo Fernandez FSC, Interim President and Chairman of the Board of DLS-CSB. "We have signature programs not offered as degree courses anywhere else. Our facilities and laboratories are governed by new technology. Our students have both professional educators and expert industry practitioners as mentors, keeping our curriculum abreast with the latest trends in the creative industry. We really invested in this school. I don’t think there’s any other academic institution in the country that has put as much outlay or confidence in the field of design and arts. We just did."

Following the learner-centered approach in education, the SDA building is replete with exhibition spaces, performances venues and studio facilities to enrich the student’s hands-on experience. These include the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, the SDA Cinema and film archive room, sound recording and production studios, workstations for animation and video production, studios for filmmaking and photography, a Black Box performance space and two ballet studios with fireproof costume rooms, among others.

However, the most eyecatching structure is the 558-seat theater, cantilevered about four stories above the ground and hanging intriguingly over the entrance driveway – stylishly providing both an iconic image for the design school and a dynamic façade for the entire building.

The school currently caters to 12 programs that offer degrees in Animation, Arts Management, Digital Filmmaking, Fashion Design and Merchandising, Multimedia Arts, Music Production, Photography, Production Design, Technical Theater, Industrial Design, Performing Arts major in Dance (in consortium with Ballet Philippines dance progam), and Interior Design (in consortium with the Philippine School of Interior Design).

With these and other innovative courses that will be made available soon, the DLS-CSB administration is convinced that graduates from their School of Design and Arts will easily find productive work in the creative industry, one of the fastest growing sectors with a yearly contribution of some .5 million to the global economy.

I can't find the discussion on Careers abroad. I don't know where to post this, but just in case some readers are interested.

Where the Jobs Are
Top 8 With the Largest Projected Growth
By Dawn Papandrea,

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has identified a number of exciting professions expected to experience above-average growth over the next decade. Most of these positions fall within the top 25 percent of earnings for workers overall, and most require a bachelor's degree or higher.

Occupations With the Largest Projected Growth Through 2014:

1. Registered Nurses: 703,000
2. Postsecondary Teachers: 524,000
3. Nursing Aides, Orderlies, Attendants: 325,000
4. Management: 308,000
5. Elementary School Teachers: 265,000
6. Accountants: 264,000
7. Computer Software Engineers: 222,000
8. Computer Systems Analysts: 153,000
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

But why is the job market so hot for health care workers, accountants, educators, and IT professionals? Are any of these growing careers right for you?

A Career in Caring
According to the BLS, registered nurses constitute the largest health care occupation, with an estimated creation of 2.4 million jobs into the next decade. Career satisfaction, a nursing shortage, and good salaries are all contributing to the growth of the field. But there are other attractions to this career.

"Another source of interest may be attributed to student loan forgiveness given by health care institutions and the federal government when students are hired after graduation," notes Elizabeth McGann, DNSc, RN, CS, associate professor of nursing, and chair of the department of nursing at Quinnipiac University (Quinnipiac, N.Y.).

Registered nurses and nurses aides require specific training. RN positions require at least an associate degree, while short-term or on-the-job training is generally necessary for nurse's aides. The American Nurses Association reports that staff nurses earned an average of $47,200 in 2006.

The Education Explosion
With about one in four Americans enrolled in an educational institution, education is the second largest industry in the country, accounting for about 12.7 million jobs. Most teaching positions -- which constitute almost half of all educational services jobs -- require at least a bachelor's degree, and many require a master's or doctoral degree.

Secondary school teachers are expected to increase in numbers by some 18 percent by 2012. Salaries are rising as well; the American Federation of Teachers estimates the average salary of all public elementary and secondary school teachers in the 2004-05 school year as $47,602. Additional benefits include flexibility in vacation time.

Postsecondary teaching positions are expected to grow 38 percent over the next decade.

Median annual earnings of all postsecondary teachers in May 2004 were $51,800. Postsecondary instructors enjoy flexibility comparable to secondary teachers, and are generally able to focus on their specific field of interest.

Accounting for Growth
With calculations by the BLS indicating that employment of accountants and auditors is expected to grow faster than average for all occupations through the year 2014, it's no surprise that the American Institute of CPAs cites 11 percent more accounting degrees awarded in 2003 than the previous year. The accounting scandals of Enron and other major corporations seem to have actually fueled interest and demand in the field. In fact, says Dr. Ron Kucic, director of the School of Accountancy at the University of Denver, the profession's problems have actually made the profession "sexy."

In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which imposes greater accountability on CEOs and CFOs for their companies' internal controls, is being credited with helping create new accounting jobs. "The publicity registered among potential students that accounting was important," says Dr. Kucic. "It's also viewed as a good field in an uncertain economy. Accountants are often the first hired and the last fired."

And accountants are well compensated. According to a salary survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, bachelor's degree candidates in accounting received starting offers averaging $42,940 a year in 2005.

The Rebound of Information Technology
The technology industry continues to grow, and there is a wealth of fields in need of skilled information technology (IT) workers. "The New York Times cites a labor department listing of the 15 fastest growing jobs for the decade, and a total of 10 are in IT," says Dr. Susan Merritt, dean of the School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University (New York, N.Y.). These include computer systems analysts, software engineering, application development, network design, and computer support.

"Computing is here to stay, and it's a great and deep field," says Dr. Merritt, "Good computer professionals who are well educated are worth their weight in gold."

Median annual earnings of computer systems analysts were $66,460 in May 2004, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $99,180.

Corporate Leaders of Tomorrow
It's natural for an aspiring professional to want to be at the head of the boardroom, and not only because the profession is projected to experience growth into 2014. Executives at the top of their field are among the highest paid workers, according to the BLS's Occupational Outlook Handbook, and employment growth for top executives within professional, scientific, technical, administrative, and support services is expected to be much faster than average.

But how do you get to the top of the corporate ladder? According to David A. Wilson, president and CEO of the Graduate Management Admission Council, a rigorous formal education, specifically study toward an MBA, can help heighten one's level of success. He points out that one of the rewards of a person's education comes in the form of career advancement and then mobility.

"In an era when people don't tend to stay with one company or job track for their entire career, the MBA is allowing them take control of their careers and change course when they want or need to," says Wilson.

Once you get into the boardroom, long hours, extensive travel, and intense pressure come with the territory, but salaries are often commensurate with such hard work, experience, and educational attainment.

© 2007 Classes USA, Inc. All rights reserved.

The "new economy" in our midst
Posted by Dave Llorito
Philippines Without Borders
http://davidllorito.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-economy-in-our-midst.html

BEST new BPO locator of the year: Dell Philippines. Best midsized BPO company of the year: Leverage Systems Technologies. Most innovative BPO of the year: Transprocure Corp. Fastest-growing BPO company of the year: Teletech. Best BPO employer of the year: Convergys Philippines. And the BPO company of the year: Accenture.

People might be wondering if the brave new world of the “new economy,” a buzzword that has been associated with the information revolution, has reached our shores. We say “yes,” and the companies mentioned above are among the best in our midst, at least for the year 2007.

On Thursday evening the Canadian Chamber of Commerce—in partnership with the Business Processing Association Philippines (BPAP) and other organizations, including this paper—gave out several awards in recognition of their contributions to the economy.

The awards are rightly helping the public become more aware of their contributions because right now this segment of the Philippine economy is giving lots of excitement and promise to young entrepreneurs and workers. It has even started to create a positive impact on other sectors of the economy, including real estate, wholesale and retail, and even food and beverage manufacturing.

Nowhere is its impact more visible than in the property sector. Following the Asian financial crisis, office vacancy rates in the country’s urban centers like Makati and Ortigas went as high as 50 percent. As the “new economy” crept in, office vacancies went down so fast that even property developers were caught nearly napping.

These days, vacancies in prime and grade A office—those really nice and carefully designed office spaces with accreditation from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority—are all of just over 1 percent. That explains the frenetic construction in Makati, as well as in Fort Bonifacio. It’s likely that construction activities will really move faster this year.

If the predictions of its drumbeaters prove true, we are going to see this segment of the economy employing close to a million workers and generating more than $12 billion worth of services exports. At that size, the industry, property consultants say, would require close to 3-million square meters of office spaces. Hence, developers have to rush because if they fail to supply the spaces required by the BPO, the industry might suffer office-space shortages.

Right now, existing supply of offices plus those in the pipeline until 2010 would total 1.6-million square meters. That would mean a shortage of about 1.4-million square meters. It’s a kind of problem this country should be happy to have.

A million workers for the industry might seem too ambitious, but if one looks at the profile of these industries, there are reasons to be optimistic. They are highly labor-intensive. Teletech, for instance, has more than 10,000 employees. Convergys has 11,000. Many others are employing close to these numbers, and the list of companies keeps growing.

We mentioned the winning companies above to highlight how far the Philippines has gone in terms of developing its capabilities in these emerging knowledge-driven industries. The winners came from varied sectors, including software development, procurement-transaction processing, customer care, global management consulting, legal support and publishing, among many other activities. The judges, we have learned, really had a hard time determining the winners, an indication that what we have here in the Philippines are highly competitive and dynamic global players.

It should not be a surprise because way back in 2000, when the Department of Trade and Industry started plotting out measures to attract call centers, there was practically no BPO to speak of, except maybe some animation companies that have been here in the Philippine since the ’80s. Now, estimates from the BPAP indicate that the industry employs about 250,000 people and earns more than $3 billion a year. In 2007, assuming the same frenetic growth it has achieved in the last five years, the industry might yet generate US$4.9 billion.

The term “new economy” emerged in the ’90s as a way to describe the economies of advanced countries that underwent transformation from being industry-led to services-led, driven by information technology. Enthusiasts then thought that with extensive use of information technology, economies would enjoy steady growth and low unemployment. Others came even to declare that the business cycles of boom and bust had ended and that economies, having found Shangri-la, will prosper forever.

That proved illusory with the dot.com bubble in 1995-2000 that saw many technology stocks crashing down to terra firma when it burst. The global recession that followed discredited the “new-economy” prophets. Nevertheless, the term new economy continues to gain currency as global companies took to heart its doctrine that companies should “focus on their core competencies” and outsource the rest through the use of information technology.

In the new economy, profits are supposed to come from company intangibles like brands, intellectual properties, technical capabilities and reputation. Routine functions like back-office operations, manufacturing, and customer care could be outsourced elsewhere, preferably in low-cost locations in the developing countries.

That’s how we came to have all these outsourcing companies in our midst. And their presence is expanding rapidly. It’s new metamorphosis is the knowledge-process outsourcing (KPO) where local MBAs, engineers, and economists perform analytics like risk analysis for global corporations and organizations. And if we continue to play our cards well, we might yet end up duplicating India’s success in this business.

Playing our cards right means that the country should maintain its competitiveness in this sector. There’s no doubt that the private sector is mobilizing their resources to meet the challenge. The Ayalas, for instance, are investing billions putting up the buildings needed by the BPO. The conglomerate is also investing heavily in the industry, especially in KPO. There are indications that Rockwell Land of the Lopezes is also moving in the same direction.

The only kinks so far are in the public sector, where efforts to restore the importance of English in the classrooms through legislation has not been moving. We still haven’t heard of any major initiative to reform and upgrade the country’s education system. We have yet to see how the government is improving the country’s capability in the sciences and mathematics. Malacañang, as well as our educators in the private sector, therefore, should look at these issues as soon as possible, so we could sustain the momentum in embracing the new economy.

^^ This is worrying. In the next 10 to 20 years, China's new English speaking generation will start to work. I think this is a direct competition to the Philippines. The government should have a strategy on this.
^^ Yup I agree. I'd really like to see how Ate Glo plans to tackle this one if she is
actually dead serious about her goal of turning the Philippines into a 1 st world country.

Education tourism agenda pushed
by CHED to increase visitor arrivals

First it was medical tourism, now it's education tourism.

The Commission on Higher Education is pushing to make the Philippines an alternative educational destination for its neighboring countries, a move which is being supported by Malacañang.

The CHED program seeks "to position the Philippines as an alternative education destination to China or Russia where most Korean students normally go" and complement the government's tourist promotion program. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in statement from Malacañang yesterday that Manila is an "attractive alternative" destination for Korean students because of three main factors: the short distance between Seoul and Manila, the affordability of Philippine education, and the Filipinos' fluency in English.

An estimated 100,000 South Korean students are enrolled in various private and state-run colleges and universities in the country.

Soon, even Chinese and Indian students are expected to arrive, said Bunye, who is also the presidential spokesperson, the press statement said. The Philippine government and China's Ministry of Education have signed recently an agreement "allowing Chinese students who could not be accommodated in China's universities to study in the Philippines."

Bunye said that Chinese students find it very attractive to study in the Philippines because they would be paying only half the price - $1,000 per semester in the Philippines compared to $2,000 per semester in China.

Aside from Koreans, about 1,600 students from India are expected to enroll in Philippine colleges and universities this September. "First, it was medical tourism. Now, another emerging trend is educational tourism," Bunye said in his statement. source (http://www.visayandailystar.com/2007/July/02/businessnews2.htm)

Education tourism agenda pushed
by CHED to increase visitor arrivals

First it was medical tourism, now it's education tourism.

The Commission on Higher Education is pushing to make the Philippines an alternative educational destination for its neighboring countries, a move which is being supported by Malacañang.

The CHED program seeks "to position the Philippines as an alternative education destination to China or Russia where most Korean students normally go" and complement the government's tourist promotion program. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in statement from Malacañang yesterday that Manila is an "attractive alternative" destination for Korean students because of three main factors: the short distance between Seoul and Manila, the affordability of Philippine education, and the Filipinos' fluency in English.

An estimated 100,000 South Korean students are enrolled in various private and state-run colleges and universities in the country.

Soon, even Chinese and Indian students are expected to arrive, said Bunye, who is also the presidential spokesperson, the press statement said. The Philippine government and China's Ministry of Education have signed recently an agreement "allowing Chinese students who could not be accommodated in China's universities to study in the Philippines."

Bunye said that Chinese students find it very attractive to study in the Philippines because they would be paying only half the price - $1,000 per semester in the Philippines compared to $2,000 per semester in China.

Aside from Koreans, about 1,600 students from India are expected to enroll in Philippine colleges and universities this September. "First, it was medical tourism. Now, another emerging trend is educational tourism," Bunye said in his statement. source (http://www.visayandailystar.com/2007/July/02/businessnews2.htm)

^^ I find this article an OXYMORON because education in general needs a huge overhaul in this country.

Its also ironic that English language education with Koreans are popular when we hear that English proficiency among filipinos is declining.

As for cheaper costs? Well, as the saying goes... "You get what you pay for..."

If this education tourism does indeed help provide some revenue, the government should start right away by firing the incompetent administrators and revamp our educational policies. Obviously there's no will/money now to start doing this at a national level...

The "new economy" in our midst
Posted by Dave Llorito
Philippines Without Borders
http://davidllorito.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-economy-in-our-midst.html

The only kinks so far are in the public sector, where efforts to restore the importance of English in the classrooms through legislation has not been moving. We still haven’t heard of any major initiative to reform and upgrade the country’s education system. We have yet to see how the government is improving the country’s capability in the sciences and mathematics. Malacañang, as well as our educators in the private sector, therefore, should look at these issues as soon as possible, so we could sustain the momentum in embracing the new economy.

The quality of our teachers is not in question. We are exporting English as a Second Language (ESL), science, and math teachers to the united states by the bushel.

Gone are the days when we export our teachers to become maids in the HK.

Balita ko sa mga faculty lounge ng so Cal and texas tagalog ang maririning mong kwentuhan :lol:

^^ I find this article an OXYMORON because education in general needs a huge overhaul in this country.

Its also ironic that English language education with Koreans are popular when we hear that English proficiency among filipinos is declining.

As for cheaper costs? Well, as the saying goes... "You get what you pay for..."

If this education tourism does indeed help provide some revenue, the government should start right away by firing the incompetent administrators and revamp our educational policies. Obviously there's no will/money now to start doing this at a national level...

Meron silang schools/partners that are authorized to teach Koreans/foreigners ESL.

June 25, 2007
Speakout: Education: Boon or Bane?

In a dog-eat-dog competition, people usually strive to rise above the situation - for freedom and success. Education has always been an answer to that battle cry. For twofold reasons: this will put them to the highest pedestal with enough knowledge and skills they need in the real world, and give them the luxury and aggrandizement far more than they could ever imagine.

No wonder why the child as young as three years old is already in school, writing their name on paper no matter how long it may be, speaking the English language no matter how awkward it may sound, because it is believed that by doing so, it can prepare the children for the challenges ahead of them, to have a place in the sun, and to make them live in a world of “survival of the fittest, elimination of the unfit.”

What is really the point of education? Will education really point toward ultimate SUCCESS that most people aim to embrace or sheer DOOM that all don’t want to experience?

There are educated, powerful and genius personas who used their intelligence for their glory which led eventually to the destruction of many. One is Osama Bin Laden, who allegedly engineered the bombing of the US World Trade Center and other terrorist attacks against civilians and military targets around the world. Two, is Saddam Hussein, an Iraqi leader, who was proven before the competent court to be the mastermind of weapons of mass destruction; and three us a student of AMA Computer University who invented the “I love you virus” which destroys the computer system once it gets into it.

So, is education boon or bane? If we find answers in the erroneous acts of these genii, perhaps we would no longer value education as much as we value it today. For they use their superb minds for their own gratification. Isn’t it a great paradox that sometimes the more educated a man becomes, the more egoistic he turns out to be?

Adolf Hitler, the powerful dictator of Germany, committed suicide despite the expansion of his empire. Alexander the Great, who was one of the greatest generals of all time, died of fever at the age of 32. To turn to our country, we have the late President Ferdinand Marcos, a great ruler, a tyrant, and a man of many splendored genius, who was forced to leave the Malacañang Palace through people power and was mocked by many a Filipino even unto his death. Not to mention other seemingly intelligent people who fell to their graves because of making foolish decisions in life. Truly, power, prestige and intelligence did not save them from death and did not give them permanent joy and success. Education, indeed, is bane if it teaches one to nourish his soul with the chaff of life.

Is there any realization that we can glean from this? One thousand and one. Indeed, it is never a guarantee that if a child gets an education, prestigious the school it may be, this will determine his or her success.

On the other hand, education can be a success if one pursues a true knowledge, which consists of the endeavor to learn about oneself, so that having come to realize one’s talents, good points, and shortcomings, he will seek to utilize his gifts wisely and accept the fact that all human beings are equal in dignity. Also, a child who is brought up under God’s instruction will never go astray. It is because his learning will be used for the common good and for God’s greater glory. He may achieve a lot, he may go places but one thing stands sure, he will do the right thing and stay on the right track for God’s word is a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path. The fear of the Lord will enable him to make wise decisions in life. At this point, education is a boon.

Everyday we should remember that the point of education is transformation - to lead the life of an individual from a life of darkness to a life of enlightenment. Let’s give our children the education they deserve - education that enlightens minds and transforms lives. Let’s make them into men and women of integrity who have an “excellent attitude, faithfulness and diligence at work, personal purity of the highest caliber and consistency in their walk with God” as writer and evangelist Charles Swindoll emphasized in his Insight for Living broadcast. Then and only then, can we appreciate the worth of education.

Aquilino L. Gensoli Jr.
Teacher III
School Guidance Worker
Apolinario Mabini School, Bacolod City
source (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bac/2007/06/25/oped/editorial.html)

Meron silang schools/partners that are authorized to teach Koreans/foreigners ESL.

Ok. I understand your point. They have authorized schools for ESL (although authorized doesn't have anything to do with quality).

It's just that the education tourism label took the icing on the cake, if you know what I mean... :nuts:

http://www.newswise.com/images/uploads/2007/07/02/fullsize/IRRI_megan.jpg

New Rice Course in Philippines Attracts Young Scientists (http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/531258/)

Newswise — Many recent scientific breakthroughs -- such as the sequencing of the rice genome in 2004 -- have triggered significant advances in how to help poor farmers overcome such age-old problems as drought, flooding and high levels of salinity. Yet many of the young researchers in developed nations who worked on these breakthroughs are unaware of how their work can impact poor nations and are far removed from the problems poor farmers may face in the field.

In one of the first attempts to encourage some of the world's brightest young scientists to consider careers helping developing nations, a new three-week course, Rice: Research to Production, was launched in May at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, the world's leading rice research and training center. The inaugural class of 26 students from 12 nations included eight Cornell students, and one of the course's leaders is Susan McCouch, Cornell professor of plant breeding and genetics.

"Many young scientists working in developed nations are increasingly isolated from the very people in poorer nations who could really benefit from their work," said McCouch. "We want to change this and encourage good young scientists wherever they are to think of themselves as a new generation of revolutionaries -- taking the latest scientific knowledge and using it to improve the lives of the world's poor."

The course, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the United Kingdom's Gatsby Foundation and IRRI for three years, included 13 students from rice-growing countries in Asia and Africa.

"Until [this program], there was no major support at all for young scientists from advanced laboratories in the West who wanted to work or do their research in poor, developing nations," McCouch said. "The opportunities were all in the other direction. Our intention is to help reverse the brain drain and reinvigorate interdisciplinary teamwork in the developing world."

Course participants learned not only the basics of how rice is sown, cultivated and harvested but also about rice breeding and fertilizer management.

"Considering the ongoing revolutions in fields such as molecular biology and bioinformatics, this is an incredibly exciting time to work in agricultural research, because we are finally gaining the knowledge we need to solve some of the developing world's most intractable and difficult problems," said Robert S. Zeigler, IRRI's director general. "What we have to do now is make sure the young scientists of the world are aware of the unprecedented -- almost historic -- opportunity they have to really make a difference in the lives of the poor."

"The course made me better appreciate the importance of applied agriculture," said Megan O'Rourke, a 27-year-old mother of three earning a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell, adding that this was her first time working in a developing nation. "It has reminded me that I began studying agriculture because of its essential place in supporting lives and societies."

^^ I think that's great the IRRI is attracting international minds from around the world. :)

IRRI is not a filipino agency. Scientists there are very well paid. As matter of fact a branch International School (ISM before, Brent nowadays) at los banos services the children of the expats there.

IRRI is not a filipino agency. Scientists there are very well paid. As matter of fact a branch International School (ISM before, Brent nowadays) at los banos services the children of the expats there.

Then what agency is it? A non-filipino agency?

I have checked their website, and they look like filipinos to me. :nuts:

Then what agency is it? A non-filipino agency?

I have checked their website, and they look like filipinos to me. :nuts:

The quote is from the same IRRI website you checked.

You have to read through the website to be able to make an informed comment, he,he,he. :jk:

http://www.irri.org/about/funds.asp
http://www.irri.org/about/irridir/index.asp

"Who funds IRRI?IRRI served as a model institute for a global network of 15 nonprofit agricultural, forestry, and fishery research centers that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The CGIAR, established in 1971, is a coordinating organization through which funds for international agricultural research are administered to the 15 centers.

CGIAR co-sponsors are the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank. The Chairman of the CGIAR is a senior vice president of the World Bank. The CGIAR comprises 24 developing and 22 industrialized countries, 4 private foundations, and 13 regional and international organizations An independent 8-member Science Council of leading scientists from developed and developing countries ensures that science in the CGIAR is of high quality and is relevant to the development goals of the System.

IRRI receives its financial support from donor governments, agencies, and foundations. Some of this support comes through the CGIAR and some directly to the Institute. "

IRRI Board of Trustees
IRRI Internationally and Nationally Recruited Staff Members
Board of Trustees

Dr. Keijiro Otsuka (Chair)
Japan

Dr. Achmad Mudzakkir Fagi
Jakarta Selatan 12540, Indonesia

Dr. Ralph Anthony Fischer
Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

Dr. Eun-Jong Lee
Republic of Korea

Jillian Lenne
UK

Prof. Ruth K. Oniang’o
Kenya

Dr. Ronald L. Phillips
St. Paul, MN 55108

Dr. Mangala Rai
India

Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman
Philippines

M. Syeduzzaman
Bangladesh

Dr. Elizabeth Jean Woods
Australia

Arthur C. Yap
Philippines

Usha Barwale Zehr
India

Dr. Robert S. Zeigler
Philippines

Prof. Baowen Zhang
Peoples Republic of China

Ang mga anak ni Manny Pacquiao, ipapaenrol niya sa Brent, sa Binan, Laguna. Sosyal si Manny ha :D

^^ security yata yun. pacqiuao is on his way to becoming a peso billionaire. delikado na pamilya niya sa gensan.

IRRI is not a filipino agency. Scientists there are very well paid. As matter of fact a branch International School (ISM before, Brent nowadays) at los banos services the children of the expats there.

Isn't that ironic that IRRI has been training people and mostly, the employees there and scientists are Filipinos, but it doesn't seem to help the Philippines with the IRRI's mission of reducing poverty and hunger.
1960s ~ are just the years to remember that once, we almost had it all. :ohno:

The quote is from the same IRRI website you checked.

You have to read through the website to be able to make an informed comment, he,he,he. :jk:

http://www.irri.org/about/funds.asp
http://www.irri.org/about/irridir/index.asp


Yes, I see your point. There are many nationalities and the funds are not from the Philippines.

But the IRRI is located in the Philippines with filipino employees also and without the permission of the Philippine government, the IRRI wouldn't be here. Research is done on OUR SOIL and results are published worldwide from our country. Knowledge is also passed to our filipino farmers (ie. my parents!!!)

Oh well, I guess to be a real filipino agency everyone has to be filipino and funded by Philippine money only. :nuts:

Isn't that ironic that IRRI has been training people and mostly, the employees there and scientists are Filipinos, but it doesn't seem to help the Philippines with the IRRI's mission of reducing poverty and hunger.
1960s ~ are just the years to remember that once, we almost had it all. :ohno:

The IRRI can only do so much to help the problems associated with the Philippines. Many of the problems are BEYOND the political/social sphere of the IRRI's capability and legal jurisdiction in the Philippines.

So don't blame the IRRI.

True, it may sound ironic, that the mission is to help poverty/hunger and yet it still abounds....

It's really the responsibility of the Philippine people and government to stop the corruption and mismanagement of funds in the towns/provinces and at the national level. They also need to improve the infrastructure & economy (which we are doing now). This is how we will really stop our poverty and hunger. We need the IRRI's help, but we shouldn't rely on them 100% as well. We need to learn and stand on our own feet too without blaming and criticizing others all the time. So let's just keep tabs on the progress and see where all this is going to lead us.....

The following comment is the businessman in me speaking and not the nationalistic, pro-poor pinoy :lol:

The problems in Rice production is because of land reform program. It limits the farm lots to 3-5 hectares. This greatly hampers a farm's capability to mechanize it operations to improve production efficiency. It doesn't make sense to buy a PhP7.5M tractor if your rice farm is 3 hectares only.

Thailand's, Australia's, and California's Rice farms are ten to hundreds of hectares large. Thus their rice prodution is more effiecient, their produce of better quality, and cheaper.

Our country's rice farms are like Japan's. Small, family owned lots. Production techniques are similar, using small hand operated farm machinery. Japanese cannot produce enough rice to feed its population and their rice is very expensive. Their farmers are heavily subsidized to survive.

If we want to increase rice production efficiency we should repeal the land reform law and allow farm corporations to exist. Efficiencies of scale can thus kick in.

Baka nga lang magka-rebolusyon :lol:

Oh well, I guess to be a real filipino agency everyone has to be filipino and funded by Philippine money only. :nuts:

It's an international agency and not a philippine government agency :nuts:

ADB is based in the philippines but we cannot claim it to be a philippine agency. Majority of its staff is pinoy, but if we start claiming that we should get the credit for sending all that money to developing nations since ADB is based in the philippines, this is the response we'll get -- :nuts: :nuts: :nuts:

Bwahahaha ! ! !

It's an international agency and not a philippine government agency :nuts:

ADB is based in the philippines but we cannot claim it to be a philippine agency. Majority of its staff is pinoy, but if we start claiming that we should get the credit for sending all that money to developing nations since ADB is based in the philippines, this is the response we'll get -- :nuts: :nuts: :nuts:

Bwahahaha ! ! !

Ok, you are right on that one! Afterall, the 1st "I" in IRRI stands for "International", di ba?

But that doesn't mean that the IRRI is NOT filipino. I think the pride issue is a problem here...

You shouldn't label the IRRI as NOT being filipino. The Philippines is at least a PART of the IRRI, and they research here IN the Philippines...

The following comment is the businessman in me speaking and not the nationalistic, pro-poor pinoy :lol:

The problems in Rice production is because of land reform program. It limits the farm lots to 3-5 hectares. This greatly hampers a farm's capability to mechanize it operations to improve production efficiency. It doesn't make sense to buy a PhP7.5M tractor if your rice farm is 3 hectares only.

Thailand's, Australia's, and California's Rice farms are ten to hundreds of hectares large. Thus their rice prodution is more effiecient, their produce of better quality, and cheaper.

Our country's rice farms are like Japan's. Small, family owned lots. Production techniques are similar, using small hand operated farm machinery. Japanese cannot produce enough rice to feed its population and their rice is very expensive. Their farmers are heavily subsidized to survive.

If we want to increase rice production efficiency we should repeal the land reform law and allow farm corporations to exist. Efficiencies of scale can thus kick in.

Baka nga lang magka-rebolusyon :lol:

I agree with you on this. Very true!!!

Economies of scale play an important factor in agricultural profitability...

even compared to japan the quality of rice in the PHils. is so substandard. even the more expensive one is not at par quality with the bangkok rice.
I wonder why they can't improve the quality of rice. It's time the masa got to eat descent quality food and not just scraps. kawawa ang mga tao mahal na nga ang pangit pa ng quality.
and also tiger prawns here in the US are imported from thailand and vietnam. we should be the number one exporter of sea related products.
Don't buy CHinese products they're adding all kinds of toxic chemicals to their foods so they can mass produce and feed the billions of bodies.

^^ actually meron naman masasarap na rice sa pinas kasi nakatikim na rin ako nong nandon ako. nalimutan ko lang kung ano tawag don o anong klaseng rice yon. pero yung mga mumurahin na rice parang amoy ipis.

and yes yung mga processed food dito sa china di talaga pede. ilang bes na rin ako nag try bumili para subukan yung mga biscuits, candies, canned foods nila dito pero laging basura lang ang dating nito kasi di talaga pede. kahit kami we still buy and eat from our own taiwanese restos or japanese restos or yung local dito pero hindi mumurahing resto. aanhin mo naman ang mura kung ang tuloy mo pagkatapos kain eh cr.

pero syempre hindi lahat ganyan naman dito meron rin ok na mga produkto ang china like yung mga herbals nila dito ok din. basta kung gusto nyo bumili bilhin nyo lang yung nag pass sa mga health standards na products ok lang yan at yung at least may brand name na.

ganyan lang naman yan talaga eh kahit san na countries merong pasaway na mga negosyante. yung gusto lang kumita kahit na alam nila bawal yung binebenta nila, may lason nakakamatay...di mo rin masabi kahit sa us o pinas, taiwan meron rin o san pa..meron mga companies or products na ganyan. pero syempre alam ko marami dito sa china.

I love jasmine rice from thailand, excellent for use in paella and fried rice. california rice, I use for sushi. it's a little too glutinous for me. japanese rice is sooooo expensive that I haven't seen it in the market, both in manila and in the states.

Some of the problems with our rice (amoy ipis, grains ar durog) is in post production, specifically when drying the palay.

Improperly and insufficiently dried rice make it prone to breakage of the grains during milling, susceptibility to fermentation and insect infestation.

Sa kalye lang malimit patuyuin ang palay natin. OK lang sana ang solar drying pero wag naman sa kalye, ini-iputan ng manok, ini-ihian ng aso, at ginu-gulungan ng sasakyan ang palay na yan.

^^ actually meron naman masasarap na rice sa pinas kasi nakatikim na rin ako nong nandon ako. nalimutan ko lang kung ano tawag don o anong klaseng rice yon. pero yung mga mumurahin na rice parang amoy ipis.

and yes yung mga processed food dito sa china di talaga pede. ilang bes na rin ako nag try bumili para subukan yung mga biscuits, candies, canned foods nila dito pero laging basura lang ang dating nito kasi di talaga pede. kahit kami we still buy and eat from our own taiwanese restos or japanese restos or yung local dito pero hindi mumurahing resto. aanhin mo naman ang mura kung ang tuloy mo pagkatapos kain eh cr.

pero syempre hindi lahat ganyan naman dito meron rin ok na mga produkto ang china like yung mga herbals nila dito ok din. basta kung gusto nyo bumili bilhin nyo lang yung nag pass sa mga health standards na products ok lang yan at yung at least may brand name na.

ganyan lang naman yan talaga eh kahit san na countries merong pasaway na mga negosyante. yung gusto lang kumita kahit na alam nila bawal yung binebenta nila, may lason nakakamatay...di mo rin masabi kahit sa us o pinas, taiwan meron rin o san pa..meron mga companies or products na ganyan. pero syempre alam ko marami dito sa china.

It's not the same in the US. they have better regulations . the FDA have stricter guidelines for food products and they regularly test those food products, that's why Chinese imported products in the US were caught to have toxic chemicals not fit for human consumption and at also very dangerous levels. their sea products were ladened with high levels of antibiotics. tricky sneaky Chinese anything to make a quick buck.

The following comment is the businessman in me speaking and not the nationalistic, pro-poor pinoy :lol:

The problems in Rice production is because of land reform program. It limits the farm lots to 3-5 hectares. This greatly hampers a farm's capability to mechanize it operations to improve production efficiency. It doesn't make sense to buy a PhP7.5M tractor if your rice farm is 3 hectares only.

Thailand's, Australia's, and California's Rice farms are ten to hundreds of hectares large. Thus their rice prodution is more effiecient, their produce of better quality, and cheaper.

Our country's rice farms are like Japan's. Small, family owned lots. Production techniques are similar, using small hand operated farm machinery. Japanese cannot produce enough rice to feed its population and their rice is very expensive. Their farmers are heavily subsidized to survive.

If we want to increase rice production efficiency we should repeal the land reform law and allow farm corporations to exist. Efficiencies of scale can thus kick in.

Baka nga lang magka-rebolusyon :lol:

So why can't we make our rice of similar quality as THailand's? even vietnamese rice is better quality.

^^^^^I think the main problem with our rice comes from the drying part. Milling facilities, that are becoming more common in nueva ecija for example, has greatly improved rice coming from that province. I know because my mom-in-law lives there and whenever i went to visit, the rice always was very good.


And to all those bashing Philippine rice, Tinawon rice, which is a special type of rice that grows only in the cordilleras is one of the most sought after in the world. I think i read from an article in economics thread that the United States ordered at least 2000 tons of it just this year. Mind you, tinawon rice sells for $10 per kilo. More incentive to maintain and preserve our precious rice terraces.

Silliman University notes growing foreign student population as CHED pushes for "Educational Tourism" (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p070705.htm&no=81&r=&y=&mo=)

The country’s potential as a premier alternative educational destination for students from foreign countries is already felt in the small yet vibrant academic environment in Dumaguete City.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has recently announced its initiative to position the Philippines as a premier alternative educational destination where neighboring countries could send their overflow student populations.

CHED Chair Lito Puno has come up with what is termed as “education tourism” strategy, a program that will position the country as an alternative educational destination to China or Russia.

Dumaguete City is a prime example of how Philippine education is a promising factor in drawing in international students.

Touted as a university town, Dumaguete’s bustling academic environment has attracted several foreign students to pursue their education in the city, especially at Silliman University, the oldest American university in the country, which has lured a growing number of foreign students to study here.

SU currently has 251 foreign students from 19 countries enrolled in various courses for school year 2007 to 2008.

Of the total, 199 are enrolled in the college level and 52 in the School of Basic Education comprised of early childhood, elementary and high school levels.

Koreans top the number of foreign students on campus with 105, followed by Iranians, 49 and Americans, 44.

Other nationalities on campus include Indonesians, Germans, Tanzanians, Canadians, Japanese, and British, to name a few.

According to Mark Raygan E. Garcia, director of the SU Office of Information and Publication, majority of the Korean students are enrolled in business and language courses while Iranians are mostly taking up engineering and information technology studies.

Most of the American students are studying in the Nursing and Allied Health Sciences department.

The university’s Masters in Business Administration course have likewise attracted foreign graduate students.

Data from SU shows a steady rise in the university’s enrollment of international students. “The trend has been increasing. For example, at the college level, there were 123 foreign students enrolled in the 2002 to 2003 school year. And five years after, we now have 199 foreign students,” said Garcia.

Garcia attributes the trend to the university’s affordable yet high quality education. “The cost of education here is lower compared to the countries where our international students come from. Plus, with the university’s quality education, it is an investment for these students who after four years, get to earn a degree that make them competitive enough to land lucrative jobs abroad,” he explained.

The university likewise offers Filipino classes for foreign students in an effort to offer a holistic development for them, and help them break through the barriers of language and culture differences. “These classes are specially designed to cater to the needs of our international students, so they can learn the local language and culture as well,” added Garcia.

Garcia said the presence of foreign students in the university have benefited the city’s tourism industry. “It is benefiting not only the academic institution but the city as well as these foreign students have also other needs that only the larger community of Dumaguete can provide,” he said.

He added that for now, SU relies on tie-ups with foreign universities such as those under the student exchange programs, its consortia with universities in Asia and the United States, and by “word of mouth” in pulling in foreign students.

CHED’s ‘education tourism’ strategy has already earned the support of Malacañang after Puno discussed the program’s blueprint during a weekly program aired over government channel NBN-4.

Puno said the strategy complements the government’s tourist promotion program.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye explained that the country is an attractive alternative destination for Korean students because of three main factors: the short distance between Manila and Seoul, the affordability of Philippine education, and the Filipinos’ fluency in English.

The Philippine government and China’s Ministry of Education have signed recently a memorandum of agreement “allowing Chinese students who could not be accommodated in China’s universities to study in the Philippines.”

@ gen1, im sorry but your idea of farm corporations is insane. Maybe if groups of farmers in one area can form a pact and work together for the benefit of each landowner then that would be better. I think it can definitely work. Remember, the Banaue Rice Terraces were built by a community, not by corporate slavery or dictatorial leadership. The Banaue Rice Terraces were built by a community who decided that it is in their best interests to work together for a more sustainable future. 2000 thousand years later, the Terraces still exists and their rice is damn good. We don't need to look at other countries to raise our game, but look only to our past and our heritage for encouragement.

World Bank cites education reform progress in Philippines (http://www.bayanihan.org/html/article.php/20070705141200540)

Outgoing World Bank Country Director Joachim von Amsberg cited the reform progress in the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) that have brought gains to the Philippine Government and the millions of Filipino school children.

Von Amsberg, who has left for his new post in Indonesia, met with Secretary Jesli Lapus to renew the WB's pledge for continued support for the reforms taking place to improve the quality of education in the country.

He said that while reforms do not happen overnight, there are executive decisions and changes that have been made that will further multiply the gains made from previous reforms.

"Increased competition and transparency in the public procurement of textbooks have lowered the price of textbooks from an average of P100 to P40, while also improving the durability and quality of books.

The Department's recent decision to separate the bidding for the manuscript from the bidding for printing and delivery, has further increased transparency and competition. This change, plus earlier procurement reforms in the department, such as the adoption of the competitive bidding in the purchase of books, has translated into cumulative savings of P3 billion for the government," he said.

Mr. von Amsberg also cited the creation of the two additional Bids and Awards Committee to handle procurement of different types of resource inputs.

He also commended the stronger and enhanced partnership with civil society organizations and the private sector, has helped in ensuring that textbooks are delivered to the right place, to the right people, at the right time.

He stressed that the ongoing reforms are expected to enhance further efficiencies in the system and bring greater benefits to schoolchildren in public schools.

The outgoing WB official also expressed support for the procurement reforms in the country. He commented on the recent decision of the Supreme Court.

"The recent decision of the Supreme Court has upheld the Government's Procurement Law (RA 9184). This landmark decision was a victory for the millions of schoolchildren who are now benefiting from the lower cost of textbooks.

It has also reinforced the earlier recognition that the Philippines is indeed an international showcase for procurement reform. It sends a strong message of support for the integrity of the procurement process in the Education Department and hopefully, would empower civil servants in other agencies to fully comply with the law. Philippines procurement reforms are indeed key building blocks for good governance."

The World Bank is currently assisting the DepEd with a loan of US$ 200 million for the implementation of its Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA), through its National Program Support for Basic Education Project. The project is designed to assist the Government to improve quality and equity in learning outcomes in basic education through its emphasis on improved governance through effective school-based management, enhanced teaching, quality assurance, and better resource mobilization, including greater involvement of local government units and more systemic support from private sector partnerships.

^^^^^I think the main problem with our rice comes from the drying part. Milling facilities, that are becoming more common in nueva ecija for example, has greatly improved rice coming from that province. I know because my mom-in-law lives there and whenever i went to visit, the rice always was very good.


And to all those bashing Philippine rice, Tinawon rice, which is a special type of rice that grows only in the cordilleras is one of the most sought after in the world. I think i read from an article in economics thread that the United States ordered at least 2000 tons of it just this year. Mind you, tinawon rice sells for $10 per kilo. More incentive to maintain and preserve our precious rice terraces.

that's good to know.
I wish quality rice would be more affordable and available to the public though and not just used for export. hopefully one day.

Silliman University notes growing foreign student population as CHED pushes for "Educational Tourism" (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p070705.htm&no=81&r=&y=&mo=)

The country’s potential as a premier alternative educational destination for students from foreign countries is already felt in the small yet vibrant academic environment in Dumaguete City.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has recently announced its initiative to position the Philippines as a premier alternative educational destination where neighboring countries could send their overflow student populations.

CHED Chair Lito Puno has come up with what is termed as “education tourism” strategy, a program that will position the country as an alternative educational destination to China or Russia.

Dumaguete City is a prime example of how Philippine education is a promising factor in drawing in international students.

Touted as a university town, Dumaguete’s bustling academic environment has attracted several foreign students to pursue their education in the city, especially at Silliman University, the oldest American university in the country, which has lured a growing number of foreign students to study here.

SU currently has 251 foreign students from 19 countries enrolled in various courses for school year 2007 to 2008.

Of the total, 199 are enrolled in the college level and 52 in the School of Basic Education comprised of early childhood, elementary and high school levels.

Koreans top the number of foreign students on campus with 105, followed by Iranians, 49 and Americans, 44.

Other nationalities on campus include Indonesians, Germans, Tanzanians, Canadians, Japanese, and British, to name a few.

According to Mark Raygan E. Garcia, director of the SU Office of Information and Publication, majority of the Korean students are enrolled in business and language courses while Iranians are mostly taking up engineering and information technology studies.

Most of the American students are studying in the Nursing and Allied Health Sciences department.

The university’s Masters in Business Administration course have likewise attracted foreign graduate students.

Data from SU shows a steady rise in the university’s enrollment of international students. “The trend has been increasing. For example, at the college level, there were 123 foreign students enrolled in the 2002 to 2003 school year. And five years after, we now have 199 foreign students,” said Garcia.

Garcia attributes the trend to the university’s affordable yet high quality education. “The cost of education here is lower compared to the countries where our international students come from. Plus, with the university’s quality education, it is an investment for these students who after four years, get to earn a degree that make them competitive enough to land lucrative jobs abroad,” he explained.

The university likewise offers Filipino classes for foreign students in an effort to offer a holistic development for them, and help them break through the barriers of language and culture differences. “These classes are specially designed to cater to the needs of our international students, so they can learn the local language and culture as well,” added Garcia.

Garcia said the presence of foreign students in the university have benefited the city’s tourism industry. “It is benefiting not only the academic institution but the city as well as these foreign students have also other needs that only the larger community of Dumaguete can provide,” he said.

He added that for now, SU relies on tie-ups with foreign universities such as those under the student exchange programs, its consortia with universities in Asia and the United States, and by “word of mouth” in pulling in foreign students.

CHED’s ‘education tourism’ strategy has already earned the support of Malacañang after Puno discussed the program’s blueprint during a weekly program aired over government channel NBN-4.

Puno said the strategy complements the government’s tourist promotion program.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye explained that the country is an attractive alternative destination for Korean students because of three main factors: the short distance between Manila and Seoul, the affordability of Philippine education, and the Filipinos’ fluency in English.

The Philippine government and China’s Ministry of Education have signed recently a memorandum of agreement “allowing Chinese students who could not be accommodated in China’s universities to study in the Philippines.”

good news :)

@ gen1, im sorry but your idea of farm corporations is insane. .

agricultural corporations are not an idea, they are a reality. and so are farming cooperatives.

California rice farms churn out 9 metric tons of milled rice per hectare. that's 180 cavans of rice per hectare !

for a view of how it's done in CA, please follow the link. But I'm warning you, magugutom ka for rice pag napuntahan mo ang web site :lol:

http://www.calrice.org/documents/CRCOverviewBrochure1_09.pdf

^^^ I think it works for california gen because cali is at a point, economically, where the majority of the population are not keen on becoming farmers. In a developed economy there are fewer farmers than that of a developing economy. Maybe that could work for us in the future, but definitely not now.

By the way, i never knew cali produced so much rice.

^^ I watched a show on cable TV here in the states on the manufacturing of farm equipment.

The technology alone shows the immense differences of farming productivity in the states and Philippines.

Rice is rice, but the methods and skills in production make the biggest world of difference.

I agree with the rice-drying part breaking the grains of the rice. When I'm riding down the national highway in a jeepney, I always see the palay laid out along the roads. The FDA in the states also have different regulations than the Philippines, in particular, the NFA.

My parents are rice-farmers in Bicol, and my mom has noticed the big differences in farming methods among different provinces.

It's not the same in the US. they have better regulations . the FDA have stricter guidelines for food products and they regularly test those food products, that's why Chinese imported products in the US were caught to have toxic chemicals not fit for human consumption and at also very dangerous levels. their sea products were ladened with high levels of antibiotics. tricky sneaky Chinese anything to make a quick buck.

Totoo. Did you hear about the chinese toothpaste rin?

^^ I watched a show on cable TV here in the states on the manufacturing of farm equipment.

The technology alone shows the immense differences of farming productivity in the states and Philippines.

Rice is rice, but the methods and skills in production make the biggest world of difference.

I agree with the rice-drying part breaking the grains of the rice. When I'm riding down the national highway in a jeepney, I always see the palay laid out along the roads. The FDA in the states also have different regulations than the Philippines, in particular, the NFA.

My parents are rice-farmers in Bicol, and my mom has noticed the big differences in farming methods among different provinces.

is there a reason why the govt. cannot help or make farmers copy those methods to increase yield?
but then again would those rice be considered GMOs? I guess in a way our rice can be considered organic if we're still relying on old traditional practice.

is there a reason why the govt. cannot help or make farmers copy those methods to increase yield?
but then again would those rice be considered GMOs? I guess in a way our rice can be considered organic if we're still relying on old traditional practice.

Those modern farm equipment requires extensive initial capital outlay.

I don't think the Philippine government would shoulder all the expenses (perhaps a developmental loan?) for our nations farmers.

Besides, like what gen1 mentions, these modern farm equipment were made for huge farmfields (corporations), not like the small ones (ex. 3-5 hectares) you see here in the Philippines. My parents own a 7 hectare farm, but they only use 3-4 for rice farming. The rest is a coconut field full of coconut trees.

If you take a simple look at our world economic history, we are no longer in the Agragrian age. Even the U.S. is shifting from the Industrial Age of the 1900s to the Information Age. China now is going through its own Industrial Age. The Philippine farmers (and the rest of Asia's farmers) are still stuck in the Agragrian Age and need to renovate their practices if they are to survive.

Farming, unfortunately, is not a very lucrative industry in today's modern world UNLESS economies of scale and equipment/method efficiency is utilized. Filipino farmers really need to incorporate or increase their own farm assets (economies of scale) to survive nowadays. And using old farm methods just doesn't cut it anymore. Trust me, even my mom is telling me that I need to help them invest in some machinery. Down in Bicol, many things are still done by hand, especially when it's hard for a farmer to come up with cash to buy modern farm equipment. It only gets worse when there are bills to pay and the farmer's kids need money for school/college/visa/wedding, etc. etc.

Philippine medical colleges open to Indians (http://www.indiaedunews.net/International/Philippine%5Fmedical%5Fcolleges%5Fopen%5Fto%5FIndians%5F1570/)

Seven hundred seats in the medical colleges of the Philippines have been earmarked for students from other Asian countries, especially India and China.

It will cost an Indian student between Rs.1.2 million to Rs.1.5 million to study in a Philippine university. The amount will include visa fees, course fees and accommodation expenses.

The Government of Philippines has set aside the seats and Indian service provider Health Care Management International (HCMI) will officially represent here the Philippine government's Commission on Higher Education, which will offer the admissions.

"We are inviting students from India as we share a common language, English", said Cecelia P Reyes, a Philippine government representative in an interaction here on Thursday.

She said there are nearly 100,000 Korean students in Philippine colleges. "In a few years time, we hope to reach that number with Indian students", she said.

Students who graduate from Philippine medical colleges will be given a certificate from the Medical Council of India so that they are able to practice in India, HCMI managing director Baljit Singh said.

More kids dropping out of grade school (http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=1827)

Of every 100 children who entered Grade One last month, 66 will graduate. Of those who finish elementary, 58 will enter high school, but only 43 will graduate. Of the 43 high school graduates, 23 will enter college, but only 14 will graduate.

This is the current survival rate of Filipino children in the country’s educational system — a situation made even more bleak by the number of children who do not get to be called “classmate” at all. Last year, 64.2 percent or 1.4 million of the country’s six-year-olds did not enroll in first grade.

The performance of children the past six years is also a testament to how poorly grade schoolers are faring in school. Less children are able to hurdle their first six years of formal education and more repeat a grade before they graduate.

On top of that, the number of children aged six to 11 who are out of school has grown steadily the past six years. From a low of 363,815 in 2000, the number has ballooned to over 2 million in school year 2005-2006.

“Based on the indicators, the second of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is the least likely to be attained in contrast to the other MDGs,” says Dr. Nimfa Ogena, a professor at the University of the Philippines Population Institute or UPPI. Experts from the UPPI, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), the Forum for Family Planning and Development and other non-government organizations recently came up with their own alternative report on the MDGs to counter “rosy pictures” Malacañang may proffer.

Experts say poverty, malnutrition, the absence of schools in remote areas, the lack of teachers and support for classroom requirements are the biggest contributors to the dismal performance of the country’s grade school population.

Among the measures being put forward to address the urgent need to save those who flunked out of school is the strengthening of the Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System or ALS, described as a “flexible, anytime, anywhere learning” for individuals or the whole family. The ALS targets street children, indigenous peoples, youth and adults in conflict areas not reached by the formal school system, and children of armed rebel groups and rebel returnees. These days, civil society groups see the ALS as the “second leg” on which the country’s educational system can stand.

But the ALS, administered by the Bureau of Alternative Learning System or BALS, is also under great pressure. It has to cater to some 16 million Filipinos who did not enter or left the classroom too early. However, that office has a fund of only P230 million, or .17 percent of DepEd’s P134 billion budget for this year.

Arroyo: Better education will be my legacy (http://www.asianjournal.com/?c=186&a=21625)

Manila, Philippines -- Stressing that "knowledge is the greatest creator of wealth," President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday vowed to leave a legacy of better education to the younger generation.
Speaking before officials of private companies at the opening of Corporate Social Responsibility Expo 2007, the President said she would propose to Congress an increase in the education budget of P29 billion, up from this year's P121 billion to P150 billion in 2008.

"Our administration has spent more on human capital formation than any other in the past. Why? Because if the government of the people and by the people is not for them as well, it is a mockery of democracy," she said, kicking off the three-day expo at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel.

The League of Corporate Foundations organized the expo, an annual celebration of ideas, programs and best practices in business and social development. The plenary sessions would be discuss ways to encourage the private sector to invest in education as a response to reversing the education crisis.

Ms Arroyo witnessed the ceremonial signing of the memorandum of understanding on the CSR Education Roadmap entitled, "Towards Making Education a National Priority Between the Private Sector and Government."

The President, who will address the joint session of Congress on Monday, vowed to devote the remainder of her term to wipe out poverty through increased investment in physical, intellectual, legal and security infrastructure.

She emphasized the importance of education "as a strategic and sustainable solution to poverty."

"The next three years will see an unprecedented, well-thought out and firm commitment of unstinting effort and generous funding for better schools, higher teacher pay, more scholarships for gifted students and better English language training," she said.

The President also assured students of "quality textbooks" amid the continued failure of the Department of Education to cleanse textbooks of grammatical, syntactical and historical errors, aside from dismantling the textbook cartel in the DepEd.

She also listed the government's achievements in the education sector -- the administration built 15,000 classrooms, procured 12 million textbooks and teachers' manuals, hired 40,000 new teachers, set up a regionalized payroll system that cut the process to 30 days, and increased high school scholarships from 50,00 to 240,000.

"Today, I launch a P4-billion fund for student loans, business-funded training, and state universities and colleges expansion under the CHEd (Commission on Higher Education), increasing beneficiaries of student loans from 40,000 last year to 200,000 this year," Ms Arroyo said.

Arroyo unwraps P4-b education loan package (http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics2_july17_2007)

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has unwrapped in advance the education component of her State-of-the-Nation Address, including scholarship packages worth P4 billion as a counterpart contribution to the multi-billion funding provided by private firms.

Mrs. Arroyo announced the additional scholarship funding after receiving the 2007 Corporate Social Responsibility Report which pegged the private sector’s social investment funding at P19 billion for the last decade.

“As we are preparing for our Sona next week, I would like to give you an advance report on what we in the government have also been doing to increase our investment in education, for after all education is primarily the responsibility of government. We have been investing tens of billions in human infrastructure so the public can have greater access to better schools, quality textbooks and better teachers,” the President said during yesterday’s CSR Expo held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.

The President said the P4-billion fund for student loans is available through all training centers and state universities and colleges under the Commission on Higher Education.

The allocation will raise the number of student beneficiaries under the state scholarship program to 200,000, or five times last year’s 40,000.

Mrs. Arroyo also reported that at least 15,000 classrooms were built last year in keeping with her 2006 Sona promises to ensure that all public elementary schools will only have two shifts with no more than 50 students per classroom.

On the other hand, textbooks and teacher’s manuals worth P12 million have been procured for the ongoing school year to keep the ratio of one textbook per grade school student for the subjects English, Filipino, math and social studies.

“Indeed, a sound education is the best inheritance we can give our children for this cannot be taken away from them. It is the only legacy that the state is obligated by law to give to every citizen, and I thank the corporate world for making our burden lighter,” the President said.

Mrs. Arroyo was referring to the P3.8 million worth of CSR programs focused on education made by the business sector from 2002 to June this year.

According to League of Corporate Foundations president Marilou Erni, who presented the 2007 CSR Report to the President, the private sector has adopted a roadmap that will serve as a template for future social investment projects.

“There is no waning of efforts in social development. Of our CSR expenditures, 46 percent goes to education and human services; 27 percent to livelihood and employment; and 25 percent for the environment,” said Erni, who is also the executive director of the Petron Foundation Inc.

Erni also gave Mrs. Arroyo a copy of the memorandum of understanding signed by all private sector partners on the 57-75 Campaign which seeks to reverse the low scores of elementary students in the National Achievement Test.

“We need to reverse the current education crisis. The number 57 is the current average score of public school students in the test while 75 is commonly known as the passing mark,” she said.

Erni said the campaign will be piloted in 729 public elementary schools in several provinces nationwide, including those in Nueva Vizcaya, Iligan and Iloilo.

The private sector partners under the CSR program include LCF, Petron Foundation, the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce Inc., the National Executive Institutes of the Philippines, the Philippine Management Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Business for Education, the Makati Business Club, and the Philippine Business for Social Progress.

Pasig City (18 July) -- Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Jesli Lapus today signs a memorandum of understanding with Ambassador Luis Arias of Spain for a project which aims to improve primary education in chosen regions in the Philippines.

The project beneficiaries are Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon from Region 5 and Agusan del Norte, Siargao and Surigao del Norte in Region 13. The recipients were selected based on the urgency of their needs.

"Through this partnership, we will be able to make education accessible to some of the underserved areas in the country," Lapus said. "This is in line with our goal of providing quality education for every Filipino."

The three-year project will receive support from the Spanish Government through staggered donations that will total 189 million pesos (3 million €uros). For 2007, the initial grant will amount to 749, 649 €uros. The grant is divided into three flagship programs.

Two of the said programs, Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP) and School Based Management (SBM) initiatives will contribute to the Department's Education For All (EFA) efforts, while the third will concentrate on strengthening human resources.

ECARP will make every Filipino child a successful reader, while the SBM program and capacity building activities will strengthen and improve the competencies of regional as well as local school personnel.

In addition, the largest allocation for SBM initiatives will also be used in the construction of school buildings and provision of school furnishings.

DepEd will collaborate with the Spanish Technical Office in implementing these flagship programs.

"We are grateful for the resources placed at the Department's disposal," Lapus added. "We will ensure that these communities will fully benefit from the generosity of the Spanish Government." (DepEd)

http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&fi=p070718.htm&no=36&r=&y=&mo=

Makati bans students from gaming shops during class hours
http://www.tribune.net.ph/metro/20070724met7.html

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay yesterday prodded all school and barangay officials in the city to continue enforcing the law that aims to keep students away from gaming shops during school hours.

The 2002 city ordinance, as amended by the Makati City Child and Youth Welfare Code, bans grade school and high school students from entering any leisure and gaming establishments during school hours.

In his warning, all owners and operators of Internet shops in Makati are being asked to strictly comply with the ordinance, or face fines and imprisonment, and revocation of business permits.

“They should cooperate for the benefit and protection of the students,” he said.

The mayor also urged school, barangay officials and even the parents of schoolchildren to remain vigilant to ensure the strict enforcement of these regulations that aim to deter unscrupulous Internet shop owners or operators from tolerating truant students for the sake of profit.

Enacted in November 2002, Makati City Council Ordinance 2002-122 prohibits the owners or operators of all billiard halls, video/computer arcades/shops, movie houses or malls in the city from allowing grade school and high school students in school uniforms to enter their establishments.

It further provides, however, that these students may be allowed entry in computer shops to do research and other academic-related activities, and in malls and movie houses if accompanied by a parent or an adult guardian.

The ordinance was enacted to address serious concerns raised by parents and teachers over the increasing incidence of cutting classes, tardiness and absenteeism among grade school and high school students due to hanging out at malls, billiard halls and computer shops during school hours.

Recently, the said ordinance was given more teeth with the enactment of The Makati City Child and Youth Welfare Code through City Ordinance 2004-A-017 in November 2004, which includes a provision that prohibits the operation of network gaming shops and other similar establishments within a 100 meter-radius from any educational or religious institutions, as stated in Section 8.2, Article III of the Code.

^^ That's a step in the right direction! :okay:

I remembered those people..how they react on PGMA's SONA..."Simula pa lang Ingles na, pano namin maiintindihan yan...kokonti lang ang may pinagaralan sa amin"...:D

1,821 DepEd personnel have symptoms of TB
By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/july/24/yehey/metro/20070724met1.html

AT least 1,821 teachers and nonteaching personnel were found to have suggestive symptoms of tuberculosis after they underwent x-ray examinations, according to Dr. Thelma Santos, the Department of Education center director.

Santos said that 598 teachers are undergoing treatment, and 44 have already finished treatment and have been declared free of the disease, she added.

The education department has allotted P40.11 million this year for the treatment of TB among its personnel. Through its Health and Nutrition Center, the DepEd will strengthen the implementation of the Tuberculosis (TB) Prevention and Control Program for teachers and nonteaching personnel.

Santos said TB treatment takes six months. A person who has taken anti-TB medicine for two weeks is no longer contagious, she added.

In partnership with the Department of Health, DepEd will adopt the Comprehensive and Unified Policy on TB Control in the Philippines (CUPTBCP), which utilizes the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course Strategy (DOTS).

The health department will assist in providing the needs of the program while DepEd will be responsible for the integration of TB prevention messages in the school curricula. Both government agencies will be in charge of program execution, which will be supervised by DepEd regional directors and school division superintendents.

“Prevention is the best step we can take against TB,” said Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

“Through this joint effort, we will ensure that our teachers and students are well-informed on how to prevent TB within their respective communities.”

He said components of the program include the dissemination and education on health information, health service delivery, regular monitoring of the program’s implementation and accomplishments, collaboration with Parent-Teacher-Community Associations and the solicitation of administrative support for funding and other needs.

Local governments, the private sector and parent-teacher-community associations will also be involved in creating TB awareness.

“The support of the whole community is vital in this campaign,” Lapus said. “Ensuring their well-being is essential in boosting the academic performance of our educators and pupils in our schools.”

1,821 DepEd personnel have symptoms of TB
By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/july/24/yehey/metro/20070724met1.html

AT least 1,821 teachers and nonteaching personnel were found to have suggestive symptoms of tuberculosis after they underwent x-ray examinations, according to Dr. Thelma Santos, the Department of Education center director.

Santos said that 598 teachers are undergoing treatment, and 44 have already finished treatment and have been declared free of the disease, she added.

The education department has allotted P40.11 million this year for the treatment of TB among its personnel. Through its Health and Nutrition Center, the DepEd will strengthen the implementation of the Tuberculosis (TB) Prevention and Control Program for teachers and nonteaching personnel.

Santos said TB treatment takes six months. A person who has taken anti-TB medicine for two weeks is no longer contagious, she added.

In partnership with the Department of Health, DepEd will adopt the Comprehensive and Unified Policy on TB Control in the Philippines (CUPTBCP), which utilizes the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course Strategy (DOTS).

The health department will assist in providing the needs of the program while DepEd will be responsible for the integration of TB prevention messages in the school curricula. Both government agencies will be in charge of program execution, which will be supervised by DepEd regional directors and school division superintendents.

“Prevention is the best step we can take against TB,” said Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

“Through this joint effort, we will ensure that our teachers and students are well-informed on how to prevent TB within their respective communities.”

He said components of the program include the dissemination and education on health information, health service delivery, regular monitoring of the program’s implementation and accomplishments, collaboration with Parent-Teacher-Community Associations and the solicitation of administrative support for funding and other needs.

Local governments, the private sector and parent-teacher-community associations will also be involved in creating TB awareness.

“The support of the whole community is vital in this campaign,” Lapus said. “Ensuring their well-being is essential in boosting the academic performance of our educators and pupils in our schools.”


:eek: nakakatakot naman na balita yan...delikado mga bata pagnahawaan nila..
the government must do something to help them...:ohno:

HSIoHvicb1w

VPxf2767bow

Gov’t to hire 13,000 teachers, cops (http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2007072898802.html)

Proposed budget allocates P1.7 B for new personnel; Growing population, student enrollment, cited for increase

By GENALYN D. KABILING

The government will spend about P1.7 billion in hiring some 10,000 public school teachers, 3,000 policemen, and 500 jail guards next year to deal with the rising population of the country, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced yesterday.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said Malacañang allocated P1 billion to cover the salaries of the 10,000 teachers. It also allocated P588 million for the wages, training, and equipment of 3,000 police recruits under the proposed P1.227-trillion 2008 national budget, he said.

Around P95 million has also been set aside to employ 500 jail guards in the 2008 budget proposal that would be submitted to Congress next month, Andaya added.

The new public school teachers would bring the total teaching force of the Department of Education to 525,150, although the final figure may be reduced due to some retiring employees.

Andaya explained the government must hire new teachers in public elementary and high schools every year as their enrollment grows by about 400,000 annually.

Preliminary estimates show that a total of 18 million students are expected to be enrolled in school year 2008-2009, prompting government to increase the DepEd budget to P145 billion next year.

Andaya said the government will also hire 3,000 policemen, including 600 women, to reinforce the 122,893-strong police force by end of 2007.

"There will be 1.774 million additional Filipinos next year. So if we need one cop for every 500 persons, then we need about 3,500 new policemen a year," he said. Population of the country is expected to increase to 90.48 million by the end of 2008.

He noted the hiring of new policemen, each of whom will have the rank of Police Officer 1, is pursuant to President Arroyo’s directive last year to recruit 15,000 policemen over five years.

He added that the 600 new policewomen would be assigned to handle crimes against children and women.

Andaya said the government will also hire 500 additional jail guards to address the "population explosion" in city and provincial jails.

The guards would be distributed among the 426 Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-run facilities across the country.

The new jail guards would be separate from any personnel the Bureau of Corrections, which operates seven large prisons, intends to hire next year.

At present, the government spends P4.3 billion in taxpayers’ money to run the BJMP and BoC facilities that have 111,076 inmates.

The President recently approved the P1.227 trillion national budget for 2008, which will fund priority infrastructure projects and social services. She intends to submit to Congress the budget bill on Aug. 22.

Students may borrow up to P30,000


Inquirer
Last updated 01:32am (Mla time) 07/29/2007


MANILA, Philippines—Students may soon avail themselves of loans from the government of as much as P30,000 per year to finance their education and pay for it later.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) is increasing its funding for student loans to P4 billion from P215 million, said CHEd chair Carlito Puno.

The funds could be availed of as early as the second semester of the current school year which begins in November. The student loan program’s bank is the Land Bank of the Philippines which has committed itself to providing some P1 billion in funding, Puno said.

“We don’t want the qualification standards to be really strict because this is not a scholarship program but a financial aid program. The student loans can be partly operable by the second semester this year and will be fully implemented by 2008,” Puno said.

Puno explained that while the CHEd was able to lend some 38,000 students only about P5,000 each per semester with the previous amount, it would now be able to provide about P30,000 per year (or P15,000 per semester) to each of almost 200,000 student beneficiaries.

CHEd, he said, was finalizing the mechanics of the loan program in time for the start of the second semester.

He said the funds would most likely be coursed through school cooperatives by Landbank to make it easier for the students to access the money.

“The Landbank and CHEd want to use the relationship we have established with the cooperatives so this program could reach its intended beneficiaries,” said Puno. Beverly T. Natividad

Property boom threatens Philippine schools (http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=79490)

A property boom threatens thousands of public schools across the Philippines by targeting the land they sit on for redevelopment, the government said Monday.

Philanthropists donated the sites for a number of schools but their heirs have gone to court to reclaim them to cash in on the building boom, the environment and natural resources department said.

"Greed. It's another kind of disaster facing the country's public school system," it said in a statement.

The government agency said it was working with the education department so that 5,132 public schools obtain the titles to the land they sit on.

"The problem had been swept under the rug for a long time," Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes said. "Solving this problem confronting our public schools sites should have been done a long time ago."

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus estimated that there could be land ownership questions for more than 10,000 of the government's 43,000 public school sites.

About 8,000 school sites are untitled and covered by deeds of donation only. Some of the sites were donated as long ago as after World War II and by law donations can be recalled.

"These threatened school sites are now classified as prime lots located in the poblacions (population centres)," Lapus said.

"Now we are getting claims by heirs of donors of these lots, especially those that are not covered with titles."

The two government agencies said they had set up a fund to obtain special rights to the school sites so that they can only be used for educational purposes.

Aside from banning students from computer shops during class hours, a better solution would be to increase the number of class hours. I mean, students in private schools go to class from 730 to 530, but public school kids only go for 3 to 4 hours tops.

No wonder there is a big gap in quality of education.

^^ what private elementary or high school has such long school hours ? baka military school yan :)

^^ The private school I went to in the Philippines had school hours from 7:00am - 5:00pm. :colgate:

===========================================================================

CHEd says schools support foolproof diploma (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=80051)

MANILA, Philippines -- Security features in diplomas -- similar to those used in money -- may soon prevent the rampant selling of fake diplomas in the streets of Manila.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) is set to start the implementation of the securitization of school documents such as diplomas, transcripts of records, and special orders by next semester following direct consultations with both public and private schools.

CHEd spokesman Edwin Monares said in an interview that the commission is eyeing to compel public and private schools to implement the use of security features in school documents to ensure the integrity of the documents.

Four security features -- the vanishing ink, the water mark, the ultraviolet responsive ink, and a technology that automatically prints out the word “Duplicate” if a school document is photocopied -- are being eyed for this purpose. These technologies are also currently used to prevent the faking of money.

Monares said the CHEd wants to restore the integrity of high-end school documents being produced by Philippine schools following numerous reports of Filipinos seeking employment abroad who are sent back for using counterfeit school documents.

“When these things happen, we are questioned. Even the integrity of the country’s education system is questioned,” said Monares.

He said, the CHEd estimates that the added security features will add only 10% more to the charges and fees collected from graduating students.

The CHEd said it conducted consultations with state universities and colleges last week. So far, Monares said, schools are supportive of the move.

The CHEd, he said, expects to get the support of both private and public schools on this implementation since schools who will refuse to securitize their documents open their students’ diploma and official transcripts to doubt.

^^ matindi yan ah. mas matindi pa sa 8am-5pm hours ng mga nag-oopisina. laging may overtime ang mga titser :lol:

seriously, ang ateneo 8-230 pm. other schools like poveda, ica, and la salle, similar ang number of school hours.

^^ what private elementary or high school has such long school hours ? baka military school yan :)

Our school has this:
7:40am - 3:50pm Mondays and Thursdays
7:40am - 4:50pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays

By Rose B. Palacio

Davao City (3 August) -- The Center for Moderate Muslims (CMM) spearheaded by its Commissioner, Taha M. Rasman, was chosen as one of the best in Asia-Pacific region by the UNESCO Asia Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding.

ULAMA League of the Philippines regional chairman Aleem Mahmod Adilao said the UNESCO has chosen CMM as one of the best case studies of Experiential Leaning Programme (ELP) for Peace in Asia and the Pacific region that can be adapted to other regions.

A field visit was undertaken by representatives of UNESCO Philippines and Asia Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding in the different CMM activity centers in Maharlika village in Taguig City led by Ms. Johanna Encabo (APCIEU, South Korea); Ms. Helen Balderrama and Ms. Emmy Yanga (UNESCO Philippines).

In their assessment, they found out for themselves the CMM programs that are put in place and well implemented such as the CMM Computer Literacy; Day Care; Madrasah-Montessori; Imam trainings; Women's livelihood program; Moral and values trainings; and Peace Education program.

The UNESCO-APCIEU lauded the CMM projects as they presented a token of appreciation to CMM president, Commissioner Taha M. Basan.

In Davao region, ULAMA regional chairman Adilao said CMM has taken a great role in the Literacy and Education Scholarship program undertaken in Mindanao through the CMM Scholars.

Scholars are provided monthly stipends of P1,000 for the College level; P700 for High School; and P500 for the elementary school level.

The full scholars enjoy monthly stipends and tuition fee assistance of P15,000. However, they have to obtain grades of 85% or higher marks to maintain their scholarship grants.

Last June, examinations were given simultaneously at four CMM testing centers – in Taguig City, Marawi, Zamboanga, and Davao City.

As of todate, Davao students who enjoy CMM scholars include: Aiza D. Fahad; Ali Almin; Shalma Mala; Sonairah Cali; Fatima Zacaria; Alaysa Cusain; and Amera Kamaro.

The CMM scholarship program is in consonance with the President's agenda in providing adequate education, not only for Muslim and Christian alike, but for every Filipino to achieve proper and quality education. (PIA (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p070803.htm&date=08/03/2007))

Our school has this:
7:40am - 3:50pm Mondays and Thursdays
7:40am - 4:50pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays

I thought you said you were home schooled :)

seriously, what school would that be? marami kasi akong kaibigan na titser. as a matter of fact my wife is a teacher.

Graveyard shift (http://www.bulatlat.com/2007/08/graveyard-shift)

Recent trends reveal a new, more disturbing facet of call center employment: members of the academic community, students, graduates, and now, even the faculty, are leaving the university to work in such agencies because of the attractive pay

Mark (not his real name) was on his third cup of coffee, working the 10pm-9am shift, when one of his calls turned irate. Apparently, the American caller had picked up on the slight “Filipino” lilt in his voice and slipped into an angry tirade, accusing him and other Asians of “stealing jobs from hardworking Americans.”

Recent trends, however, reveal a new, more disturbing facet of call center employment: members of the academic community, students, graduates, and now, even the faculty, are leaving the university to work in such agencies because of the attractive pay. The development of a call center in the UP North S&T Park is a concrete manifestation of the intrusion of call centers into the academe.

The teacher is out

Prof. Erwin Bautista, former chair of the Department of European Languages (DEL) and himself a call center employee, gives a simple explanation. “The financial compensation is very attractive. What you receive outside, you will not get from the university.”

While Bautista acknowledges that being a UP professor carries with it many perks, such as research opportunities and an intellectually conducive ambience, he asserts that the institution’s inability to provide for their basic needs frustrates even the most committed educators.

According to Bautista, the salaries they receive are based on the languages they can fluently speak.

“A colleague of ours…just resigned last May. She was an instructor here, so an instructor gets [around] P11,000 ($239 at an exchange rate of $1=P45.84). Aside from English, she knows French and Spanish, so the offer [from a call center company] was between P50,000 ($1,090) and P60,000 ($1,308).

‘ Yung 11,000, hindi ‘yon Instructor 1, parang Instructor 3,” (The P11,000 I was referring to is not even for those in the level of Instructor 1 but Instructor 3.) he said. Bautista, who was an Associate Professor (AP) in DEL, said the salary received even by tenured faculty in UP pales in comparison to the pay offered by call centers. “Magkano lang ba ang [AP], ang liit-liit, P23,000 ($501) gross, may tax pa ‘yan. How many years have I been in UP, 20? ‘ Yung P23,000 ($501), starting salary lang ‘yun sa [call center].”(How much is the salary of an associate professor? It is a mere P23, 000 or $501 gross without tax deductions yet. How many years have I been in UP before I reached this level? 20 years. The P23, 000 or $501 I am receiving now is just the starting salary in call centers.)

Bautista added that the swift career growth in a call center – an entry-level agent, for example, can apply for a supervisory position in just six months – is another attraction.

Formerly a customer service representative, Bautista now trains new recruits for the same company while on leave from the university.

The primary attraction of the Philippines as an outsourcing hub is cheap labor – companies served by call centers pay in dollars, and the measly wage of $6-$10 a night, given the high peso-to-dollar exchange rate, is an offer too good for most Filipinos to pass up. This, however, remains a far cry from the wages received by their American counterparts, which are around 80 percent higher.

Working student

Mark, meanwhile, was enrolled with a full-load of 15 units at the UP College of Mass Communication when he worked as a customer service representative for a large American cable company over a year ago.

“There were four of us in the family studying when I decided to work. Mahirap ang buhay, [at] malaking tulong din sa pamilya ‘yung sinusuweldo ko.” (The times are hard and the salary I am receiving helps a lot.) At that time, Mark recalls that his salary peaked to over P20, 000 ($436) most of which went to paying grocery and electricity bills, apart from his “remittance” to his father.

Mark, who is now on his last year as a Journalism major, worked in a prominent call center facility in Commonwealth Ave., just a jeepney ride away from UP. Many of his officemates were also from UP; one was from the College of Social Work and Community Development, while another was from Public Administration and Governance. “I even saw a former USC [University Student Council] councilor training there,” he adds.

A year into his job, however, Mark was “practically compelled” by his supervisors to resign due to his excessive absences and habitual tardiness. He was made to choose between resigning or awaiting the decision of the company’s bosses. If the decision was to fire him, Mark would not be able to get his pro-rated monetary benefits, like performance bonus and 13th- month pay.

“Ang hirap kasi ng schedule ko. (My schedule was too heavy.) Every day after my work, I’d have to go straight to school to attend my classes. And then work ulit sa gabi,” (And then work again at night.) he explained. Mark was on a four-day work schedule every week, 11 hours every day.

Brain drain

The UP population isn’t the only academic community being drawn to call centers. With the Filipinos’ facility with the English language, the government seems adamant in maintaining its grip on this so-called “sunshine industry.” To illustrate, the past few years saw a re-orientation of the educational system towards the outsourcing industry.

The Technical Education Skills Development Authority, a government agency that provides vocational training for employment, has collaborated with outsourcing firms to provide free call center and medical transcription courses. After insistent lobbying from call center agencies, Gloria Arroyo also approved the allocation of P500 million ($10,907,504) for the “re-education” of “near-hires” – a term used to describe the 92 percent of applicants who fail to make it into call centers.

Some private schools have also instituted “call center subjects” in their curricula. Spoken English is now emphasized as never before, with some elementary schools integrating “Dynamic Education” (DynEd), a spoken English training course, into their syllabus. A part of the DynED module teaches students how to answer calls as if working the front desk of a company.

These programs are manifestations of the government’s insistence to keep the call center market flowing with a steady stream of intellectuals.

Even other support sectors, like the real estate and information and communications technology, are pitching in to provide the infrastructure to ensure the longer stay of call center facilities in the country.

Mark, on the other hand, is wary of promising not to return to his previous job. “I don’t want to go back to working in a call center, but if employment remains scarce when I graduate, I don’t think I have any other option,” he says.

True enough, for as long as the government is incapable of providing decent employment to its graduates and professionals, the academe would slowly be robbed of its most valued resources.

=====================================================================================================

Also posted in the Outsourcing (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=395780&page=10) thread. :colgate:

Angara airs concern on education policies
By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA
Manila Bulletin
http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2007080799662.html

Sen. Edgardo Angara yesterday expressed concern that Malacañang’s policies on education might be "retrogressing."


Angara said government’s programs for education appear to be retrogressing to the days before the Commission on Education (EDCOM) which he chaired in 1991.

"I am deeply disturbed by recent initiatives of the government in education policy. Education is retrogressing to pre-EDCOM days," Angara said.

Angara was referring to the recent abolition of the National Coordinating Council for Education (NCEE) which makes the Department of Education (DepEd), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) responsible for advancing education in the country.

"The unwarranted departure of these agencies from their appointed responsibilities, as well as the centralizing tendency of DepEd will cause shambles in education policy," he said.

Angara said he will file a resolution for the Senate to conduct an inquiry into the matter.

"The now abolished NCEE, for instance, is mandated by law to ensure that the education agencies will not operate at cross-purposes," said Angara.

Angara said that the DepEd has strayed away from basic education to technical and vocation training while TESDA, under the guise of "ladderization," wants its training courses to be credited as higher education.

Meanwhile, CHED promoted through regulation the expansion of public and private tertiary education, Angara said.

It sucks. It slowly depreciating the quality of our present generation of young students and new graduates. For the past few years, the philippines is suffering from employment back-logged, and its not because we are running out of employments in the country, but we are running out of right employees! Recently it became a headlines all around the nation, and thousands of new graduates were piling up in the line looking for a new job. According to the government the main reason of this was that most employers couldn't find their right potential employees. Hmm atleast someone is acknowledging the problem. But man, it almost knocked me down surprised when i first heard it bcuz after all this years i thought the main reason was the current problem in our over population, which is just another story.

Well then i maybe right that indeed some changes should be done. As we all aware of that the Philippines have been lagging behind slowly and might even place our country near the bottom and last in the league among with some of our asian neighbors if our government didn't do something to upgrade and change the current system. While we are still enjoying much pride of educating most of our asian brothers and sisters (except japan) not too long ago just after the second world war, which was the glory years of the 1950's to 70's , may it be in the English language or some technical, medical, engineering, and even in military tactics, agricultural, scientific, and administrative skills. Well it was a different story way back then before the war when mostly europeans and americans who have came to our country to live, study, and worked. But then, our country was still a commonwealth of the american empire.

I think its about time to do something before everything else becomes too late. Today, thailand is now the leading rice exporter among all asian nations, and ask me why? Because our generous scientists from Los Banios Laguna who have discovered the secrets of Super Hybrid Rice during the 80's had somehow partly ended up with the hands of the thais. They even copied the ideas of colorful tricycles and sidecars which is now part of their main tourist attraction. Was it this just a coincident or its just that our nation was just so unluckily surrounded by islamic and communist neighbors that made our country so problematic and now suffering from terrorrism attacks that have destroyed our dreams and affecting our economic big time? Sure you can blame it to our former president Marcos if you want to, but hey, the gods have given us a chance to correct everything when we kicked his ass out of the country almost 22 yrs ago, but what happened? The rest is history. Too much unfortunate events and badlucks. But i think its mainly because of mismanagement by our previous government officials and practicing an ineffective government system, which i personally prefer that we should be practicing a federal type of government system just like most of the wealthiest nations does like canada.

Back to thailand issue, you know we even sent thousands of proffessional engineers, architects, doctors, surgeons, nurses, industrial designers, and mechanics to help them build their nation to where they are at now. Thats because they cannot produce any better and highly skilled proffessionals from their own colleges and universities. So people, dont let them devour us completely one day economically, because once we had a dream, a Filipino Dream by former presidents Magsaysay and even Ferdinand Marcos, and that dream should come true. Read on.

I have heard this before that some filipino politicians had brought this issue up in congress but failed, and i hope im wrong. About the details, i dont know. But we need a new system, something that will effectively bring our whole nation to the next level and back to the world map, as we need to regain our long lost glory of the past.

This new system should be simple but effective. A system that will give much freedom and allowing any students to choose only what they need to learn in school, and choose as many profficiencies as they capable of, in a way that a system should help them all the way to reach everyone's goal without being jeopardized the acceptable individual standard literacy level. These are the knowledges of the basic mathematics (algebra, geometry, statistics, calculus, etc...), science (including physics, zoology/botany, biology, etc...), social studies, sociology, language, read and write, national history and world geography, economics, philippine laws, and lastly patriotism/nationalism.

The main idea is to help all the Filipino graduates to become more successful in finding a job and to make their dreams come true. This will definitely help our country to move faster by giving all the employers from private and government sectors their easiest way of hiring the right employees. In the other hand, this idea should also be best used in boosting our economic output by encouraging more foreign and local investors through the new system that starts proudly from our nation's reliable new educational system.

The system should include some profficiency programs that will help all the students to decide where and what type of profession they should take along the way in accordance of their intellectual and physical capabilities. Another way to make this possible is to place a computer-based programs with an enough extensive multi-level IQ Test for all Elementary & Highschool students depending on their age, with a computerized personal monitoring and career-directional information system that are being stored in a database to track down each students' progress to better help them decide what to study in accordance to their best interest to have a successful career.

This should make the Elementary & Highschool be the starting point of all academical training to make all students be well prepared and properly educated before they enter the next level in college or university, where the main practical training and education, such as their apprenticeship or internship and additional academics are awaiting.

Therefore all students should study only what they will need to learn in school and should only be related to their chosen career.

Private sector boosts quality of RP education
Manila Bulletin
http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN20070816100455.html


Private sector assistance to Philippine education cannot be quantified by the number of scholars it had sent to school or the classrooms it had built to help alleviate the classroom shortage in the country’s public school system.

It extends beyond statistics and the various projects private companies had undertaken, and finds real meaning in the long-term commitment and zeal the foundations these companies had set up to assist the government raise the quality of education.

Take the Metrobank Foundation, the organization behind the annual Search for Outstanding Teachers. Established in 1979, the foundation conceived the awards program that would honor educators and act as incentive to the teaching profession.

And consider, too, the contributions of other private firms to the education system through their respective foundations like Ayala Foundation, the SM Foundation, the Alfonso Yuchengco Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House Charities, the ABS-CBN Foundation, the Coca-Cola Foundation and FUSE (Foundation for Upgrading the Standard of Education).

"Corporate social responsibility is a vast landscape filled with great opportunities to help improve the lives of Filipinos. Though we have covered much ground in 40 years, we realize that more can be done to enrich the lives of Filipinos and help the underprivileged," says Ayala Foundation.

Among the private groups that had zeroed in on education is FUSE, a 12-year-old organization, which has anchored its various training programs on English, Math and the Sciences.

"In step with the objectives of the Department of Education, we have prepared workshops or training programs that aim to raise the level of teaching in the three academic subjects," explains Rep. Salvador H. Escudero III, president of FUSE.

Last year alone, the foundation gave two-day training programs in English to 369 teachers as part of its teacher development program, utilizing Constec (Continuing Studies via Technology) telecourses and teaching support materials.

I thought you said you were home schooled :)

seriously, what school would that be? marami kasi akong kaibigan na titser. as a matter of fact my wife is a teacher.

Yeah, those hours are from the school I was enrolled before I shifted to home school.

But even the homeschool has school hours.
8AM - 5PM ;)

Gov’t allocating P1.7 B to buy school equipment (http://www.mb.com.ph/MTNN20070820100810.html)

With public school enrolment forecast to hit 17.6 million next June, government is allocating R1 billion in next year’s national budget to buy 1.67 million classroom desks and armchairs.

Government will also be shopping for P700-million worth of school science equipment.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said the two planned purchases are among the activities to be funded by the Department of Education’s (DepEd) P145-billion proposed budget for 2008.

Andaya had earlier announced that P260 million will be set aside for DepEd’s school computerization program next year.

The final amount for another traditional big-ticket item in the education budget, the textbook allocation, is still being finalized, but the government is eyeing the purchase of a minimum of 32 million textbooks for the 2008-2009 academic year, Andaya revealed.

On the school furniture budget, Andaya said this will be used to buy not only armchairs and desks, but also blackboards, teacher chairs, and tables. The average cost of an armchair or a desk has been pegged by DepEd at P600.

The DepEd tops the proposed P1.227-trillion 2008 national budget for 2008 with a P145-billion allocation, P3.6-billion higher than its budget this year.

With this amount, the agency plans to spend P5.7 billion for new classrooms, and P1.38 billion for the initial salary of 10,000 teachers and 1,661 principals who will be hired in June next year.

Other programs are the pre-school program (P2 billion), the creation of 711,750 scholarship slots for students who will be enrolled in private schools (P2.9 billion), the training of Mathematics, English, and Science teachers (P1 billion), and repair of schoolbuildings (P1 billion).

Andaya clarified that basic education, which DepEd administers, is just one of the items in the education, culture, and manpower development budget .

Total proposed spending for this sector is P180.2 billion this year, an increase of P11.5 billion from last year’s level. On top of DepEd’s P145 billion, we will spend P35.2 billion more for human capital development, Andaya said.

Under the above sector are agencies like the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), science schools run by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), and more than 120 state colleges and universities, among others.

It’s the basics, stupid! (http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view_article.php?article_id=84138)

Fifteen years after a congressional commission defined the problems besetting the education system, much remains to be done to check and reverse the worsening state of basic education. Some of the commission’s recommendations have been adopted, such as the establishment of the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. But it seems the separation of higher learning and vocational education from the responsibility of the old Department of Education, Culture and Sports has only underscored the knotty state of basic education and along with that, the problematic bureaucracy and workings of the new but graft-prone Department of Education (DepEd).

As the Inquirer series, “Education in Crisis,” demonstrated, despite the commission’s findings and recommendations, education has taken a turn for the worse. A Unesco report ranked the Philippines 74th in terms of the Education Development Index, below Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia and China. Results of the National Elementary Achievement Test and National Secondary Achievement Test showed that students could only correctly answer less than 50 percent of the questions. And Philippine students performed poorly in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science study, ranking 41st in a field of 45 in Science and 42nd in Math.

Apparently the education system faces two major challenges: access to education, and issues of quality. The commission already identified 15 years ago the need to stress basic public education because that’s all the formal schooling the masses of Filipinos get and because they are entitled to that constitutionally. But the shortage of classrooms has become graver through the years -- some 41,000 as of this year, which means P16 billion is needed for the construction of new classrooms. The student-teacher ratio is the worst in the region so that the Philippines has an average class size of 43.9 students in public elementary schools and 56.1 in public high schools.

The sticky problem of access to education can be seen in the high dropout rate. Fifty-one percent of Filipinos have had only elementary education. Only 14.3 percent of rural poor Filipinos graduate from high school or have higher educational attainment.

Access, of course, refers to “quantity.” And when numbers are involved, can corruption be far behind? This seems to bug Sen. Edgardo Angara, who headed the congressional commission. He said that international donors and business concerns had given the DepEd a tremendous amount of money but the department had nothing to show for it. No assessment has been made of the impact of the scarce resources put by donors and businesses into the DepEd. The needs of the DepEd are “a bottomless pit,” he concluded.

Angara also expressed suspicion about DepEd statistics, which he described as “inaccurate, sometimes even falsified.”

Eventually, issues of quantity, including accuracy of statistics, have a bearing on the other major problem of Philippine education: quality. In fact, the report had suggested the close link between quantity and quality, arguing that since throwing money into the system would not be good enough, then it would be better to go for value-added -- in another word, quality. “There’s only one thing we can do,” the commission report said. “We must extract more efficiency and more productivity from both our education budget and our education department.”

There’s the rub. As Angara has said, there has been no impact report on the money poured into the DepEd by donors and businesses. For example, multilateral and bilateral institutions have poured millions into textbook development, but the textbook regime of the DepEd remains under a cloud of doubt over defective and substandard textbooks. Moreover, Congress keeps on passing laws establishing new public schools without checking if existing schools are delivering the goods well. Meanwhile, the government is pushing for an ambitious cyber education program to would be backed by international funding, except that even Filipino IT experts doubt if the Philippines has the competence to establish and manage such a program; and in any case, what’s immediately needed is to address the basic lack of classrooms and teachers, not the lack of multimedia.

Obviously education reforms are needed, but they should start at the heart of the matter: a bureaucracy that is supposed to address the needs of the education system but can’t get the basics right.

Let there be light (http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=84150)

I’ve followed closely our series on the state of our education and found it more horrifying than any horror story in the movies or on TV. Much of it, of course, is something most of us already know, or have suspected, but it still dismays when set out in black and white. Truly, you wonder where we’re headed.

There are facts and figures aplenty to drive home the point of our falling into the pit of ignorance, but what particularly struck me is how we’ve fallen behind Vietnam, Mongolia and Indonesia in clawing out of the hole. We ranked 74th in the Unesco Education Development Index, Vietnam, Mongolia and Indonesia ranked 65th, 61st and 58th respectively. Vietnam was an abject sight in the 1960s and 1970s, flattened as it was by bomb and bullying. How it picked itself up from that state to zoom past us who were being hailed as the next Japan before Diosdado Macapagal took over is a tale unto itself, one to gape and marvel at.

I don’t know how we stand in relation to Thailand, and I don’t know that I want to know. I recall that not too long ago, Thais were desperate to study in the University of the Philippines, particularly in the College of Agriculture in Los Baños, Laguna. It’s not just time that has flown, it’s a lot of other things, too.

Apparently, many of the ills that afflict Philippine education were pointed out long ago. A congressional commission in 1991 already expressed alarm over the deteriorating education system and recommended several things to arrest it. It noted that throwing more money into education alone wouldn’t solve the problem and that even if it could, there wasn’t enough money to go around. It called for strengthening basic education -- elementary and high school -- which is all the education that most Filipinos would ever get anyway.

I don’t disagree with many of the findings and recommendations of that commission, I disagree with its thrust. It misses the forest for the trees. It’s too micro, which is probably why it never got any headway from the start. I myself have only a couple of suggestions on how to stop the free fall. Neither is easy, but I can’t see how any kind of progress can be made without them.

The first is, in fact, to put more money into the damn thing. Money itself won’t solve the problem, but it sure as hell will go a long way toward doing so. It’s like what some bishops say about Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which is that removing her won’t solve our problems. It won’t, but it sure as hell will go a long way toward doing so. I’ve always stated my case here in strenuous terms: Let’s put all our marbles in education. My favorite mechanic doesn’t mind eating badly and looking grimy just to get his boy past dentistry and his girl past nursing, I don’t see why most Filipinos wouldn’t as well. That is the Great Filipino Dream: to get the kids to graduate and have a better life than one has had. Most Filipinos wouldn’t mind tightening their belts if they knew they were sacrificing for their kids’ future.

“If” is the operative word. Which brings me to: There is money to throw into education, lots and lots of it. That is the Ali Baba treasure being lost to us by corruption. When the congressional commission made its report, we weren’t yet the most corrupt country in Asia. Pillage, theft, stealing, however you call it, is not abstract, it is concrete. It has a face. It is the face, or faces, or blank stares, of those whose brains are not lit by the light of learning.

What makes corruption truly odious is when you think of the many millions of children who could have a crack at a better life if all those books, schoolhouses and teachers had not been taken away from them. Corruption is grabbing the food from the mouth of the hungry. It is stealing coins from a beggar.

My second suggestion is infinitely harder but even more necessary. That is a curriculum that emphasizes not just knowledge and skills but “a sense of country,” as I’ve always put it. A country that has been flattened out by war but has a people possessed of a sense of belonging, a sense of pride, a sense of purpose, will always get ahead of a country that does not. What would have surprised me is if Vietnam had not gone past us.

The least of the reasons for my suggestion is practical. When the commission made its analysis in 1991, the country hadn’t yet seen the Great Diaspora; that would unravel over the next few years. A diaspora that, the Asian Development Bank warns, stands to shoo away foreign investments for lack of skilled personnel left in the country. Where is the sense in investing huge amounts of money to educate people whose first instinct is to work abroad? We’re just subsidizing other countries’ labor-upgrading costs at degrading cost to ourselves.

But more than that, an education that cannot instill in students a sense of worth and ambition, a sense of capability and desire, an education that can spark in them only the hope of finding work in a call center at home or a care-giving institution abroad, has no business being there. It is not education, it is flagellation. It won’t inspire enthusiasm, it will inspire masochism. You know exactly why higher education has gone to the pits when you hear an education czar telling us the problem with it is that it isn’t producing the supply that the labor market demands. That is turning the Department of Education into the Department of Labor and Employment -- that is turning schools into meat grinders.

I know it’s impossible to educate most Filipinos of the present generation. But I believe it is perfectly possible even now to produce a critical mass of highly educated Filipinos who have a sense of nation and want to build it, who can strive and drive themselves to fulfill dreams, who believe they can do and not just be content to make do. God has the best advice of all for our educators, or those posing as so:

Let there be light.

DepEd pushes madrasah program (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=84523)

MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of Education (DepEd) is stepping up its efforts to provide high-quality education in Muslim public schools through the madrasah program.

The program, which includes the implementation of a Muslim-friendly school curriculum, will require at least P2 billion in the next four years, according to a DepEd report furnished the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The Libyan government has pledged at least P200 million worth of textbooks for the DepEd initiative.

Madrasah, the Arabic word for school, aims to "positively contribute to the ongoing peace process, make the public education system more intensive and seek to improve the quality of life of Muslim school children through education," Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said.

The program is part of the department's ambitious Muslim Basic Education Road Map "in line with the government's Medium-Term Development Plan and its peace agreement with the secessionist Moro National Liberation Front."

"This is the department's modest yet significant contribution to the peace-building efforts by government and non-government agencies," Lapus said.

Lapus said the department recognizes the critical role of education in peace-building. "The school is where minds are formed and values are enhanced."

Three years ago, the DepEd started implementing a Muslim-friendly curriculum in selected public schools serving Muslim communities in Metro Manila.

In addition to Filipino, English, mathematics, science and makabayan, (nationalism) the Arabic language and Islamic values have been added to the elementary school curriculum.

According to Manaros Boransing, DepEd Undersecretary for Muslim Affairs, "this is to prove the sincerity of the department in providing free, quality education to all public school children regardless of ethnicity or religious affiliation."

The DepEd also plans to put up what it calls "Fund for Assistance to Muslim Education" or FAME. The project will require at least P500 million in seed money from the government.

The initiative, another component of the seven-point road map for upgrading basic education of Muslim Filipinos, will be created "by an Act of Congress," said Boransing.

FAME is similar to the existing Fund for Assistance to Private Education or FAPE.

Under the program, the government will solicit "matching donations" from Malaysia and Brunei, its "partners in Southeast Asia for improving the quality of Muslim education in the country."

Other road map components are: upgrading secular education in elementary and secondary schools serving Muslims; development of livelihood-skills education for Muslim out-of-school youth; provision of quality education for Muslim pre-school children; improvement of the health and nutritional status of Muslim students, especially those in public elementary schools; and development of a special alternative learning system Muslim out-of-school youth and adults.

This year, the DepEd has allocated P100 million for the alternative learning system for out-of-school youth, said Boransing. "They are the product of extreme poverty and the continuing armed conflict in Mindanao. Their problems are the most urgent."

The program's main objectives are "to be able to positively contribute to the peace process between the government and our Muslim brothers and improve the quality of their life through education," he said.

Compared to the whole of Mindanao, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM registers the highest incidence of poor families and malnutrition, as well as maternal and child mortality rates.

A Congressional Planning and Budget Department report disclosed that the region has a "very low percentage of students in primary and secondary schools."

"Certainly, the region has the lowest level of human development in the country... More than 60 percent of the children younger than seven and up to 16 years old live in poor households," the report said.

Boransing said that the conflict in Mindanao has driven Muslims to other parts of the country where Muslim children have no access to the state-run education system.

According to him, the alternative learning program will first target Muslim out of school children in urban areas because in five to 10 years, they may become part of the peace and order problem.

The Libyan government has pledged at least P200 million worth of textbooks, all to be supplied by local publishers.

In 2004, DepEd Order No. 51 formally integrated the madrasah into the mainstream education system.

The DepEd currently has 459 public schools nationwide implementing the madrasah program, "excluding those in the ARMM," which is supposedly autonomous, said Boransing.

Like many of the other public schools, Muslim schools have apparently failed to deliver quality education "because of insufficient or irrelevant textbooks and instructional materials, lack of academically qualified teachers and lack of funds," said a DepEd report in the early 1990s (titled Making Education Work: An Agenda for Reform).

Boransing said "it's only during the Arroyo administration where the DepEd came up with an Islamic-friendly school curriculum for local Muslims. For public schools, we now have Arabic language and values education being taught alongside English, Filipino, Science and Makabayan subjects. For Muslim private schools, the Koran and two other Islamic religion subjects have been added. So they are now similar to Christian schools."

The DepEd started implementing these initiatives in school year 2005-2006.

The department has proposed to Congress a P260 million budget for this year's alternative learning and madrasah program "but we're only given P100 million."

"But we're working within the department that certain items will be realigned so we can get the budget we asked for. For 2008, we're asking for P520 million. For 2009, it's P700 million and for 2010, P967 million," Boransing added.

kiretoce, do u work for inquirer? tnx! very informative articles u have posted... :)

^^ :lol: Oh no, not at all! I'm just a very good "Googler" I guess. :okay:

1.8M high school seniors take career-determining tests (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=85090)

MANILA, Philippines -- Some 1.8 million high school seniors nationwide are set to take the National Career Assessment Examinations, or NCAE, to be administered Tuesday by the Department of Education (DepEd).

The DepEd has set aside P50 million for the tests, which would measure the students’ aptitude in three key domains -- general scholastics, technical-vocational and entrepreneurial skills.

The NCAE is “by far our best tool to assess the abilities of students in areas essential for post-secondary studies,” Education Secretary Jesli A. Lapus said.

Senior high school students “can make wiser career decisions based on the results of the NCAE,” he said.

Lapus, meanwhile, appealed again to militant high school seniors to reconsider their decision to boycott the NCAE.

The tests, he said, were “not mandatory but they can guide them to make really good career decisions.”

Militant students who picketed the DepEd main office in Pasig City on Friday said the NCAE was a “waste of public funds” and an “imposition of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization.”

The tests were also “not the solution to the skills and jobs mismatch problem” faced by college graduates, they said.

Of the more than 1.3 million students who took the NCAE in January, 711,526 (54.5 percent) were shown to have high aptitude for technical-vocational training, while only 49,066 showed high aptitude for college.

“The tests support our theory that a lot of our students are better fit to take the tech-voc track,” Lapus said.

They also “support the shift in our policy directions for education,” he said.

Lapus also stressed the value of tech-voc training in solving the skills and jobs mismatch.

He pointed out that “of the 2.6 million unemployed Filipinos, around 1.1 million are college graduates.”

“At the same time, we have 650,000 tech-voc jobs available in the local market. We cannot fill the vacancies because our tech-voc applicants lack the required skills,” he said.

DepEd Programs and Projects director Teresita Incion told a press conference that 4,108 private high schools and 6,371 public high schools were expected to administer the exams.

Incion explained that the NCAE does not test the students strictly on a per-subject basis like the previous National College Entrance Examination (NCEE).

While the NCAE provides students an overview of the capabilities they can use when entering college or a vocational school, it does not discourage students from taking up a course they want, Incion said.

“It simply tells them [students] to focus on their strengths or make improvements if they want to pursue certain college courses,” Incion said.

She also explained that the NCAE was a mandatory exam for public schools but not for private institutions.

But on the third year of the NCAE’s implementation, Incion said the DepEd would propose to make the exam a requirement for all high schools nationwide through a law so that colleges and universities could also use the results as a basis for accepting students.

But Incion added that the students would still have to take and pass the entrance exams which schools required on top of the NCAE.

“The idea is to ensure low dropout rates for courses,” Incion said.

^^ :lol: Oh no, not at all! I'm just a very good "Googler" I guess. :okay:

:lol: I graduated from "Wikipedia University" so
im a true blue "wikipedians" :lol:

EDUCATION REFORMS, AT LAST? (http://www.theboholchronicle.com/editorial.php?issue=278&s1=3711&s2=&s3=&s4=&s5=3713&s6=972&s7=&s9=&s10=)

Frankly, interviewing new graduates these days shock us. Not all the time, but most of the time.
Not only are their English (written and verbal) atrocious, perspectives are narrow and reasoning skills are as thin as the hair of Dolphy without his wig.

Let's be frank - coming from where our generation did - today's Education in the Philippines seems to have gone to the dogs. It sucks, the burgis swears.

We can narrow the problems to three: lack of infrastructure, mismatching of skills and needs and integrity of the Professional Regulation Commission.

Everyone knows about the lack of rooms - having seen some classes held under the trees; lack of teachers - the good ones pirated abroad to be nannies and chamber maids in the London aristocracy and the American high society; lack of books - shared as they are by five students - even God wonders who has the privilege to bring it home in the evening.

Every year, over a million new graduates walk the gates of their schools with prospects of getting a job close to nil - except for those from super good universities and exclusive schools. Just consider that one million Filipinos went abroad last year because good job opportunities here are as elusive as senator Mar Roxas when it comes to marriage.

Too, the Educational System was an ill-repute institution because of some unethical lapses at the Professional Regulatory Commission where leakages of test questions for lawyers, nurses, doctors and architects were once upon a time causing the whole professional licensing as suspect.

Thus we have lawyers who cannot compose a sound legal deposition, doctors and nurses who send their patients to the morgue faster than you can say "Mercury Drug," architects who design houses not fit for mammals to live, engineers who construct defective bridges that collapse at the passing of a summer breeze and hey, teachers whose grammar limps and syntax burdensome as "sin taxes."

At least, now, the ignominy of the 2006 Nursing Exams is now over. Over 70% of the Nursing Test re -takers (or 9,198) passed the new board exams that paved the way for the acquisition of the Visa Screen Certification from the CFGNS. The stigma is over.

It's good that the NBI and regulatory authorities are running after unscrupulous review centers, schools and their associated crooks which put the nursing professionals, so attractive to many patrons abroad, in a state of jeopardy.

It is a primordial goal that integrity be placed back into that Commission if we are to remain competitive as OFWs for those uppity jobs that require more than cleaning diapers, changing bed sheets, waiting for restaurant tips and hacking the rocks in the Middle East.

On the other hand, many thousand errors in grammar, facts and logic were exposed by a maverick professor in books distributed to our elementary and high school public school students. Free education for them has meant, therefore - as mis-education into the level that erroneous textbooks will lead them - mostly into intellectual perdition.

One adds to that the disaster that the popular text messaging mania has brought to the English language like "dats wat I mnt by I luv ya" or "4got 2 give u 2loy" - confusing the young with language combos, abbreviated wrongly spelt words and utilizing numbers for phrases, our precious Shakespeare!

These infrastructure drawbacks could soon perhaps (?) be solved with the P26-billion Cyber Education Project of the Department of Education. Using satellite technology, master teachers adept in TV communication will teach excellent elementary and high school courses linked to a nationwide network with 123 video channels via the Internet.

This is supposed to serve 37,794 schools or 90% of the entire public school system - borrowing technology from China's E-Education Plan serving that mammoth nation's over 500,000 universities and schools.

Will that solve the problem of lack of schools, teachers and books? Not so - the ACT (Association of Concerned Teachers) says, claiming that the project could be a "white elephant" because its success is premised on the availability of the still controversial National Broadband System. ZTE, remember? Not surprisingly both projects are China-based "technology and funding-wise." What's the real score?

Finally, the mismatching and joblessness is now met by the so-called NCAE (National Career Assessment Examination) where 1.3 million kids took last Tuesday nationwide.

The first batch of 1.8 million senior high students took the same test last January.

Unlike the NCEE (National College Entrance Examination) which was a pre-requisite to enter college, the NCAE determines other things. The aim is to determine a person's general scholastic aptitude to different careers like even technical and vocational paths, entrepreneurial ability and take stock of occupational interest inventory.

It means that an artist or actor need not take commerce or economics or a mechanically inclined trouble-shooter to take Liberal Arts and still be able to find jobs.

It also erases the decades-long bias of Philippine education to make employees of graduates instead of being entrepreneurs and creative inventors or risk takers.

If the Department of Education swings these reforms in a jiffy, that should add another feather in the cap of Jesli Lapuz, an AIM graduate, corporate turn-around artist and a Congressional finance and budget expert into senatorial material. And why not?

Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla are there scratching their bellies - so why not indeed.

But lest Jesli forgets, the moral recovery program subjects, must be embedded (most importantly) in the curriculum.

We have enough wise guys in this country who have used their brains and skills to put the nation to torch with shenanigans and hooliganism. That, in truth, is the real reason why the country is Asia's basket case.

Apil ka anang grupoha? Makaulaw baya.

Alternative education offered to Muslim adults, youths :applause:

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 12:41pm (Mla time) 08/30/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- Muslim out-of-school youths and adults will have a chance to go to school through an alternative learning system offered by the Department of Education (DepEd), Education Secretary Jesli Lapus has said in a statement.

"Many learners require us to provide alternative modes of education. These initiatives provide them with the literacy and skills they need to become productive members of society,” Lapus said.

The Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education in Alternative Learning Systems (ALIVE in ALS) will be offered through selected urban migrant centers nationwide and would start in October this year, said Lapus.

ALIVE in ALS provides basic education and integrating Arabic and Muslim values into current ALS course being offered by the DepEd, which consists of basic literacy, accreditation and equivalency and also livelihood skills development and entrepreneurship, he said.

The DepEd’s ALS covers reading, writing and basic mathematics for youths. Meanwhile, adults and dropouts from elementary and secondary schools can continue their education through accreditation and equivalency, said Lapus.

Beneficiaries will also be given employment assistance and post-training support after completing their ALS studies, said Lapus.

The ALIVE in ALS program is part of the DepEd’s contribution to the peace process among the Muslim population, he said.

The beneficiaries are those who have left Mindanao due to armed conflicts between insurgents and the military, said Lapus.

Likewise, those seeking business from the southern part of the country are also given a chance to take part in ALIVE in ALS, said Lapus.

IBM helps to produce world-class Filipino engineers :applause:

By Tina Arceo-Dumlao
Inquirer
Last updated 04:06am (Mla time) 08/30/2007


IBM Corp. takes pride in its ability to help clients earn more and gain that vital competitive edge by getting them to invest in the right kind of technology.

It does so by taking a closer look at what its clients need, in terms of systems and software, and recommending a whole suite of solutions that will get them from where they are to where they want to go.

The American company, which is celebrating its 70th year of business in the Philippines, wants to apply the same skills and expertise in helping the Philippines produce world-class engineers.

This is through its global program championing service science, management and engineering -- a new academic discipline that brings together skills in the fields of computer science, industrial engineering, social and legal sciences and business strategy.

Company president James Velasquez tells the Inquirer that IBM is working on convincing the government and various academic institutions to modify the curriculum for engineering to include these skills, which are outside the traditional sphere of engineering.

Velasquez says the engineering curriculum has to be expanded because both the local and global markets demand engineers who know more than just engineering.

As it stands, the engineering curriculum is heavy on the engineering, math and science subjects, but little in the fields of economics, business management and more importantly, services.

IBM believes that services will define the economy of the future. Today, it already accounts for 75 percent of the US economy and still growing. The US Department of Labor estimated that by 2014, four of five jobs in the US will be in the services sector, including customer relationship management, retail and hospitality sectors, and information technology.

The Philippines is likely to follow the same trend and local graduates must be prepared to deal with the shift, including the engineers.

“The engineering curriculum is not yet aligned to what the market needs, so we are trying to get that interest going in modifying the curriculum to include a new set of disciplines,” Velasquez says.

He says IBM was willing to bring in its experts from Europe and the United States to sit down with government and academic officials to see where the possible changes can be made.

Business-and-technology marriage

“There should be a marriage between business and technology skills,” Velasquez explains, “because engineers must know about the industry that they are working for.”

IBM has already initiated talks with the Department of Science and Technology to introduce the new discipline.

It is also in discussions with the country’s top academic institutions, including the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, University of the East, University of San Carlos in Cebu and the Asia Pacific College to see where they can collaborate in crafting a new curriculum.

Velasquez says that by providing engineering students with a more well-rounded set of skills and knowledge, they will be better prepared to do a good job when they join the labor force.

“This will also help us as a country to compete with the others, because our engineers will be equipped with not just the hard technical skills but soft skills, such as in services,” he says.

IBM says that graduates of service science, management and engineering can enter the workforce as solution designers, consultants, engineers, scientists and managers.

“After gaining practical experience across multiple industry sectors and with rapidly evolving technology tools and solutions that transform businesses and institutions, they will then go on to be successful entrepreneurs, executives, researches and practitioners, with a solid ground in theory and practice to design complex solutions,” IBM says in a statement.

SSME professionals, IBM adds, will be experts in developing solutions in coordination with teams across disciplines.

It is IBM’s hope that through the SSME program, the Philippines will have a formidable pool of such experts.

____________________________________________________________

good news indeed, we were in nanyang tech college in singapore on 2005 and we enquired about their engineering programme...the subjects offered are more on applications of common skills, and i find it very practical, kasi wala ng paikot ikot. with that you'll take much lesser units than what you will take in the philippines to finish a degree. unlike satin, general subject palang, andami na, tapos ganun uli kapag nagmajor ka, pero kung tigtignan mo yung mga subjects mo matatawa ka lang...yung kapatid ko nga eh, pati ba naman simpleng "orientation" sa school e part na ng curiculum, di another units paid. problema sa pilipinas money-making scheme ang education.

Business to educators: Tailor-fit curricula to industries’ demands
Business World
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW090107/content.php?id=004

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) yesterday asked educators to come up with curricula that will address the needs of industries especially in the areas of Mathematics, English, and Science and Technology.

In an education forum, Eduardo Guttierez-Ong, PCCI vice-president for training, education, and science and technology, said there is a need to integrate industry requirements with the academe to ensure more employment opportunities.

"According to [President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo], the country has been producing quite a number of graduates every year. But we can see that there is no significant employment occurring in the numbers," Mr. Ong told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the event.

He also noted the need to improve the ability of the teaching profession. "Train yourselves to be proficient in your work because there must be continuous development through seminars and training."

Meanwhile, Science and Technology director Ester B. Ogena said the government will increase the number of scholarship grants under an intensified science and technology curriculum.

She said the department will extend 400 scholarships for the training of science and technology experts, while the Commission on Higher Education will allot 310 scholarships for faculty development through masteral and doctorate programs.

"Strategies for bringing the gap between the curriculum of the academe and the standards of industries should be identified," Ms. Ogena said.

She challenged industries to define their needs so that schools may be able to respond, adding collaboration on research should be done for greater employment prospects.

Queena N. Lee-Chua, a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, said at the same forum that the science and technology curriculum lacks coordination in research work, funds, manpower and qualified teachers, and a science consciousness among students.

Ateneo president tapped to head education task force

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 04:23pm (Mla time) 09/04/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- The recently formed Presidential Task Force on Education under the Office of the President has named Father Bienvenido Nebres, Ateneo De Manila University president, chairman, according to a statement by the Department of Education.

Nebres will be joined by four others from the private sector -- Angeles University Foundation President Emmanuel Angeles, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Donald Dy, Asian Institute of Management Professor Victor Limlingan, and former University of the Philippines president Jose Abueva, it said.

The five, along with Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, Romulo Neri, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); and Augusto Syjuco, director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), complete the task force, it said.

In an interview with INQUIRER.net, Mona Dumlao Valisno, presidential assistant for education, said that Nebres was appointed only last Monday and would lead the group in developing strategies in improving the country’s entire educational system.

Valisno was appointed by virtue of Executive Order 632, which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed last July 20 that created her position.

Arroyo signed Executive Order 635 last August 24 creating a presidential task force to assess, plan and monitor the entire educational system.

Valisno said that EO 632 amended EO 273 in 2000, which used to rotate the position of the presidential assistant among the DepEd, CHED, and TESDA.

“I’ll be the one doing the implementation of the programs and strategies identified by the task force,” Valisno said.

She said that the position was co-terminus with the President whose term would end in 2010.

^^^ I hope this task force will create a windfall of positive changes for the country's education system. they certainly have a lot of people with good credentials to count on.

yea ai agree

This is an excellent news, and a good start for our kid's generation:

http://www.gmanews.tv/video/11896/Saksi-Students-try-to-outdo-each-other-at-Phil-Robotics-Olympiad

Assuming that...
By Patricia Evangelista
Inquirer
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=90145

MANILA, Philippines -- The ABC’s of ZTE are now common coffee-shop conversation. But the ZTE contract is not the only multibillion-peso government initiative under the media spotlight. Last Monday, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus defended the P26.4-billion Cyber Education Project (CEP) of the Department of Education.

Using satellites, the CEP will beam educational services to 90 percent of public elementary and secondary schools throughout the country or 37,794 schools, linking them to a nationwide network. The satellite network will provide 12 video channels, wireless wide area networking, local area networking and wireless Internet connection. It will be financed through a P22.77-billion loan from China, amounting to 86 percent of the project. The remaining P3.71 billion, or 14 percent, will be financed by the Philippine government.

Lapus claimed that all fears over the CEP project are due to controversies surrounding the $329-million national broadband network deal of the Philippine government and the Chinese government-owned ZTE Corp. Lapus said the CEP had not been finalized.

The CEP is different, has nothing to do with the ZTE, he said. The only similarity is that the deal is similar to the ZTE package, and that it’s being brokered with China. On Tuesday, Trade Secretary Peter Favila said that he doesn’t understand the uproar over both the NBN and CEP deals. After all, “no contract” existed.

Favila called the signed agreement between China and the Philippines a Memorandum of Understanding. “Memorandum of understanding, or misunderstanding, it depends on how you look at it. Meaning, with the Chinese and other nationalities, you can lose things in translation,” the charming secretary even tried his hand at humor. “So my joke there is either an MOU or a MOMU,” he said, meaning “ghost” in Filipino.

The contract, or memorandum of agreement, or memorandum of understanding, or whatever Favila and Sergio Apostol, President Macapagal-Arroyo’s legal adviser, would have it called, did pull a Casper on April 21. Copies of the $329-million ZTE and $460-million CEP contracts were reportedly stolen in Boao, China, the day they were signed.

“Somebody has stolen it—(all) two copies,” said Apostol. “So there’s no contract. We don’t know what kind of contract it is.” The deal, he said, did not pass through Malacañang because it was lost.

The public, naturally, only has his word for it, and there is no Jose “Joey” de Venecia III to point fingers and claim bribery, corruption and overpricing. The gentlemen defending the CEP appear to believe that for as long as no contract “exists,” CEP is a non-issue.

Let us assume, for argument’s sake, that the entire deal, as Secretary Lapus claimed, is above board and legal. Let us assume that there is no contract yet. And let us assume, although it flies in the face of current realities, that the gentlemen involved are men of unimpeachable character, and that all they care about, in their heart of hearts, are the best interests of the Filipino people. The question that must be asked is the same question that Sen. Mar Roxas asked of the ZTE deal. Is the Cyber Education Project necessary?

That education must be dealt with, and immediately, is not the debate. The CEP cannot be equated to education, it is a possible solution, and as such must respond to existing problems.

Let us concede that the problem exists. A Trends in International Mathematics and Science study ranks Filipino students at 41st in a field of 45 in Science, and 42nd in Math. A recent Unesco report ranked the Philippines 74th in terms of the Education Development Index, far below Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia and China. Both the National Elementary Achievement Test and National Secondary Achievement Test demonstrate how students could correctly answer less than 50 percent of exam questions.

Fifteen years ago, a congressional commission identified the need to stress basic public education, because it was the only formal schooling the majority of Filipinos were able to get. As of this year, there is a shortage of some 41,000 classrooms, requiring roughly P16 billion. That does not include the salaries of teachers; neither does it include the necessary teacher training in a country where even teachers admit they feel they are unable to teach basic English to students. At the moment, the student-teacher ratio is the worst in the region. The Philippines has an average class size of 43.9 students in public elementary schools, and 56.1 in public high schools.

The CEP proposes to deliver education through the sophisticated mechanisms of satellites, television and computers to Filipino classrooms. Without the classrooms, without the teachers, without the electric sockets to plug in the thousands of computers and televisions that have to be bought on taxpayers’ money, the CEP proposal appears to be crafted for an entirely different country.

At the moment, 51 percent of Filipinos have had only elementary education. Only 14.3 percent of rural poor Filipinos graduate from high school or have higher educational attainment. Even with multilateral and bilateral institutions pouring in millions into textbook development, stories of defective and substandard textbooks have made it into the news. It is patently obvious that reforms are necessary in many areas of public education—and investment in satellite technology is not only unsuited to the problem, it will be done at the expense of thousands of students possibly going to new classrooms. Not to mention the effectiveness of the program—how can computers and televisions be effective teachers to a class of 50, especially if real teachers are either unable or not present to apply television lessons to the individual difficulties of students?

Let us assume that the current administration sincerely wants to fulfill its constitutional duty to provide quality education. Let us assume that this deal, proposal, contract, memorandum, or whatever they want to call it, is not just another avenue for corruption. Let us assume a revolutionary new concept: that this government is in service of the Filipino. Granting all these assumptions, given the situation, it appears that the men who put together the CEP are, scientifically speaking, idiots.

And these are the men who will decide on the education of the next generation of Filipinos.

Many Asian countries not only allow but encourage foreign educational institutions to set up Colleges and Universities in their land. From Vietnam, China, Malaysia to Indonesia; universities affiliated with a Western institution are all to common (for example, see http://www.rmit.edu.vn/ ). For a developing country lacking in financial and other resources - this makes a lot of sense. Instead of spending a lot of money spying and stealing information/knowledge from overseas - why not just let foreigners in to teach???

In the Philippines however, this seems to be not the attitude. For starters, the 1987 constitution prohibits foreigners from doing so. Filipinos love to reminisce about the times when the Philippines is supposedly second to Japan. Others argued that we should not rely on "foreign devils" but rather go it alone. What do you think? Will allowing foreign educational institutions hurt Filipino pride???

Many Asian countries not only allow but encourage foreign educational institutions to set up Colleges and Universities in their land. From Vietnam, China, Malaysia to Indonesia; universities affiliated with a Western institution are all to common (for example, see http://www.rmit.edu.vn/ ). For a developing country lacking in financial and other resources - this makes a lot of sense. Instead of spending a lot of money spying and stealing information/knowledge from overseas - why not just let foreigners in to teach???

In the Philippines however, this seems to be not the attitude. For starters, the 1987 constitution prohibits foreigners from doing so. Filipinos love to reminisce about the times when the Philippines is supposedly second to Japan. Others argued that we should not rely on "foreign devils" but rather go it alone. What do you think? Will allowing foreign educational institutions hurt Filipino pride???

Well it may truly hurt our pride, but what can we do? If our universities and colleges, private or public, were logging behind when it comes to the quality of their teachings and the lack of sports fascilities, etc., then why not?

This is not unless IF WE can only turn around everything, straight up our teaching qualities, to instead make our universities and colleges be the one being demanded by foreigners, and make our asian neighbors and other foreign countries to do the other way around and not us who are asking them to invest their education here. I think we have the potential to this only if our government will give 100 % support on this idea.

Come what may for the best interest of our nation as a whole. :cheers:

why not?

I see nothing wrong with it. Even the Middle East allows foreign universities, like the American University in Cairo and Beirut.

this is one BIG step into tourism

If your arguing that allowing foreign universities to set up educational institutions in the country to augment the deficiency in education in the country. You're aim isn't that good in hitting the problem.

Firstly, the problem in our educational institution is not in the tertiary college level. Its really in the primary and secondary levels. If you let in foreign universities in to solve that it would certainly fail because most of the students in that category rely on free public education

Secondly, you shouldn't allow such universities in on such a whim as if it sound "good". Just because it sounds good or unique or ingenious doesn't make it one. Assuming we allow foreign universities in, we would still have to problematize the kind of curriculum they would have to offer. Would it be aimed at the global market/community or would it aim at the level of the local market/community. One of the biggest impasse to allowing foreign educational institutions in the country is their usual insistence on focusing on curriculums that don't have much relevance to the local needs. I wouldn't be surprise if none would offer courses in Development Studies, Community Development, or other social sciences that would focus on local communities. So please, if we ever let foreign institutions in, lets first think of the benefits we can accrue from it.

Thirdly, im not against letting foreign educational institutions in. But if we argue that letting them in is a BIG step for tourism then we're not really focusing on education then. Its good being renowned as an educational hub but then, if thats the case we still have much to push for in developing our institutions that would regulate such schools.

I guess what im trying to say is:
1. Let's first focus on the problem of primary and secondary education (especially that which is free and public) lacking the resources to make our students competen. (I'd rather use competent that use the word competitive)

2. We should allow our own local educational institutions (college level) in developing themselves with assistance from government. Its about time that the government provides assistance to schools whether they are private universities or public universities especially in the field of sciences.

3. Encourage business schools to develop a curriculum geared to addressing the need for industrialization. What makes me sad is that most Management students i know have marketing classes or business models patterned after either consumer products or services. Even notable insitutions such as the JGSOM of Ateneo or the AIM is still trapped in some way in that mindset. Its time that we unleash our entrpreneurial spirit to address our needs and to solve our brain drain and the Filipino Diaspora.

Education for the Benefit of the Country not Just Education for Education's sake.

Yep.

I totally agree. If there will be an MIT or Stanford here in the Philippines, then I will not waste my time applying for Visa in other country to get my masters. I also suggest that the higher education here will be patterned in the top universities in the world so we can get a better quality of education.

why not?... we already have international schools here already.... and it's always in the choice of the parents where they'll want to have their kids educated whether it is in the government or if they pay up to 100K for tuition....

I have mixed feelings about these because the filipino schools or universities are very competitive already. There is nothing wrong with allowing Foreign Uninversities and colleges but I can guarantee you, it would be twice as expensive as the current philippine schools, especially if they would hire all foreign professors and staffs as well because if not? What's the use of having foreign schools in the Philippines when it will be generally run by filipinos themselves?

as in University of California in the Philippines (UCP)? Why not....basta no foreigners allowd, only Filipinos....:lol: :lol: :lol:

dapat harvard manila, para kasama din tayo sa ivy league :D

or UPSM...University of Pennsylvania at Smokey Mountain (ivy league pa rin) :lol:

I have mixed feelings about these because the filipino schools or universities are very competitive already. There is nothing wrong with allowing Foreign Uninversities and colleges but I can guarantee you, it would be twice as expensive as the current philippine schools, especially if they would hire all foreign professors and staffs as well because if not? What's the use of having foreign schools in the Philippines when it will be generally run by filipinos themselves?

i agree... in fact a tuition fee of 50 thousand per semester is already affordable by international standards. But the reality is 50 thousand is still beyond the reach of most households. Filipino families expect value for their money. By many standards, some of our universities already offer education BETTER than some colleges in America but at lower tuition fees. If we ask foreign universities to come in demanding high fees on the premise of international recognition of your diplomas i wouldn't wonder if some of our own local colleges and universities demand higher tuition fees. As we speak, some of our schools are already demanding an increase of 5 to 10 per cent of their tuition. Having foreign schools in the country doesn't sit well in a country where people at the age of having college diplomas haven't even finished high school. I believe we have to aim at acquiring international standards to be at par with distinguished foreign universities. For example, at the ADMU we don't have a South East Asian studies program but we have many of our alumnae who take up masterals in that field in foreign universities AND one of our professors in the history department IS a known expert in south east asian culture as well as SEA history... despite the lack of a separate department for that field. So in reality, there is a latency in our curriculum and school system that has still to be developed.

magkanu ba tuition sa la salle at ateneo?? namimili pa lang ako. balak ko kc mag aral dun. hehehe taas na pangarap

55K per sem sa ateneo di ko alam sa lasalle...... ngayong fourth year ako... pero nung 1st year ako... 49-50K lang yun. may nakaambang tuition increase pa next year.

It's a good idea/more competition. There'll be lots to choose from aside from the usual suspects - Ateneo, DeLaSalle, UP, UST, International schools, etc. However, it will be definitely not be cheap. Unfortunately, it's also a setup for all of our college grads to find work abroad. I agree that the problem lies in the elementary and high school levels especially public schools where most attend. I believe elem. teachers should get paid higher and the gov't provide them some kind of housing assistance.

:) Like this thread:)

Meron na ba nag inquire mula Eton at Oxford?

Sana meron para by the time na manganak yung future wife ko e operational na sila... Wahhhh!

UST is owned by the Roman Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown.


actually UST is owned by the Dominican priests and not by the Spanish Crown...

...and from what I know Ateneo is owned by the jesuits....

sure I would love to see foreign universities,..but they should be in a university town, not within the limits of a metropolis, like Harvard in Cambridge or Oxford in Oxford... IMHO a big city would interfere with your studies..

^^You may be correct but there are other Jesuit universities such as Georgetown University in the U.S., Sophia University of Tokyo, the University of Namur in Belgium, Comillas University of Madrid and many more which are connected to the Ateneo. That is why the Ateneo has an extensive student exchange program. In the U.S. alone, there are around 28 Jesuit Universities. :)

^^You may be correct but there are other Jesuit universities such as Georgetown University in the U.S., Sophia University of Tokyo, the University of Namur in Belgium, Comillas University of Madrid and many more which are connected to the Ateneo. That is the the Ateneo has an extensive student exchange program. In the U.S. alone, there are around 28 Jesuit Universities. :)

add fordham to that.

...and from what I know Ateneo is owned by the jesuits....

sure I would love to see foreign universities,..but they should be in a university town, not within the limits of a metropolis, like Harvard in Cambridge or Oxford in Oxford... IMHO a big city would interfere with your studies..

I don't see why the Jesuits, Dominicans, etc. would be intimidated by the idea of having foreign runned educational institutions in the country. The main concern of these people is to ensure that Filipinos have access to the best education available. What's more, I don't think they are insecure about the quality of their teaching to the point that they don't want competition. Educators who are confident about the quality of their teachings actually welcome competition.

I don't see anything wrong with allowing foreign universities to open here.

After all, nobody's forcing anyone to enroll with them so I guess it's insignificant to talk about the high tuition fees that they would offer.. Hehe, so let them charge P1 million per semester anyway or allow them to design their own curriculum.

Nasa studyante na yun kung san siya gusto at kung ano gusto niya mangyari sa life niya..




I believe it still is. although run by the dominicans. That is why the full name of the University is The Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, the Catholic University of the Philippines

And that is why the Spanish Lion, the official Seal of Spain is in the University Seal, along with the papa Tiara, Sea Lion of Manila and the rose of Mary, Mother of Jesus




This was probably a long time ago bro. The reason for such "seals" have something to do with patronage during the Spanish times.

For example, some old churches here in Cebu, and the entire country itself, still have the Spanish royal coat of arms emblazoned at the facade and it doesn't mean that the current King of Spain or any particular religious order still owns the churches or what.


..

I don't see anything wrong with allowing foreign universities to open here.

After all, nobody's forcing anyone to enroll with them so I guess it's insignificant to talk about the high tuition fees that they would offer.. Hehe, so let them charge P1 million per semester anyway or allow them to design their own curriculum.

Nasa studyante na yun kung san siya gusto at kung ano gusto niya mangyari sa life niya..





This was probably a long time ago bro. The reason for such "seals" have something to do with patronage during the Spanish times.

For example, some old churches here in Cebu, and the entire country itself, still have the Spanish royal coat of arms emblazoned at the facade and it doesn't mean that the current King of Spain or any particular religious order still owns the churches or what.


..

they can't just create their own curriculum out of nowhere. it has to have coordination with the kind of education policy we are trying to implement, even if such a task is very daunting.
...
UST still is.

There's nothing wrong in foreign ownership, its even beneficial for our economy and for the people as they can totally develop the school anyway with all the fascilities.

I don't see anything wrong with it, our local schools are good enough to handle some competition hehehe

55K per sem sa ateneo di ko alam sa lasalle...... ngayong fourth year ako... pero nung 1st year ako... 49-50K lang yun. may nakaambang tuition increase pa next year.

tuition ko dati sa ateneo high school P1,700/year.

sa UP, 220/sem.

:lol:

^^OMG, kelan ka pa ba?

oh yeah this may be ot but gen1, teacher/prof ka ba?

tuition ko dati sa ateneo high school P1,700/year.

sa UP, 220/sem.

:lol:

ako dati, P6000 something. because of STFAP (socialized tuition).

harvard university, philippine campus! mukhang ang ganda pakinggan!:lol:

RP tech dreams tied to education
Business World
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW102207/content.php?id=004


THE DREAM of the Philippines hosting another Silicon Valley will remain far-fetched unless the country focuses on a most basic issue — education.

This was the challenge raised by technopreneur Diosdado "Dado" Banatao, one of the more successful Filipino engineers to have made it in the California technology center.

"You cannot do what we do in Silicon Valley here right now — not yet," Mr. Banatao told BusinessWorld last week.

"It is a long process of development that has to be done here [in the Philippines]. One of the first things that we have to do is to upgrade our technology expertise.

"It starts with the very basic foundation — how we train our engineers."

Mr. Banatao is an alumnus of the Mapua Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

After working his way up the corporate ladder in Silicon Valley, Mr. Banatao decided to go on his own and set up three companies.

As an engineer, Mr. Banatao has invented breakthroughs such as the 10-Mbit Ethernet media access control (MAC) and transceiver chip used in today’s personal computers.

Mr. Banatao has been flying in and out of Manila these past few years trying to infect the local community with the Silicon Valley mindset.

"A lot of my efforts in promoting entrepreneurships is promoting the idea of training properly," he said.

Building an information technology industry in the Philippines, he said does not rest on a handful of Filipinos obtaining their Ph.D.s from the Valley.

"There must be massive effort to train our engineers to be in the same level [of] other countries," he added.

"Keep in mind that one of my conclusions is that the issue we have of not being able to compete in the global economy starts with education."

The benchmark of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is 3.4 Ph.D. engineers for every 10,000 people. The Philippines, however, only has 1.08 Ph.Ds per 10,000. In contrast, Japan is producing more than 50 Ph.D.s per 10,000 while Singapore is producing 50 Ph.Ds per 10,000.

Which is why Mr. Banatao is playing philanthropist to some of the Philippines’ top engineering schools like the University of the Philippines which was a recent receipient a $500,000 pledge. The state university’s College of Engineering has for the past eight years been supported by the Banatao Fellowship at the University of California in Berkeley.

Mr. Banatao, whose net worth has not been publicized, is also challenging other Filipino businessmen to be philanthropists and to invest in technology start-ups.

He urged local businessmen to shun the "traditional" thinking that they should only be concerned about money-making ventures. Instead, they should be prepared to venture into high-risk technology and not call centers, for example.

Investing in "a real technology company," he said, would be in their best interests.

"Whether they know it or not, it is their future," Mr. Banatao said. "They have to invest in their own future and that is technology — whether they like it or not."

Mr. Banatao was in Manila recently to attend the last day of a technology boot camp where prospective local technopreneurs tried to pitch their business plans to venture capitalists.

Mr. Banatao said once the industry sees a critical mass of engineers from local universities, companies could be prompted to invest some more. This, he urged, should be invested in research and development (R&D).

"Once the industry recognizes that we have the pool of engineers that are working towards real competitive products engineers will now have the competence to do create more products. That’s the cycle that we have in Silicon Valley," he explained.

In a speech last March at the commencement exercises of Ateneo de Manila University where he was conferred an honorary degree, Mr. Banatao urged private educational institutions to reinvest their monies for graduate degree programs and research facilities.

For public educational institutions, he urged private individuals and alumni to support them through gifting and endowments.

At the conclusion of last week’s boot camp, he urged prospective technopreneurs to plow back their profits to R&D to make more technologies which can be their edge.

English schools in Cebu lack teachers (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2007/10/27/bus/english.schools.in.cebu.lack.teachers.html)

While the Philippines is the primary destination for Koreans and Japanese to enhance their English proficiency skills, language schools are continually plagued with the migration of quality English teachers.

Lorna Neri, Youngs Academy Philippines administration head, said the growing demand for English-as-second-language (ESL) teachers in China and Korea is becoming a major obstacle for business expansion.

Youngs Academy, for instance, has seen four of their language teachers leave the country to work abroad, she said.

“This has affected the business, so much more the market. These foreign students come here to study English because they believe the Filipinos are better English speakers. But it’s sad that the best of our teachers are migrating for economic reasons,” Neri told Sun.Star Cebu.

Teaching quality

This in effect has caused foreign students, mainly the Koreans, to demand “so much” in terms of the quality of teaching methods displayed among current ESL and IELTS instructors, she added.

Apart from the high-level English proficiency and proper work ethics expected among these instructors, Koreans are also keen on keeping one instructor for the duration of the study.

“They (Koreans) are particular with the teachers, as much as possible, they don’t want to keep changing their instructors every now and then,” she said.

To enhance teaching effectiveness among its pool of instructors, Youngs Academy is heavily investing in regular American accent training, among others.

Neri also noted that one of the primary reasons for foreign students to study the English language is that they are able to converse easily with businessmen should they decide to become entrepreneurs.

On the other hand, Neri said that despite the mushrooming of language schools in Cebu, spurred by the high visitor arrivals from Korea and Japan, the sector is also competing with “informal” tutorials or backyard classes done outside of ESL schools.

No tutorials

This is why, she said, Youngs Academy prohibits its teachers to conduct private tutorials outside of the school premises.

In line with this, she urged foreign and local students to, instead, opt to take their classes in ESL schools “where they follow a certain curriculum and they become more focused, disciplined, and easily monitored.”

Youngs Academy is a multi-national Korean company which began in Seoul Korea in the late 1990s.

It offers Korean, Spanish, Speech, GRE/TOEFL and GMAT classes.

It also specializes in preparing students to succeed in the IELTS exam.

Youngs Academy in Cebu, located along Salinas Drive, Lahug, Cebu City opened last May.

At present it has 30 students, majority of who are Koreans.

“We are trying to implement a certain globalization of our academic standards yet at the same time a localization of some of its services and offerings,” said Young Kim, Youngs Academy Korea and Philippines president earlier.

The school has also opened its doors to the locals, who would like to learn Korean, Spanish, and Chinese.

“It’s an advantage nowadays to learn a foreign language apart from English and our own dialect,” Neri said.

Why many Filipinos can’t save themselves
By William M. Esposo
PhilStar
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Opinion&p=49&type=2&sec=25&aid=20071029116

It’s amazing how we Filipinos can outdo ourselves when we do the wrong things. It’s as though we have the national genius for rationalizing our errant ways and the national amnesia to forget that they ever happened.

Have you ever heard of a government that rushed to pardon a plundering president barely six weeks after his momentous conviction? Did you ever see or hear of a convicted plundering president behave as though he deserved this pardon and then act as if he is without sin and therefore does not even have to profess contrition or show remorse?

“I may have committed mistakes in my career but corruption is not one of them,” ex-convict Joseph Estrada proudly roared as he addressed the San Juan crowd that welcomed him like a conquering hero last Friday.

He outdid his 1998 inaugural speech when he vowed that there is no place for crony and kin in his administration (“Walang kamaganak, walang kumpadre, walang kaibigan”). It did not take long before mistresses, gambling buddies and other flaky creatures started streaming to Malacañang even in odd hours. One of his cronies even caused a stock market collapse with that most brazenly executed BW stock manipulation scheme.

The nation suffers this humiliation because of the morally bankrupt Malacañang resident. To add insult to injury, the ex-convict is now talking as though the Filipino nation owes him an apology rather the other way around.

Few Filipinos dared to step out of their comfort zones to express outrage, or at the very least, tried some other way to right this terrible national wrong? But when a work of fiction — the television drama series “Desperate Housewives” — shows a lead character uttering a derogatory remark over the quality of Filipino medical schools, we react as though we were ready to declare an all-out war with the show’s producers.

The outside world wonders how we as a people can stomach all these without even attempting to seriously reshape our pathetic conditions. We stomached Marcos plunder and murder for 13 years of martial law. US vice president Walter Mondale called us a nation of 40 million cowards and one sonofabitch during the late 1970s.

“There are no tyrants where there are no slaves,” Jose Rizal wrote. But then we are a people who never bothered to study and learn from our history which is why our story is like a never-ending modern jeremiad.

In countries where national self-respect and pride exist, a conscience group would have emerged to wield just retribution to the sins of tyrants. Corrupt and abusive government officials would be directly targeted by vigilante bombs. Here we cannot even imitate the peaceful protest of the Myanmar people who went to the streets and boldly challenged a brutal regime.

As I’ve written in previous columns, this abuse is made possible because of the state of the four gaps that sum up what are wrong with Philippine society. These are:

1. The wealth gap — the most visible of the four gaps.

2. The opportunity gap

3. The education gap, and lastly

4. The information gap

To bridge all four, the two most critical gaps to tackle first are the information and education gaps. These are the two gaps that allow the oligarchs to perpetuate themselves in power, to exploit a large number of Filipinos.

Our oligarchs seem to have perfected Abe Lincoln’s dictum that “You can fool some of the people all the time.” The masses have been suckered time and again to electing corrupt and self-seeking leaders for decades. Joseph Estrada was the biggest rip-off of them all.

The information and education gaps are what allow the opportunity and wealth gaps to thrive. Of the two, the information gap is the most crucial. There will always be education gaps in any society. But if a society is to have a viable democracy, voters must have a bare minimum level of information.

Solving the information gap is not as simple as creating efficiencies in mass media. Our mass media dispersion has improved by leaps and bounds but the information gap remains a big problem.

Values largely determine who becomes affected by the information gap. Just look at television viewing habits and print media readership and you will appreciate this better.

In many upper class households, the domestic helpers have access to cable TV channels. But compare their viewing preferences with those of their employers. Very likely, the domestic helpers will be attracted to shows like Wowowee while the people they serve will prefer to watch Discovery Channel.

In print media, the poor would prefer to read tabloids while the well-off will read newspapers that provide a better analysis and appreciation of the issues that affect their lives.

It is not a question of language. If the poor will read the more substantial publications, there will be a Philippine STAR (content of Pilipino STAR is different), BusinessWorld and Business Mirror for them.

Indeed, we have to overhaul our values before we can move forward.

DepEd to improve access to education, jobs in Mindanao

The Department of Education (DepEd) is intensifying efforts to improve access to quality education and livelihood opportunities for children and out-of-school youth in Mindanao, particularly in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) provinces.

The DepEd undertaking is in partnership with foreign governments and the private sector.

With support from the United States Agency for International Development’s Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills (EQUALLS), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and other foreign and local agencies, DepEd is steadily mobilizing support for education and livelihood programs in Mindanao.

DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus, together with USAID Philippines Director Jon Lindborg recently visited Mindanao schools to see first hand the impact of the education interventions in Mindanao in partnership with USAID EQUALLS.

Here's another example of a university in Malaysia that is foreign based:

http://www.swinburne.edu.my/about.htm

Many Filipinos love to delude themselves that they are one of the best in South East Asia; that they were 2nd to Japan some time in the past.

Unless we open our education/system to the challenges of outsiders; we are getting left behind!!!

tuition ko dati sa ateneo high school P1,700/year.

sa UP, 220/sem.

:lol:

220? grabe. anong taon kaya yun?

RP gradually regains quality of education (http://www.bayanihan.org/html/article.php?story=20071121122003088)

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said that the status of the country's quality of education is gradually regaining its strength based on the results of the National Achievement Test (NAT) but the little gain that they have is being dragged by the continued lack of high-technology that would push Filipino students to be at par with the world's best.

At the weekly Fernandina Forum in Greenhills, San Juan, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said that there is an urgent need to revolutionize the education sector's technology in bringing in the arrest of the declining Philippine education.

Lapus said that if he was to base the results of the NAT, it showed that there is a 10 percent increase in aptitude test for Math, Science and English.

Lapus said, "We are moving forward gradually, slowly and that is good news. But with the lack of technology, we can't reach anybody. And with everybody in the other countries improving rapidly, we have to catch up with them."

Lapus said that while the Filipino students are improving and the quality of education improving, the neighboring countries are doing so at a rapid rate as well due to the high-tech facilities.

Close to promoting anew the stalled P26.48 billion Cyber Education Project, Lapus said there is a need to reach students in far flung areas.

He added that the problem of the education sector would be better addressed if the delegates continue with their role to empower today's young with the skills necessary to help them survive the toughest times.

He said that the ability to improve the skills of Filipino youth to become globally competitive rests solely on the government and the stakeholders' ability "to innovate and transform education into what is required."

"If we are to prepare ourselves to become successful in the 21st Century, we must recognize the need to go beyond traditional teaching methods. We have to look beyond the power of these technologies to improve our lives. We, too, must take into account that our world is dependent so much on these technologies that ignoring them will not only prevent us from being competitive globally, it may actually render us incompetent and powerless in the coming years." Lapus said

Lapus said though that a sound policy may be necessary to ensure that all schools, particularly those in far-flung areas are given equal opportunities on educational technology.

"We believe that it is not enough to simply provide computers with internet connection in the classroom and hope - that somehow - learning will occur. We need a comprehensive response to the challenges and opportunities given to us by these new technologies. We need an encompassing strategy that is backed by sound policy," Lapus stressed.

Information communication technology (ICT) initiatives in the basic education have increased in the last few decades. Based on DepEd records, these ICT initiatives include (for elementary): TV-assisted Instruction Eskwela ng Bayan (ENB/School for the Masses Project), BEAM (Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao) Materials Development: Learning Guide System (LeGs); Strengthening Elementary Education Through Information and Communication Technology (SEE-ICT); and for secondary level: DepEd Computerization Program, PCs for Public Schools Project, Partners in Learning (PIL), Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (GILAS Project), Commission of Information and Communication Technology's Broadband Deployment Program.

There are also programs that seek to build teacher capacity to use ICT. These are the a) Intel Teach to the Future Program, b) Partners in Learning, c) Asian SchoolNet Project and the d) Continuing Studies Thru Television (CONSTEL), it was learned.

To date, some 3,512 public high schools (73%) have been provided with computer laboratories for use during computer-aided instructions. This was preceded by the development of computer-based instructional materials and the training of teachers. Also, 513 high schools (15%) were provided with network-ready computers, according to DepEd records.

Lapus reiterated the crucial role of private and business sectors and non-government organizations in improving the quality of education in the country.

^^ OO nga no 220/sem? Hindi per unit? waaahhhhhh sobrang baba. Naabutan ko na yung 310/unit.

by Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob

Cagayan de Oro City (7 December) -- Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered to promote the teaching of the Spanish language in the schools and educational institutions of the country.

In a memorandum she issued to the Dept. of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the President said she hopes to work hard with the Spanish Government in this effort.

"We sincerely encourage the teaching of the Spanish language in the Philippines and take advantage of our affinity to it, in faith and in culture as we anticipate opportunities that are once more made available to us and extensively do our part along with our government and our people," she said.

The President also said she has thanked the Third Edition of the Spain-Philippines Forum which she attended in Madrid, recently, for their cooperation agenda to restore the valuable Spanish heritage in the Philippines, an example of which is Intramuros, the symbol of the Old Spanish Manila, which had suffered from the wrath of war and natural calamities.

"With a comprehensive plan for its restoration, we could work together to bring Intramuros back to its glorious past. Such project would be a true manifestation of the lasting friendship between the Spanish and the Filipino people," the President also said.

An increasing number of young people in the Philippines are learning this beautiful Spanish language and today, a lot of students have enrolled in these classes at the University of the Philippines.

"I am happy that the Philippines continue to be a priority country for Spain. Our ancestors had a unique link that has deepened our history and has enriched our culture. Today, we are going to ensure that, being descendants of the great men and women of the past, we will employ our valuable heritage in the same manner that we build our future," Pres. Arroyo said.

Meanwhile, the innovative Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) of CHED is becoming popular and acceptable to individuals who have obtained non-formal and informal educational experiences.

Regional Director Eloisa W. Paderanga of CHED, region 10, said the program has made notable progress with ETEEAP applicants and graduates increasing considerably over time and surpassing the Medium Term Regional Development (MTRDP) targets.

The number of higher education institutions with accredited programs reached 52, last year, substantially higher than the MTRDP target of 22 and majority of these HEI's have Level II accreditation.

More women than men have pursued higher education with the former accounting for 56% of the total tertiary enrolment and the medical and other allied courses topping the list of preferred courses among women and engineering/technology among men.

"To ensure greater access to higher education to poor but deserving students, CHED-10 implemented various scholarships, study grants and loan programs that extended financial assistance benefiting some 4,564 students in academic year 2006-2007," Paderanga also said. (PIA 10 (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p071207.htm&no=66&r=&y=&mo=))

Why many Filipinos can’t save themselves
By William M. Esposo
PhilStar
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Opinion&p=49&type=2&sec=25&aid=20071029116

...............

As I’ve written in previous columns, this abuse is made possible because of the state of the four gaps that sum up what are wrong with Philippine society. These are:

1. The wealth gap — the most visible of the four gaps.

2. The opportunity gap

3. The education gap, and lastly

4. The information gap

To bridge all four, the two most critical gaps to tackle first are the information and education gaps. These are the two gaps that allow the oligarchs to perpetuate themselves in power, to exploit a large number of Filipinos.

Our oligarchs seem to have perfected Abe Lincoln’s dictum that “You can fool some of the people all the time.” The masses have been suckered time and again to electing corrupt and self-seeking leaders for decades. Joseph Estrada was the biggest rip-off of them all.

The information and education gaps are what allow the opportunity and wealth gaps to thrive. Of the two, the information gap is the most crucial. There will always be education gaps in any society. But if a society is to have a viable democracy, voters must have a bare minimum level of information.

Solving the information gap is not as simple as creating efficiencies in mass media. Our mass media dispersion has improved by leaps and bounds but the information gap remains a big problem.........


I agree that the two most critical gaps are in education and information, but I disagree with the author that the information gap is the most crucial since this is what people need as a bare minimum to choose efficient leadership.

First of all, information is meaningless if it cannot be processed sufficiently. Only education can fulfill that function. Even if information is presented at its bare minimum, what good is it if money talks and info. walks, especially when you have millions of the endemic poor and hungry children...

I think education provides greater value to information, making education more critical. Of course one can argue that you need information for education, but information can be interpreted in a very subjective matter and relative to the basic educational skills of a person. Whatever information is fed through the minds of people, only an educated mind can process this info. and make an effort for a sound decision.

Basic educational skills are the stepping stones for a solid foundation in processing information effectively. Everyday we are bombarded with news and info. through media and the antics of our politicians. A higher educational pool of people is a strong deterrent to information brainswashing and an even bigger catalyst for using information to create more opportunities....

DepEd chief: RP education has sunk to its lowest level


By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:10am (Mla time) 01/03/2008


MANILA, Philippines -- It was the Department of Education that first raised the alarm in 2006 that the quality of education in the country had sunk to its lowest level, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said.

“The problem is systemic. The entire system is [seriously affected],” said the DepEd chief, reacting to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s admission that the state of education continued to worsen during a consultative meeting in Baguio City Monday...

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=110040

^^^^
Education is simply too important to be left entirely into the hands of bureacrats. I suggest let the private sector do the job by allowing foreign universities in the country.

^^^^
Education is simply too important to be left entirely into the hands of bureacrats. I suggest let the private sector do the job by allowing foreign universities in the country.

Why not? I agree with Jonno. You just have to REGULATE THEM NOT PROHIBIT THEM. Just like the Bocaue fireworks story. I believe that na kung iiwan ang education sa kanila as long as hindi sila overpriced (see, I mean the real thing!) ay walang problema since every people in the world deserve the free and limitless education.

Bakit ang NLEx nang hawakan ng private gumanda? Bakit mas maganda ang classroom ng mga private kaysa sa public. Still, I believe that the government has the right to run our education system but since our government is "doing" other projects, mahihirapan sila kahit na-maximum ang budget ng DepEd ngayong taon.

220? grabe. anong taon kaya yun?

1981.

25 centavos ang UP Ikot pamasahe. P1.75 ang kain sa UP coop, rice and kare-kare.

nagpunta ako recently sa shopping center sa UP. nandun pa rin iyong matandang RB na taga coop. at yun pa rin ang pagkain, kare-kare with as much bagoong as you want, inihaw, at yung single serve leche flan. para ngang twilight zone :lol:

^^wow! ang saya. sosyal, kailangan natin ng meet up. :lol: maraming taga-up na ssc member.

Temasek Foundation, NIE in S$2.2m project to train Philippine teachers (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/320493/1/.html)
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 03 January 2008 1631 hrs


Photos 1 of 1

Students in Philippines (picture) expected to benefit from programme to train teachers


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Temasek Foundation, NIE in S$2.2m project to train Philippine teachers

SINGAPORE: The Temasek Foundation has set its eyes on the Philippines for its first overseas programme since it was established in May 2007.

It has launched a S$2.2 million initiative, together with the National Institute of Education (NIE), to train educators in the Philippines. And it wants to expand the programme to other Asian countries.

Teachers in public schools in the Philippines may not have many options for career development. The Temasek Foundation and the NIE hope to change this, through their Leaders and Educators in Asia Programme (LEAP).

This will be done in partnership with the Philippines' Ateneo de Manila University.

NIE director, Professor Lee Sing Kong, said: "In the Singapore context, our professional development of teachers is very heavily emphasised, and that's why we ensure that our teachers in our schools are kept abreast of developments, with knowledge, and with new technologies and skills.

"In the Philippines, this is an area they are trying to develop. Therefore, by working with us, we can share our best practices, share our experiences."

80 educators from nine schools in the Philippines have been identified for the project, which will focus on professional and leadership development, and teacher education.

The Temasek Foundation said the Ateneo de Manila University has also signed on an additional 11 schools, and has secured other sources of funding to support the expansion of the project.

Under the LEAP initiative, new and existing teachers in the Philippines can apply for scholarships to attend a post-graduate Diploma in Education at the NIE. After that, these teachers are expected to return to their schools to share what they have learnt through specialised workshops.

The NIE currently conducts training courses for educators, both in Singapore and overseas. It said that under the LEAP, courses will be adapted to suit the education system and climate in the participating country.

It will work with the Ateneo de Manila University to identify the challenges. Some 30,000 students are expected to benefit from the programme.

Temasek Foundation's chairman, Goh Geok Khim, said: "For us, this is a learning curve as well. If this programme works out well, and I hope it will, then we hope to replicate it all over the other countries in Asia."

The foundation added that in the pipeline are other partnerships which will look at health, education and governance. - CNA/ir

why wont the country just curtail academic freedom--just a bit--and administer examinations for graduating highschool students, the results of which would tell what courses suit them, and that by law, they would be allowed to enroll in these courses only...let's face it, we've got thousands of students in nursing, accountancy, etc. yet very few to fill up other courses that serve vital posts

^^wow! ang saya. sosyal, kailangan natin ng meet up. :lol: maraming taga-up na ssc member.

balitaan mo ako. kung nasa manila ako, pilitin kong pumunta

SPECIAL REPORT: CYBER-ED PROJECT
DepEd not ready for CyberEd
By Rene Q. Bas, Editor in Chief
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/jan/06/yehey/top_stories/20080106top1.html

Top-ranking information and communication technology experts who participated in the full-day November 9, 2007, roundtable on the Department of Education’s Cyber-Ed Project (CEP) say the department is not ready to handle the $465.5-million project.

They find serious problems in the CEP.

They are urging DepEd planners to restudy the project and make it truly responsive to the real needs and problems of the country’s education system.

This special report, which will run in three-installments, is the first time the discussion papers generated at the roundtable held at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, are being released to the public.

DepEd presentation

More than 50 roundtable participants listened to Assistant Secretary of Education Jesus Mateo describe and explain the project through a PowerPoint presentation.

A team of experts supported Assistant Secretary Mateo, who is also the DepEd’s director in charge of the Cyber-Ed Project.

Chief of Staff Glenn Sumido of the Office of the Secretary of Education was also a roundtable participant.

Of the 50-plus participants more than 30 are educators and education-ICT experts. University presidents, vice-presidents, heads of faculties and school principals also actively took part in the roundtable.

Forbidden to submit text

The full text of Mateo’s presentation, complete with slides and additional amplifications, should rightly be in this special report. Mr. Mateo was, however, forbidden by a superior to submit his paper to the organizers for inclusion in the complete Report of Proceedings of the Roundtable.

The Mateo presentation was more thorough than those he had given in other venues. It gave roundtable participants new elements not found in the pre-roundtable version of the DepEd website’s pages promoting the CEP.

Mateo’s presentation, as does his DepEd website, reviewed the problems of Philippine basic education. He stressed the need for government to take drastic measures to make sure that all learners are provided with the resources they need to learn while also improving the effectiveness of the system.

Overarching framework

He said, as Secretary Jesli Lapuz has been telling audiences, that DepEd sees the Cyber-Ed Project (CEP) as the “quickest and most cost-effective way to deliver high quality education to all learners” and “a total solution to multiple persisting educational problems.” CyberEd will be made the overarching framework for all education ICT initiatives in the public basic education sector.

Mateo told the roundtable facts that we also reported in our first special report on the CEP (published on August 19, 2007). CEP will have a nationwide network utilizing satellite technology; 12 video channels, wireless wide area networking and Internet made available to schools, even in the remotest areas.

As many as 37,794 elementary and secondary schools will be benefited but only 26,618 of these will receive equipment. The other 11,176 will be covered by means of a “clustering scheme” through less advanced audio and video devices.

CEP will cover all elementary grades and high school levels.

Panel of reactors

Mateo’s presentation was immediately followed by talks and presentations made by the expert panel of reactors.

The panel was made up of Dr. William T. Torres, president of Mosaic, Inc.; Dr. Merle C. Tan, director of the UP NIS-MED; Dr. Allan Bernardo of De La Salle University’s College of Education; and Dr. Alexander Flor, dean of the UP Open University’s Faculty of Information and Communication Studies.

Satisfactory answers

Mateo and his support team gave satisfactory and frank answers to questions raised after his presentation. His team did so again in the formal open forum that followed the talks of the panel of reactors. Asian Institute of Journalism president Romulo Tuazon was the moderator.

Workshop groups

The participants broke up into three workshop groups, each group assigned to discuss a different set of essential areas of reform and development in basic education.

The conclusions and recommendations of the roundtable emerged from these groups and were aired and further assessed at the plenary session.

The Manila Times School of Journalism in partnership with the University of the Philippines’ National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP NIS-MED) convened the roundtable. It was held in the UP NIS-MED conference hall in Diliman, Quezon City.

Dr. Fe Hidalgo, former DepEd secretary and now president of The Manila Times Education Group, served as lead convener of the roundtable.

Dr. Josefina Patron, consultant to the National Broadband Network, headed the organizing and management committee.

The complete proceedings of the roundtable will be available on The Manila Times website beginning January 14.

American UP (http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=111174)

MANILA, Philippines -- With the launching Tuesday of the centennial celebrations of the University of the Philippines (UP), I thought it might be useful to give some attention to UP’s American roots.

The university was clearly tied to the colonial government’s interests, reflected by our original name, which was the American University of the Philippines. Yet, I am convinced there was more to the university’s establishment than the colonial government’s need to consolidate political control over the islands, or to exploit the country economically. In fact, I would propose that UP’s establishment reflected what is sometimes called “benevolent assimilation,” an American interest in “cloning” an American worldview, if not way of life. Even if this was often done in a patronizing and condescending way, it was still guided by liberalism and secularism, a far cry from the Spanish “frailocracy” that had entrenched itself the previous three centuries.

Let me try to make my case for looking at UP as a university established by the Americans for the Philippines, rather than as a university of the Americans for the Philippines. (Sorry, that was my non-UP, Jesuit training at work with that circuitous sentence.)

Thomasites

First, a review of the historical records will show how the Americans were intent on creating an educational system that would be handled by the Filipinos themselves, but initially with American supervision instilling American ideals.

Mary Racelis and Judy Celine Ick’s book, “Bearers of Benevolence” (Ateneo de Manila University Press), brings together various articles that shed light on the Americans’ work around education. A particularly informative article is a 1902 newspaper interview that appeared in London’s The Arena, with Antonio Regidor, a Filipino “ilustrado” [educated class] lawyer who had fought against Spain. Regidor was explaining how the Filipino revolutionaries had emphasized the need for education. He pointed out that the only universities we had were all “royal and pontifical” -- royal because they were established by the Spanish government and pontifical because they were accountable to the Vatican.

The Hong Kong junta (Filipino revolutionaries in exile) demanded, in a document dated April 1898, “a system of public instruction less ecclesiastical, and more diverse in its teaching of exact and natural sciences, so that women as well as men may be able to extend and develop the industries and wealth proper to the country....” The document outlined a program of public education that would be free throughout, all the way up to universities.

The Americans were aware of the Filipinos’ grievances concerning education but had a slightly different agenda. Mainly, the Americans didn’t quite trust the “natives” to handle their own educational system, feeling the need to train them first. On Aug. 23, 1901, 509 Americans disembarked from an American ship to take up teaching positions in their new colony’s elementary schools. Named the Thomasites after the ship that carried them, several more thousand American teachers were to follow, all the way up to 1940.

There was movement in the other direction, across the Pacific. On Oct. 13, 1903, 100 Filipino students left for the US on scholarship, to pursue four years of study. The 1903 Census of the Philippine Islands describes how the Filipinos were assigned to “pleasant private families in California” so that they might have “some idea of American home life.” The article notes that “notwithstanding their insufficient knowledge of English, not one of the first hundred students failed of promotion at the close of the year.” Many more Filipinos benefited from these scholarships throughout the American occupation, and while some of these “pensionados” [pensioners] were so impressed by America that they never returned, we also have to acknowledge many more Filipinos who did come home to serve.

Racelis and Ick’s “Bearers of Benevolence” also has an article describing the first Vacation Assembly in 1908, where American university teachers came to Baguio City for a month, to lecture Filipino teachers on topics like “Anthropology,” “Ethnology,” “Present-Day Problems in Government,” “The Government of the United States,” “Present Problems in Education,” “Genetic Psychology,” “Shakespeare’s Greater Plays,” “Literature in the Elementary Schools” and “Heredity.”

Fine arts and medicine

We see then how the Americans poured resources into developing Filipino teachers, first concentrating on the elementary and secondary levels. Note that as early as 1901 the Americans established what is today the Philippine Normal University, dedicated to the production of teachers.

This takes us to my second point, which is to look into the choices the Americans made for UP’s first academic units. These were the College of Medicine (actually enacted by law in 1905), the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Fine Arts.

The choice of a college of medicine (and shortly after, the Philippine General Hospital) is not surprising, given how appalled the Americans were with the public health situation in the country. Fine arts is a bit more mysterious, although some nationalists would argue that it was part of creating a “colonial culture.” The third college, liberal arts, is even more intriguing. The very term “liberal arts” implies the encouragement of a free mind, emphasizing the individual’s rights.

Through its first century, UP continued to emphasize a liberal arts education and this is what makes UP distinctive. No matter what degree a UP student obtains -- computer science or home economics, molecular biology or landscape architecture -- it is a strong liberal arts foundation that trains UP students to think the way they do.

Not surprisingly, UP was to produce graduates who were to constantly challenge the status quo, including American colonialism itself and, later, dictatorship and social injustice. Particularly iconic in this regard is a building on the Diliman campus that was constructed with US-Philippine War reparations funds to house the College of Liberal Arts. It came to be known simply as “AS” (for Arts and Sciences), the hub of student activism in the 1970s, its walls often plastered with slogans calling for the overthrow the “US-Marcos dictatorship.” People still call it AS although officially, it is Palma Hall, now much more quiet and sedate but within its classrooms, as well as in those of UP’s other units, the inquisitive and independent spirit lives on.

As early as 1901 a parish priest in Surigao reportedly railed against the new American school as “la escuela del Diablo” [the devil’s school]. Today, there are still Filipino parents who forbid their children from entering UP, fearing its radicalism, the product of the almost strange convergence of the ideals of the Philippine Revolution and of American liberalism.

Arroyo lifts tuition cap for private colleges

But requires consultations with parents

MANILA, Philippines -- Good news for owners and operators of private tertiary schools nationwide but bad news for students and parents.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently gave private educators the go-signal to lift the ceiling on tuition and other school fees earlier imposed by the government, "provided there would be consultations with students, as well as the parents," top officials of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) quoted her as saying.

Arroyo arrived at the decision after a series of meetings with CHED, Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) and the Coordinating Council for Private Educational Institutions (COCOPEA), among other groups.

She "has reaffirmed CHED Memorandum Order No. 13 which covers higher education institutions' guidelines on increasing tuition and other schools fees and with emphasis on the consultation process," CHED officials said.

MO 13 was issued on February 12, 1998 by then CHED chairman Angel Alcala and Commissioners Mona Valisno (now presidential assistant on education), Ester Garcia (now University of the East president and PACU director), Kate Botengan and Roberto Padua.

Arroyo earlier suspended CHED Memorandum Order No. 14, issued in early 2007 by then CHED chairman Carlito Puno, which prohibited private schools from increasing tuition and other fees above the prevailing national inflation rate.

Reports reaching the CHED said less than 10 percent of private tertiary schools increased tuition in 2007 "with tuition hikes mainly applying to freshmen students."

Gonzalo Duque, president of the 160-member PACU, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) "skyrocketing tuition rates are not likely to happen because of the prescribed consultation process between the schools and their students."

Duque commended the President for "upholding the policy on consultations" and "not going beyond what the tuition law requires, as well as not succumbing to political mumbo-jumbos."

Duque, whose family owns the Lyceum Northwestern University in Dagupan City, asserted "the competitiveness of private schools should not be sacrificed."

The former official of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration noted "most, if not all private schools have operational problems. Even the state-run University of the Philippines had to increase its fees to remain competitive."

Fr. Rod Salazar, president of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Institutions (COCOPEA), said "the basic question is not and should not be ‘why lift the tuition fee cap?’ It should rather be ‘why put a tuition cap in the first place?’"

"Putting a tuition cap supposes mistakenly that tuition rates are the same for all schools. School sizes and needs vary across the nation. So, costs vary as well. To put a cap on tuition for the whole country betrays a lack of understanding not just of the economics of education but of education itself," said Salazar.

Garcia said "the tuition fee law is clear on two points: schools decide on the ceiling and there should be consultation for any increase."

" CHED's Memorandum Order no. 13 is consistent with the law," Garcia added.

But the militant League of Filipino Students (LFS) was quick to condemn the Arroyo administration's latest decision.

LFS national chair Vencer Crisostomo said they were "not surprised with the Palace decision, considering the Arroyo administration's record of favoring the interests of its capitalist cronies at the expense of students and parents."

"The so-called consultations in the past have proven to be farcical as CHED's guidelines under revived Memorandum Order 13 are biased for school owners," claimed Crisostomo.

Contrary to CHED claims, "miscellaneous and other school fees are currently not included in the consultation process between the schools and their students," Crisostomo pointed out.

At the same time, the LFS leader warned "more student protests will rock the Arroyo government during the first quarter of 2008 as education costs are expected to soar because of this problematic policy to deregulate tuition."

Earlier, LFS and Anakbayan, another left-leaning youth group, called 2007 the "worst year for Philippine education," citing tuition increases of up to 600 percent and yearly cuts in the budget of state-run universities and colleges.

At the same time, they assailed CHED top officials for ignoring their repeated requests for a dialog regarding their concerns.

"Yearly, we also see a significant increase in students' dropout rates because of government's neglect of student concerns," they said in a statement.

Anakbayan referred to "the 600 percent tuition increase imposed in the Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST), a state college, which has resulted in a 50 percent drop in enrolment in the current school year."

"From last year's P15 per unit, EARIST currently collects P100 per unit from freshmen students. Laboratory fees also increased from P25 to P500 for both new and returning students," the group said.

They also assailed the 300 percent increase in tuition at the University of the Philippines -- from P300 to P1,000 per unit. This brought the average tuition per semester to P30,000-40,000, just a few pesos less than tuition at Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle Universitites.

They added that Polytechnic University of the Philippines was poised to implement a 525-percent tuition increase, or an increase from P12.50 to P75 per unit.

Earlier, the LFS, referring to CHED Chairman Romulo Neri’s belief in feng shui, asked him to channel his office's "positive energies" into a speedy review of the tuition policy.

Militant students asked Neri to "stop wasting his time looking for structural alignments and a better view [at the CHED office in Pasig City]."

"Instead, he should start looking into questions on the CHED's tuition increase policy because luck is running out for the students and parents who cannot afford the ridiculously high cost of tertiary education," said Crisostomo.

Crisostomo was reacting to an Inquirer report that Neri transferred to another room at the CHED headquarters upon the advice of a Chinese feng shui expert.

"Unless [Neri] acts on this matter quickly and reasonably, there will be no reason to expect peace and quiet as students are already gearing up for mass protests," warned the LFS.

According to Crisostomo, Neri "will be needing more than feng shui to address that."

No canned music in National Anthem singing in schools--Lapus

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080111-111774/No-canned-music-in-National-Anthem-singing-in-schools--Lapus)
First Posted 16:56:00 01/11/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- The singing of the Philippine National Anthem during flag ceremonies in schools will not be accompanied by canned music, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said in a memorandum released this Friday.

The memorandum contains guidelines on the proper use of the Philippine flag in schools.

It emphasizes respect for the Philippine flag, which Lapus said was a symbol of the country’s sovereignty.

Lapus ordered teachers and administrators to refer to Republic Act 8491, which states the proper manner in displaying the Philippine flag, as well as the singing of the National Anthem.

Quoting the law, Lapus said the Philippine flag should not be used as drapery nor should it be used as uniform. It should not be used as part of an advertisement and must not be displayed in front of buildings occupied by non-Filipinos.

Likewise, tattered or faded flags should not be raised in any school, Lapus said.

Well, thank God at least the government is addressing the problem... I guess by 2010, CyberEd will be fully-implemented which for me is the best idea to uplift the quality of our educational system. I'm also very glad because today every has school has its own budget allocated for school supplies, etc.

A Philippine University (http://www.pinoypress.net/2008/01/13/luis-v-teodoro-%C2%BB-a-philippine-university/)

Despite funding constraints, the University of the Philippines (UP), which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, has grown from a small institution on Manila’s Padre Faura street into a national university system of 12 campuses (including the cyber or virtual campus of its Open University) and seven constituent universities.

UP has the most extensive undergraduate and graduate degree programs of any university in the country, and the largest, most competent corps of faculty from creative writing to law, communication to nuclear physics.

Because a UP diploma is by general consent the key to successful careers, annually it attracts the brightest and best students from the country’s secondary schools, tens of thousands of whom take the dreaded UP College Admissions Tests (UPCAT).

UP programs are the benchmarks for other institutions—the private and (non-chartered) government colleges and universities under the supervision of the Commission on Higher Education. UP graduates are not only leaders in the professions, the arts, and the sciences in the Philippines. They have also excelled in foreign climes. And despite talk about its “decline,” it is still the only Philippine university that always makes it to any list of the world’s best.

It sounds like a success story, and in many ways it is. But neither growth nor reputation should be the measure of an institution of higher learning’s success, at least not in a country like the Philippines. Of even more crucial moment is whether the University of the Philippines can now truly be said to be a university for the Philippines and for Filipinos.

This is at the heart of a statement issued last Tuesday by the All- UP Workers Alliance, and the Congress of Teachers and Educators for National Democracy, an organization of UP faculty members across the entire UP System.

After describing what both organizations claim is a commercialization and privatization policy in place in UP today, the statement declares the urgency of transforming UP into an authentic “University of the People” able to address the basic problems of the Filipino nation it serves.

The complaint against commercialization refers to the policy various UP administrations have adopted, to a greater or lesser degree, of utilizing the university’s assets to augment its finances. It’s a response to dwindling budgetary support from every Philippine government that’s come to power in recent times, from that of Ferdinand Marcos to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s.

A major expression of this policy were the increases in UP tuition and other fees, which many UP faculty and students fear will erode a major UP advantage as well as mandate: its capacity to attract and educate the most gifted students from all over the country.

The fear is not without basis. Several UP colleges have reported declining enrolments after fees were raised, as would-be UP students discovered that they would be paying almost as much for a UP education as they would in certain Catholic schools with better facilities, newer buildings and prettier campuses.

It’s futile to argue that the value of the education it offers can’t be measured in terms of how many computers a school has and how well maintained are its flower beds, and that the worth of an educational institution lies in its human resources. For years, however, high school graduates have flocked to UP despite its rundown facilities because at least the fees it used to charge seemed reasonable.

As shallow as that may seem, it worked out well in the end. UP had the pick of the best and deserving, and the latter received the education the best minds of the country could provide. The fee increases seem to be changing all that, and in this sense the future may yet prove the decision to raise fees misplaced, though prodded by the need to augment inadequate funds from the state.

Its doors’ being open to as many Filipinos as possible is a major factor in its lead as an educational institution. But there’s also the fact that as a state university, UP’s educating the poor would seem to be a considerable part of its mandate.

It’s in this sense that the demand that it be a university of the people is being made, and you can’t do that if your fees are beyond even middle-class reach. At another level, however, being a university of the people also means offering a kind of education that’s devoted to both nation and country rather than to self. It’s always been implicit in UP culture—the assumption that, having been educated by the people whose taxes support UP, graduates will give back something in terms of using their skills and knowledge to help the people realize their aspirations for a better, more just, more equitable society. It’s summed up in the admonition, known to every UP student, to “serve the people.”

In a university ironically established under colonial auspices, but now immersed among a people struggling still for the same goals—social justice, freedom, progress—that over a hundred years ago the first Republican revolution in Asia had raised, it’s a commitment that should occupy a special place in every UP student’s and alumnus’ heart.

RP lags behind neighbors in science, technology (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080122-113983/RP-lags-behind-neighbors-in-science-technology----Angara)

MANILA, Philippines -- The country lags behind its Asian neighbors in science, technology, and innovation (STI), Senator Edgardo Angara said, as he batted for an upgrade in science and math education in all levels.

Supporting his statement, Angara pointed out that for every scientist or engineer in the Philippines, there were six in Vietnam, 25 in Thailand, and 200 in Singapore.

He said there were only 12 scientists and engineers per one million population in the Philippines. “This is not even one half of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) requirement for sustainable development,” he said.

Angara said that public spending for research and development (R&D) was only 0.11 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). “That’s about one-tenth of one percent…while Japan spends 3.12 percent and Singapore, 2.15 percent,” he said.

He said the principal reason for this was the “truly unfortunate, if not pathetic” situation of the country’s education, particularly in science and math. He said the Filipinos’ aptitude for science and math was poor as shown by the achievement tests in March 2007 where the average elementary school student could answer only five of 10 science and math questions correctly and the average high school student, four of 10 such questions.

Angara said this situation was caused by a dearth in science and math teachers. To illustrate, he said that 90 percent of physics teachers were non-physics majors and 80 percent of chemistry teachers were non-chemistry majors.

The senator, who heads the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology, and Engineering (COMSTE) and the defunct Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM), admitted that there were “resource gaps” in the national budget.

“Year in and year out, every time the national budget comes to Congress, we are confronted with the same problems of lack of textbooks, lack of teachers, etc.,” he said.

“We have the largest class size in the region, and class size is a good measure of effective learning. In 2001, our average class size was 54, in 2004, it was 70,” he added.

The senator said tools like computers were not available to many Filipino students, saying that the ratio of student to computer is 1:26,000 for public elementary school students, 1:111 for public high school students.

Overall computer ownership is 46:1,000 and Internet penetration is about 15 percent, the 12th among 14 Asian countries, he said.

Angara stressed that progress came from science, technology, and innovation. He predicted that in the next few years, STI in the fields of information and communication technology, nanotechnology, and biotechnology would be at the forefront of what would move the world forward.

“We cannot join in this great movement if we don’t address the basic problems that confront us,” he said.

Angara thus batted for building educational foundation for excellence in math and science, investing adequately in research and development, and developing a vast pool of technically-trained workers with world-class skills.

“We need to have a culture of science, technology, and innovation. Everyone of us -- government, the academic community, and the private sector -- must do our part to put in place this culture of innovation and build the foundation for technical and scientific excellence…This if we want to have a future,” he said.

Education project seeks to turn kids into teachers (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080127-115055/Education-project-seeks-to-turn-kids-into-teachers)

MANILA, Philippines -- Half a decade from now, A thousand of the brightest young Filipinos will graduate from college and journey down a road less and less traveled.

They will not look for work abroad as nurses or engineers. Neither will they sign up at call centers, pursue law or medicine. Instead, they will sharpen their pencils, load up on chalk, and teach public schoolchildren.

That is the principle behind the 1,000 Teachers Program, an ambitious project of the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) that seeks to attract the most talented high school seniors to the teaching profession.

The PBEd, an organization of business leaders advocating education reforms, has partnered with the Department of Education to uplift the image of the teaching profession among the young, and improve the quality of public schoolteachers.

The goal, according to PBEd’s chair, Ramon del Rosario Jr., is to bring back pride among teachers. He quotes famous educator Jacques Barzun who said: “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.”

Del Rosario said he hopes the program will make more people say “ang titser ko, idol ko (my teacher, my idol)” and do away with the “titser lang (just a teacher)” notion more prevalent today.

At Friday’s launch of the program at the Power Plant Mall in Makati City, the PBEd said the 1,000 Teachers Program would sponsor the schooling of some of the best graduating high school students through a full scholarship grant with stipends.

Some 20 universities, including Philippine Normal University and De La Salle University-Manila, have agreed to partner with PBEd for the project, which will begin next academic year. More are expected to join.

Successful applicants, who will be required to take up Education and major in English, Math or Science, will receive a monthly allowance of P2,000 for 10 months of each school year, and a book stipend of P2,000 per semester.

“In return, they are expected to go back to their home provinces to teach in a public school for at least five years before considering other options,” said PBEd’s executive director Chito Salazar.

Based on the scholarship guidelines, scholars will not be allowed to shift courses and will be required to reimburse all allowances paid should they choose to drop out or change majors.

They will be required to stay in the country and serve in the public school system for five years after passing the Licensure Exam for Teachers, according to the rules.

“Students who choose to leave the country will be required to refund the program costs,” Salazar said.

He explained that partner schools would support the tuition of the scholars, while partner companies would shoulder the stipends, among other financial needs, amounting to P25,000 per year for four years for each scholarship slot.

“We already have 150 slots spread out in all but three regions,” Salazar said.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer is one of the initial 13 partner companies, including four other media organizations that have pledged their commitment to sponsoring scholarships.

PBEd officers said 1,000 Teachers hopes to “restore the place of our teachers in nation-building” by countering the “titser lang” mentality so prevalent today.

A PBEd statement which appeared in a recent edition of the Quality Teacher magazine of Bato Balani Foundation said: “In reality, teachers are not just teachers. They are classroom managers.”

It added: “They are chief operating officers of cramped classrooms with some of the most rowdy and academically challenged students. They manage class discipline, maximize the scarce resources, act as counselors to students, and, as if all those tasks are not enough, they take home a mountain of paper work at the end of the day.”

“And to top that, teachers are second parents, they are confidants, they are mentors, they are friends,” the statement said.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, who attended the launch, said the “titser lang” mentality reminded him of the old government campaign that sought to change people’s negative attitude toward manual jobs like farming or fishing.

In the past, teachers enjoyed high regard among members of the community, he said. “Teachers were role models.”

But because of low wages, the teaching profession does not attract as much talent as it used to, Lapus said, citing the very low percentage of male teachers compared to female teachers.

“That’s because men are usually the breadwinners and they’re forced to take risks, like going abroad where they can earn a higher salary,” Lapus said.

“Women, on the other hand, often decide to become teachers because even though the salary is not high, it is stable,” Salazar said. He added that a public schoolteacher’s initial pay of about P11,000 was not too bad compared with other jobs.

Lapus said he hopes programs like 1,000 Teachers could help reinvigorate the education sector, which remains in sore need of more funds for teachers, classrooms, and textbooks.

“We hope this is [just] an initial response of the business community because we certainly need more scholarships,” said former central bank governor Jose Cuisia, who chairs the PBEd Teacher Quality Working Group.

Congress and educational woes (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/jan/30/yehey/opinion/20080130opi5.html)

What do you call a man who puts the right shoe on his left foot and the left shoe on his right foot?

Answer — Mali shoes. (corny pills!) :hilarious

This melding of Pilipino and English words inevitably produces guffaws. However, the result is not always funny when one considers the big number of Filipinos who could speak neither straight Pilipino nor straight English. Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Cebu is so concerned about this that he has filed a bill seeking to make English a medium of instruction starting from the primary grades. EddieGul’s bill already has 173 signatories, enough to ensure its safe sailing at the House.

However, students who could not properly communicate in English or Pilipino are not the only problems of Philippine education. In a recent telecast of Game Ka na Ba, a popular noontime gameshow of ABS-CBN, I was impressed by the young contestants who could answer questions about characters in the Harry Potter series and in Disney movies. My admiration turned to a big letdown when none of them could answer correctly the question on who founded the Katipunan. One answered, “Jose Rizal,” another, “Lapu-lapu,” while the rest kept mum. Are we producing children knowledgeable on movie and cartoon characters but totally ignorant on our heroes?

Sen. Edgardo Angara, the leading exponent of educational reforms in the Senate, says that the problem of teaching students properly should start with producing teachers knowledgeable of their subject matter. He notes that very few of Math, Physics and Science teachers have majored in these subjects. He has authored a law giving incentives to teachers who would hone their knowledge of these subjects.

Angara has been spreading the “gospel” of technical education to make the Philippines more globally competitive. He wants higher education to emphasize courses on Math, Science, Technology and Engineering, which he believes are the key to success in this modern world. He notes that Philippine schools have not been producing enough graduates to meet the needs of these disciplines.

Some of the bills on education filed by Angara in the 14th Congress are the Loans and Scholarship Act, Expanded Government Assistance to Secondary Teachers in Private Education, School Building Program Act and amendments to the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.

There are many other bills on education filed by the other senators but, so far, only one such bill has been approved on third and final reading—that of Senators Pia Cayetano and Loren Legarda seeking to integrate environment awareness in the school curriculum. The House and the Senate certainly must approve more bills if they really believe that Philippine education is in deep crisis.

by Renato Ariza for Rus in Urbe (http://www.groundreport.com/Politics/In-perspective-Restoration-of-Spanish-and-English-)

Before the EDSA Revolution of 1986, the Philippines have the highest rate of English language proficiency among Asians and accordingly, the country is 3rd in rank as English speaking nations in the world. And in 1987 the pseudo nationalists government of the then Aquino administration, had decided to changed the educational system of the land by removing English as the medium of instructions in schools. And later Spanish language was likewise taken out as a college subject.

After two decades of separation from English and Spanish languages, the Philippines is hardly catching up in terms of English and Spanish proficiency. The educational system was greatly affected. Teachers and students alike are not good English speakers anymore. Although, English is now the dominant language in the world, the Philippines has yet to restore the language of Uncle Sam, the son of Great Britain. The politicians and the nationalists in the academe are not collectively in agreement to restore the English language. The pros and cons boils down to the irreconcilable opinions on both sides.

Fortunately, latest move by congress to pass the English language bill is gaining ground in the lower House of Representatives. The bill seeks to restore the English language as a medium of instructions in schools. The congressmen have signified their intention to pass the bill as urgent.

The decision to pass the bill is in support to the growing demand in the BPO or the business process outsourcing industries. BPO is now one of the biggest employment generating industries in the country. India is the number one BPO service providers in the world.

On the Spanish language, the idea to restore the lingua franca of Don Quixote, which had been deleted in Universities and colleges, have called the attention of the government to bring back Spanish as mandatory subject for college students. The need to learn the Spanish language is a requirement for employment opportunities in mother Spain and the re-establishment of cultural, social and political ties between two nations. “Bien, empecemos la clase,” “El estudiante aprende el español.”

i think speaking different languages can make an uncomfortable working environment. It creates some paranoia..:ohno:meron english,may chinese..tapos may spanish na naman:lol:

^^ Hmm....I wonder how it is like to work at the UN, the EU, the IOC, or any multinational organization for that matter. People who are paranoid to be with other people from other cultures are just plain xenophobic.

fundador, di ba sa spain ka galing? hehehe

Lim orders shutdown of Recto’s ‘diploma mill’

MANILA, Philippines -- Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim has ordered Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales, the Manila Police District director, to shut down all Recto Avenue establishments selling fake documents, including diplomas and school records.

Lim gave the order on Wednesday after receiving numerous complaints from embassies about the proliferation of forged documents submitted by visa applicants, including bank certificates, school records and police clearances.

He warned he would not renew the applications for business permit of establishments that have been harboring or renting out space to these “diploma mills.”

The avenue has also been dubbed “Recto University” because anyone can get a fake college diploma or transcript of records of the university or school of his choice from establishments in the area.

“These racketeers have fooled so many people. Their student customers should know that they can be expelled from their school when their scheme is discovered,” Lim said.

He added that those involved in the illegal production of fake certificates would be charged with falsification of public documents.

DepEd to boost mainstreaming of Muslim schools (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080130-115827/DepEd-to-boost-mainstreaming-of-Muslim-schools)

MANILA, Philippines -- In a bid to popularize the Standard Curriculum in private madaris, the Department of Education (DepEd) has announced that it will extend assistance to madaris looking for funding as long as they pass the necessary requirements.

DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus said the DepEd was set to provide help to madaris or Arabic schools that integrated the standard curriculum with the Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) program. He said the initiative was aimed at mainstreaming the private madaris.

"Mainstreaming Madrasah Education in our system of basic education is one of the initiatives we have been undertaking to give our Muslim schoolchildren an education that is culturally sensitive," Lapus said in a statement.

Undersecretary for Muslim Affairs Manaros Boransing said the project would provide comprehensive education to Muslim children.

"While the ALIVE Program is integral to their education, we also recognize the need for them to learn the standard subjects taught in public schools -- Mathematics, English, Science, Filipino, and Makabayan."

The Deped said it would help schools with funding needs and facilitate their grant application to the financial assistance program extended by Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). Under the OIC’s funding program, madaris can avail of funds to cover the improvement of physical facilities such as classrooms, furniture, laboratory equipment, and libraries. DepEd will help schools who pass the requirements.

Part of the assistance is expected to go to capability building, which includes training of Muslim teachers or asatidz, management training for administrators and finance managers, and installation of accounting and financial systems.

Before private madaris can avail of the financial assistance, they must obtain a permit to operate from the DepEd Regional Office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). They should also offer the Standard Curriculum for Private Madaris as prescribed under DepEd Order 51, s. 2004.

Isn't that crossing the line separating the church and state?

i think there was a decline in the quality of education in the Philippines especially at the elementary and secondary levels halimbawa the results of standard tests conducted among elementary and high school students were way below the target mean score:ohno:

Isn't that crossing the line separating the church and state?

^^ why would you think that?

Because the government is subsidizing a religious school?

i don't think so.

DepEd to boost mainstreaming of Muslim schools (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080130-115827/DepEd-to-boost-mainstreaming-of-Muslim-schools)

The Deped said it would help schools with funding needs and facilitate their grant application to the financial assistance program extended by Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). Under the OIC’s funding program, madaris can avail of funds to cover the improvement of physical facilities such as classrooms, furniture, laboratory equipment, and libraries. DepEd will help schools who pass the requirements.

LOL, I don't know how to read.

^^ :cheers:

from "Harvey S. Keh" <hkeh@ateneo. edu>

Dear Friends,

For the past five years, I have been involved with a program that
identifies deserving but financially disadvantaged students from the
public high schools and equips them with the necessary skills to
access and survive college.

In the course of our work, one of my biggest realizations was that
more than the scholarships, the students I work with struggle with the
hidden costs of education. These are the every day costs we rarely
include in our calculations but add up to quite a sum. These are our
books, photocopying expenses, food, fare money, special projects,
uniforms (for some schools), etc. This is one of the main reasons
college students drop out in spite of a scholarship grant.

Pathways has been quite successful in helping these students pursue
the dreams they never thought they could.

We graduated our first batch last year. All of them are now gainfully
employed. All of them now able to help their families in their own
ways. "Francis", our very first Atenista, is now in Deutche Bank.

ROSE PATINGO, our very first Payatas student in Assumption College
is now working with East West Bank. She has opened the door for more
students from Payatas to study in prestigiousuniversi ties. Now, we have
about 8 more students in Assumption alone and a total of 20 in the
Ateneo. All of them now leading change in their circles of influence.

This coming school year, we look forward to a new batch of freshmen
who will enter college all excited but albeit a bit frightened as well. I hope
you can help me become a champion for our cause and help our fellow-
Filipino realize his full potential and become a productive young citizen
of our country. By writing a short endorsement and then forwarding the
short article below, you can help us raise awareness and support for our
students.

Below is Jaime's story. He is one of our freshmen in the Ateneo right
now. I hope you can help me forward this story and encourage friends
and family to support more students like him. After all, it only boils
down to P 1,000 a month. =)

We usually look to others for hope. Now, we can be a source of hope
and in so doing, realize that the hope is truly within us too. =)

Sincerely,
Solvie


PATHWAYS OF HOPE
From third year high school all the way to his senior year, JAIME MOTUS,
JR. walked more than 7 kms. from his house in Marikina to the Ateneo
campus in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, 5 days a week to attend the
Pathways enrichment classes.

Today, Jaime is a freshman at the Ateneo de Manila University taking up
Computer Engineering. He is one of the 500 students throughout the
Philippines that Pathways to Higher Education has been able to bridge
to college.

The transformation of Jaime from a shy and quiet high school junior
was made possible through the various programs at Pathways like the
academic enrichment classes which motivated him to aspire for
excellence.

He graduated with First Honorable Mention at Santa Elena High School
with the help of his big brothers and sisters (Ates and Kuyas) at Pathways.
The Self-Enhancement Workshops (SEW) is another program that Jaime participated in along with the other would be scholars.

This led him to the road of self-discovery, enabling him to unearth his
potential and build his self-confidence. Jaime's perseverance in staying
with the programs can be summed up in his comment: "I found the
sessions enjoyable. I learned a lot and have found new friends/"

Now that he is at the Ateneo, Pathways continues to nurture, monitor
and assist him as he faces the endless challenges of a scholar. Jaime
comes from a family of seven children with a monthly income of around
P 6,000.00. His father drives the FX 3 times a week and his mother
Justina works as a laundrywoman occasionally.

College education for Jaime was most certainly a dream for the Motus
family. Pathways helped Jaime with the academic and soft skills
necessary to enter college. Through their guidance, he was able to apply
and take the admission tests in various colleges and universities for free.

Now that he is at the Ateneo, Pathways continues to work hand in hand
with Jaime and his family along the road to success. Slowly but surely,
Jaime is walking toward building a better future for himself and his
family.

PATHWAYS HAS HELPED JAIME COME THIS FAR.
YOU CAN ENSURE THAT HE GOES THE DISTANCE.
HELP MORE STUDENTS LIKE JAIME REALIZE THEIR TRUE POTENTIAL.

Sponsor a scholar and participate in the dream-building of your fellow-
Filipino. The amount of P 12,000.00 a year or P 1,000.00 a month will
enable scholars like Jaime in focusing on what is important--success in
his STUDIES. P 1,000.00 a month will cover incidentals like books, food
and transportation expenses of a scholar. We at Pathways will gladly show
how you can be part of the Filipino dream.

For more information, please email us at info.pathways@ gmail.com or
call us at 426-6001 local 4048-4049 and look for Solvie Nubla

Pasig City (1 February) -- Filipino students may soon have access to free Mandarin lessons – one of the most widely-spoken languages of business.

Members of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industries Incorporated (FFCCCII) and representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) recently visited the Department of Education (DepEd) to propose teaching Mandarin in public schools.

The Volunteer Program for International Chinese Teachers managed by the MOE's Office of Chinese Language Council International will send language instructors every year to the Philippines.

"We may offer it (language class) as an elective in high performing schools," DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus said. "This will help broaden our children's understanding of China and its culture."

Other foreign languages taught in schools today are Spanish and French. English, on the other hand, is being used as a medium of instruction and is one of the core subjects in basic education.

According to MOE representatives, they presently have over 100 Chinese-language teachers in Filipino-Chinese schools in the cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, Tarlac, Cebu, Davao, and Quezon. The delegation is set to provide DepEd with a complete list of their deployment in the country.

The language instruction is planned for implementation when public high schools open this June.

FFCCCII is a strong supporter of DepEd in improving the quality of education in the public school system. To date, FFCCCII has constructed 2,503 classrooms nationwide through DepEd's Adopt-a-School Program.

China is a historical partner of the Philippines with deep social, economic and ethnic ties dating back to the 10th century.

http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&fi=p080201.htm&no=70&r=&y=&mo=

Business involvement seen to help improve RP education

By Margaux Ortiz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:19:00 02/01/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- With the new role of local business in the country's educational system, proponents believe the supposed mismatch between available jobs and employment seekers will finally be addressed.

This was highlighted on the last day of the First Biennial National Congress on Education, in which educators and businessmen stressed the importance of their partnership in improving the quality of graduates in the Philippines.

“One of the workshops focused on tightening the linkages between higher education and industry in order to address the mismatch of industry demand and qualified manpower supply,” Undersecretary Mona Valisno, presidential assistant for education, said in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Friday.

Valisno said the workshop participants -- including their adviser Ambassador Donald Dee, special envoy of the president for trade negotiations -- recommended a more involved partnership between the academe and industry as a long-term solution to the mismatch problem.

“Local industry stakeholders could take an active part in drafting the schools' curricula and even teach in the educational institutions,” Valisno said.

This would expose the students and the other teachers to the realities of the world outside the academe, according to Valisno.

The workshop also recommended that a “clearing house” be created for the purpose of matching the schools and companies “for more in-depth partnerships.”

“This endeavor would also focus on the natural strengths of a specific region, and enable the schools to produce graduates fit for the kind of industries in the area,” Valisno said.

A declaration to adopt and implement the Philippine Main Education Highway, which would be presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was also signed by the participants of the Congress on Friday, according to Valisno.

The declaration specified that all education sub-sectors would ensure the implementation of strategies for educational development and the enhancement of the status, morale and professionalism of teachers.

Fr. Roderick Salazar, a member of the Presidential Task Force on Education, said that among the biggest challenges discussed in the conference’s six workshops was teacher competence.

“A lot of improvements have yet to be made on this particular aspect of education. We have to make sure that our teachers know what they teach so as to directly improve the quality of students in the country,” Salazar said.

The workshops also pointed out the distinction and possible points of cooperation between the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

“By identifying the ways of managing and coordinating these three agencies, we could ensure that what is taught to elementary and high school students in the country would be sufficient for (them to tackle) their college courses,” Salazar said.

He added that the relationship between the schools, the government institutions, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and industry should be further scrutinized.

“We have to make sure that what we teach in schools are the same ones tested by the PRC and needed by the industry,” Salazar said.

Free education cost studes P9M in computer fees -- COA (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080205-116839/Free-education-cost-studes-P9M-in-computer-fees----COA)

By Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:17:00 02/05/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Schoolchildren in more than 100 public schools across the country shelled out P9.26 million in 2006 to maintain their school computers and computer laboratories, according to the Commission on Audit.

The 2006 COA report said the Department of Education’s failure to allocate funds for the maintenance of computers and laboratories went against its policy of providing "free basic education" to all public school students from whom the fees were collected.

"Inadequate facilities and resources to maintain and sustain the computerization program will result in an additional financial burden for schoolchildren and their parents," the COA said.

The COA said the computer fees -- ranging from P5 to P120 -- were collected through parent-teacher-community associations for the purchase of desktop computers to replace worn-out and obsolete units and computer parts.

Honoraria for teachers

The fees collected from the students were also used for honoraria for teachers, wages of computer technicians and operating costs of computer laboratories, which included supplies, materials, electricity and security guards.

This was true of schools particularly in Regions VIII and X, the COA noted.

The report said the Division of Baguio collected a total of P2.671 million in computer fees; the Division of Abra, P133,000, and Mountain Province, P231,805.

Sarrat National High School in Ilocos Norte received P32,380 from its students; San Nicolas National High School in Pangasinan collected the same amount.

A total of P72,600 in computer fees was collected in Candon National High School; P56,250 in Bacsil National High School; P169,000, Ilocos Sur National High School; P261,000, Sinait National High School in Ilocos Sur, and P415,440, La Union National High School.

At Anislag National High School in Albay, the report said the P40 to P360 students paid in computer fees for nine months amounted to P21,570.

Sixty-seven national high schools in Region VI collected over P4.102 million, while 24 elementary schools in Region VIII collected P110,300 from its students.

Contrary to policy

Six secondary schools in Region IX, under the Zamboanga del Norte Division Office, collected P148,996.54.

In Region X, students in 43 public high schools contributed P799,870.08.

"Other than the lack of uniformity in the rates collected, the manner and procedure of accounting for the receipts and disbursements could be contrary to DepEd's existing policy of providing free basic education to all schoolchildren," the report said.

The COA also noted that students who could not afford to pay the computer fees shifted to other courses such as technology and livelihood.

This defeated the goal of the Department of Science and Technology and Department of Trade and Industry which was to give students free access to computers, the report said.

The COA recommended the DepEd allow schools to include an amount in their proposed budgets for the repair, maintenance and purchase of computers and their laboratories to avoid having to get the money from their students.

i think education in the Philippines is now considered wordclass :cheers: coz my former classmate told me that lot of foreign students are taking their masters and graduate studies here in the Philippines..lalo na sa U P

Manila, Korean university ink MOU

MANILA, Philippines -- Koreans who have come to the Philippines to learn English as a second language can now learn the language at one of Manila’s universities following the city government’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with a Korean university.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim signed on Thursday the MOU with the Seokang University of Korea allowing Korean students to learn the language and study Philippine history and culture for at least two to three weeks at the City College of Manila.

The MOU, he added, also provides for an exchange of students and faculty between the two educational institutions.

“They will be taught English as they acquaint themselves with the Philippine setting and culture,” said Lim in his welcome remarks before the Seokang delegation headed by Kim Jeong Soo.

By Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

i think education in the Philippines is now considered wordclass :cheers: coz my former classmate told me that lot of foreign students are taking their masters and graduate studies here in the Philippines..lalo na sa U P

satin din ba pwedeng dumeretso agad sa phd after undergrad o kailangan master din muna o depende

^^ You have to get your MA/MS degree first before you're allowed to pursue a doctoral (PhD) degree.

OT segue: What you learn in college is SHIT!

BS = Bull shit
MS = More shit
PhD = Piled high and deep

:rofl:

i think education in the Philippines is now considered wordclass :cheers: coz my former classmate told me that lot of foreign students are taking their masters and graduate studies here in the Philippines..lalo na sa U P

I believe it more economical (meaning: cheaper) to pursue graduate studies in the Philippines compared to the world's leading educational centers.

^because,u know here, you actually dont have to have your master before getting admitted to phd/scd

^^ :yes: Yup, it's called Masters Degree "in passing."


Master's degree "in passing" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhD)
As applicants to many Ph.D. programs are not required to have Master's Degrees, many programs award a Master of Arts or Master of Science degree "in passing" or "in course" based on the graduate work done in the course of achieving the Ph.D. Students who receive such Master's Degrees are usually required to complete a certain amount of coursework and a master's thesis. Depending on the specific program, masters-in-passing degrees can be either mandatory or optional. Not all Ph.D. students choose to complete the additional requirements necessary for the M.A. or M.S. if such requirements are not mandated by their programs. Those students will simply obtain the Ph.D. at the end of their graduate study.

ano equivalent ng gmat na test sa pnas

He is one of my favorite columnists from the NEW YORK TIMES. I think of all the unfortunate children in our country and the disadvantage they are in.

Op-Ed Columnist
Poverty Is Poison

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 18, 2008
“Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain.” That was the opening of an article in Saturday’s Financial Times, summarizing research presented last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Skip to next paragraph

Paul Krugman.

As the article explained, neuroscientists have found that “many children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development.” The effect is to impair language development and memory — and hence the ability to escape poverty — for the rest of the child’s life.

So now we have another, even more compelling reason to be ashamed about America’s record of failing to fight poverty.

L. B. J. declared his “War on Poverty” 44 years ago. Contrary to cynical legend, there actually was a large reduction in poverty over the next few years, especially among children, who saw their poverty rate fall from 23 percent in 1963 to 14 percent in 1969.

But progress stalled thereafter: American politics shifted to the right, attention shifted from the suffering of the poor to the alleged abuses of welfare queens driving Cadillacs, and the fight against poverty was largely abandoned.

In 2006, 17.4 percent of children in America lived below the poverty line, substantially more than in 1969. And even this measure probably understates the true depth of many children’s misery.

Living in or near poverty has always been a form of exile, of being cut off from the larger society. But the distance between the poor and the rest of us is much greater than it was 40 years ago, because most American incomes have risen in real terms while the official poverty line has not. To be poor in America today, even more than in the past, is to be an outcast in your own country. And that, the neuroscientists tell us, is what poisons a child’s brain.

America’s failure to make progress in reducing poverty, especially among children, should provoke a lot of soul-searching. Unfortunately, what it often seems to provoke instead is great creativity in making excuses.

Some of these excuses take the form of assertions that America’s poor really aren’t all that poor — a claim that always has me wondering whether those making it watched any TV during Hurricane Katrina, or for that matter have ever looked around them while visiting a major American city.

Mainly, however, excuses for poverty involve the assertion that the United States is a land of opportunity, a place where people can start out poor, work hard and become rich.

But the fact of the matter is that Horatio Alger stories are rare, and stories of people trapped by their parents’ poverty are all too common. According to one recent estimate, American children born to parents in the bottom fourth of the income distribution have almost a 50 percent chance of staying there — and almost a two-thirds chance of remaining stuck if they’re black.

That’s not surprising. Growing up in poverty puts you at a disadvantage at every step.

I’d bracket those new studies on brain development in early childhood with a study from the National Center for Education Statistics, which tracked a group of students who were in eighth grade in 1988. The study found, roughly speaking, that in modern America parental status trumps ability: students who did very well on a standardized test but came from low-status families were slightly less likely to get through college than students who tested poorly but had well-off parents.

None of this is inevitable.

Poverty rates are much lower in most European countries than in the United States, mainly because of government programs that help the poor and unlucky.

And governments that set their minds to it can reduce poverty. In Britain, the Labor government that came into office in 1997 made reducing poverty a priority — and despite some setbacks, its program of income subsidies and other aid has achieved a great deal. Child poverty, in particular, has been cut in half by the measure that corresponds most closely to the U.S. definition.

At the moment it’s hard to imagine anything comparable happening in this country. To their credit — and to the credit of John Edwards, who goaded them into it — both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are proposing new initiatives against poverty. But their proposals are modest in scope and far from central to their campaigns.

I’m not blaming them for that; if a progressive wins this election, it will be by promising to ease the anxiety of the middle class rather than aiding the poor. And for a variety of reasons, health care, not poverty, should be the first priority of a Democratic administration.

But ultimately, let’s hope that the nation turns back to the task it abandoned — that of ending the poverty that still poisons so many American lives.

TOP 10 sa Nursing...dami taga Mindanao.

Congrats:

San Pedro College Davao (#3, #4, #9, #9) :applause::applause::applause:
Ateneo de Davao University (#6)
Xavier University (#6, #8)
Davao Doctors College (#7)
Western Mindanao State University (#7)
Capitol University (#9)

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x287/GearX_2007/another/bars/top102.gif

:applause::applause::applause:

source (http://www.pinoybsn.blogspot.com/)

i think education in the Philippines is now considered wordclass :cheers: coz my former classmate told me that lot of foreign students are taking their masters and graduate studies here in the Philippines..lalo na sa U P

Well, my brother goes to nursing review with foreigners, among them Caucasians who came all the way from the U.S. to study in our schools. Foreigners come here to study because they can pay cheaper tuition fees for the same or higher quality education.

There is an influx of Korean students going as far as schools in the Visayas (I don't know about Mindanao).

^^I wish universities here especially the presumed "Big 4" would take greater steps in improving their international rankings, kaya naman nila eh. That would definitely improve our country's image in terms of education. Who knows, other than the Big 4, other Philippine universities might enter the lists.

Cory Aquino, the CBCP bishops, the black & WHAT movement, & the left-wing militants are so stupid in recruiting College students to join their irrelevant protest. They have contributed nothing on tuition fee payment and yet they’ve got the nerve to disrupt classes and ruin the kids future. They are only insulting the youth’s parents who are working so hard to allocate hard-earned income for tuition fee payment.

Unesco-RP mustering support for bid to host ‘lifelong learning center’

By Rainier Allan Ronda
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Philippine Star

The UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM) has gathered the top educators of Southeast Asia for a two-day conference in Manila which aims to round up support for the Philippines’ bid to be the site of a UNESCO “lifelong learning center” in the region.

Ambassador Preciosa S. Soliven, UNACOM secretary-general, said they were encouraged by the attendance and participation of many top educators from Southeast Asia at the two-day “Regional Workshop on Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development” which started yesterday at the Legend Villas Hotel in Mandaluyong City.

Soliven said that during the conference, UNACOM will stress the need to build a Center for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development in the region, and foster unity among the region’s nations in pushing UNESCO, or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to locate it in Manila.

“We want to get the support of our neighbors in the region for our bid to build the Lifelong Learning Center and to make the Philippines the site of the center in Southeast Asia,” Soliven said.

She said that at the start of the conference, there was already a general agreement on the importance of promoting “lifelong learning” among the people as a strategy towards sustainable development.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, who was the keynote speaker in yesterday’s opening ceremonies, said the UNESCO Executive Board, of which he is a member, has approved the conduct of a feasibility study for the establishment of the lifelong learning center for the SEA region in the Philippines.

Lapus said that UNESCO representatives who will undertake the study are expected to arrive in the next few weeks.

“It would give us considerable benefits since having the center here would give us easy access to world experts on lifelong learning,” Lapus said.

Among the top educators of Southeast Asia who were present yesterday were Ibrahim bin Haji Abdul Rahman, principal of the Jefri Bolkiah Technical College of Brunei Darussalam; Dr. Kang Dai Geun, president of UNESCO Asia Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding; Le Thi Hoang Cuc, secretary of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO; and Zaidi Kassim, assistant director of Malaysia’s Ministry of Education-Education Technology Division.

Also in attendance were Dr. Ilseon Choi, director of the Planning Team of South Korea’s National Institute for Lifelong Education; Khammang Ounpheng, planning and administration chief of the Laos PDR’s Ministry of Education-Department of Non-formal Education; Apolinario Magno, director general of Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Education; Dr. Cholatit Iamsumang, director of the Central Regional Non-formal Education Center of Thailand’s Ministry of Education-Office of Non-formal Education, and Meakh Sary of the Royal Academy of Cambodia.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080303198

P200 B OKd for education

Friday, March 14, 2008

To provide more classrooms, books, teachers
GMA bares education plans for this year

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday announced that the government will spend more than P200 billion to upgrade the country’s education system, particularly the provision of more classrooms, books, and teachers this year.


Addressing over a thousand students, teachers, parents, and education officials in Malacañang, the President said education is one of her administration’s priorities, alongside the economy and environment.

Education sector is "taking a front seat" in the 2008 budget, securing the largest allocation in the P1.227-trillion national outlay, she said.

"Dahil sa ating mga reporma sa buwis, mas malaki na ang alokasyon sa mga programang panlipunan kaysa sa pambayad sa utang. Umaabot halos dalawang-daang bilyong piso ang sa edukasyon. Ito rin ang pinakamalaking bahagi ng budget na napunta sa edukasyon sa mahabang panahon," she said in her budget message event on education dubbed "Isulong ang Karunungan — Panlaban sa Kahirapan" in the Palace.

Mrs. Arroyo said her government aims to upgrade the quality of education as well as make learning more accessible to Filipinos, saying it is the best weapon to alleviate people from poverty.

In this year’s national budget, the President said, the Department of Education (DepEd) will get P150 billion for the operations of elementary and high school around the country.

Additional funds have been allocated for Commission on Higher Education (CHED), state universities and colleges, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

She said the DepEd and DSWD will spend P2 billion in the conversion of daycare into pre-school. Both agencies will also fund the rice subsidies for some 3.5 million pre-school students under the government’s food-for-school program.

The President said the government allocated P6 billion for the construction of 11,000 classrooms and another P1 billion for the training of teachers in Math, Science, and English.

The 2008 budget will also finance the distribution of 35 million books, hiring of additional teachers, and purchase of computers for public high schools, according to the President.

Under the 2008 national budget, the President also announced the government will increase the salaries of public teachers in the middle of the year.

Over 60,000 students from poor families will be given assistance to study in private schools. High school vouchers in National Capital Region will be raised from P5,000 to P10,000 per student, according to the President.

Around P3 billion has been set aside for the vocational training for people interested in business process outsourcing and call centers, while some P700 million will be allotted for college scholarships.

The government also set aside P1 billion for scholarships for students planning to obtain masteral studies in Science and Engineering.

"Marami na tayong nagawa, maraming nalalabing kailangan gawin. Balak nating magtrabahong masipag sa susunod na dalawang taon hanggang sa araw na matapos ang aking termino sa 2010, upang ipatupad ang ating Philippine Reform Agenda," she said.

Prior to the program, the President joined hundreds of students and youth leaders in a "unity walk" at the Palace gardens in a show of support for the Chief Executive amid fresh resignation calls over a corruption scandal.

The students invited to the Palace-initiated education assembly came from several public and private colleges and universities, high schools, and vocational training centers.

Mrs. Arroyo also joined the students in a light merienda and accommodated photo sessions with them during the affair.

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN20080314119361.html#

EVERYTHING in the Philippines is connected to politics, the way we understood it. This is among the undying legacy of the American democracy. Usually, a legacy is something beautiful that builds a people. Not the American democracy, which was forced upon the Filipinos at a time when our psyche syncretized it in so many ways.

Nevertheless, consciously or unconsciously, the syncretized American politics in whatever way we understood it, encompassed the whole of our lives everything that the leadership does is tainted with it. This does not spare even a piece of accounting statement like the Philippine Budget.

Most notable is the one basic difference between the Spanish and American colonialist is science and education. While Spain forcibly introduce us to Catholicism, the Americans gently persuaded us to embrace the 'Great White Way' through the science of formal education.

This American formal education pervaded the Filipino political culture, it is as if we cannot survive without it. Is it a coincidence that again and again, education gets the biggest part of the budget pie but with nary a result in terms of quality.

Let us be fair, with more than 65 percent of the Philippine population is of the school-age bracket, the burden to educate is a reality.

It does not make sense, however, if we take a microscopic look at the education budget itself which is 95 percent personnel cost and the rest of the five percent are fought out by infrastructures and repairs.

The word 'education' is a byword in our political culture. Every politician talks about it. Many of them build schools with their family name on it.

The misallocation between personnel costs and other costs in the education budget, however, is something which no politician dare tread.

Yes, education gets the topmost priority. How noble if we set the American factor aside. The perpetuation of the budgetary misallocation, however, is politics definitely.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bac/2008/03/13/oped/editorial.html

Bigger budget, foreign aid to boost public education
By: Alvin Murcia
EDUCATION Secretary Jesli Lapus is confident that education will vastly improve due to a bigger budget allocation and the implementation of the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda.

He said BESRA will plug loopholes stunting public education.

The scheme aims to check the existing systems and policies deemed blocking continued development of basic education.

Lapus said the program will definitely reform the country’s public education system and enable the DepEd to upgrade the quality of education.

BESRA has five-point thrusts: school-based management, which draws community participation to ensure the relevance and sustainability of innovations that will be implemented in the schools; competency-based teacher standards providing ways by which teachers can enhance their contributions to improved learning results.

Lapus said the program assures quality and accountability framework involving the need for national learning strategies that assure conformity to standards by all stakeholders; early childhood education, alternative learning, and private education whose policies the DepEd has revisited to maximize their contributions to improvements in learning outcomes and the BESRA concept.

Lapus said that the program will be funded with the Australian government’s P1 billion loan package, part of the foreign government support to the country’s basic education.

He said the Australian government has vowed to continue their funding in the next five years to ensure BESRA will be completed.

www.journal.com.ph

DepEd clarifies English use in schools
By: Jeffrey C. Tiangco
THE Department of Education yesterday clarified that English as a primary medium of instruction will only begin at the Grade 3 level.

The DepEd made the clarification in the wakes of calls to enforce English as a medium of instruction in schools to address the students’ lack of proficiency in the language.

The DepEd said English and Filipino and other dialects, under the “lingua franca” program, will still be use during the formative years of learning of schoolchildren or starting in Grade 1.

The DepEd said this was provided under a memorandum issued earlier stressing that English language remains as the primary medium of instruction in all public and private schools.

The DepEd stressed that as “provided for in the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum, English shall be used as the medium of instruction of English, Mathematics, and Science and Health subjects starting Grade 3.”

“The English language shall be used as the primary medium of instruction in all public and private schools in the secondary level, including those established as laboratory and/or experimental schools, and vocational/technical institutions,” the order read.

DepEd Order No. 36 provides the Implementing Rules and Regulations for Executive Order No. 210 also known as “Establishing the Policy to Strengthen the Use of the English Language as a Medium of Instruction in the Educational System.”

“As the primary medium of instruction, the percentage of time allotment for learning areas conducted in the English language should not be less than 70 of the total time allotment for all learning areas in all year levels.

The Department continues to recognize the Filipino language as an official medium of instruction in the basic education level, specifically in the subjects of Filipino and Araling Panlipunan.” The order added.

Education stakeholders said the humiliation suffered by newly-crowned Miss Philippines World, Janina San Miguel, after she mangled the English language during the interview portion of last week’s Binibining portion should serve as a wake-up call for the education sector.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), for its part, said that its offering free language proficiency training to Filipino beauty contestants and titlists, including San Miguel, through TESDA’s Language Skills Institute.

TESDA said the training will enhance the learner’s skills in English and other major languages such as Japanese, Mandarin Korean, Arabic and Spanish.
www.journal.com.ph

Bigger budget, foreign aid to boost public education
By: Alvin Murcia
EDUCATION Secretary Jesli Lapus is confident that education will vastly improve due to a bigger budget allocation and the implementation of the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda.

He said BESRA will plug loopholes stunting public education.

The scheme aims to check the existing systems and policies deemed blocking continued development of basic education.

Lapus said the program will definitely reform the country’s public education system and enable the DepEd to upgrade the quality of education.

BESRA has five-point thrusts: school-based management, which draws community participation to ensure the relevance and sustainability of innovations that will be implemented in the schools; competency-based teacher standards providing ways by which teachers can enhance their contributions to improved learning results.

Lapus said the program assures quality and accountability framework involving the need for national learning strategies that assure conformity to standards by all stakeholders; early childhood education, alternative learning, and private education whose policies the DepEd has revisited to maximize their contributions to improvements in learning outcomes and the BESRA concept.

Lapus said that the program will be funded with the Australian government’s P1 billion loan package, part of the foreign government support to the country’s basic education.

He said the Australian government has vowed to continue their funding in the next five years to ensure BESRA will be completed.

www.journal.com.ph

Dapat sabayan ito ng population control. Karamihan sa public schools eh, per classrooms eh almost 100 students. I studied one year in a public school and that's the ratio. While in private schools, it's usually 50 per classroom. The ideal is 30-35. Even our private schools could hardly cope with our 'population boom'

Yeah meron ngang school na may 100 students per section until now.

tapos yung section up to 50
sa ramon magsaysay h.s yata ganun

ek:nuts: nakakahiya naman ata yon pag 4rth year section 50 ka:lol::lol::lol::ohno:

High schools lack computers
ONLY 50 percent of the 4,336 high schools nationwide have computer laboratories — most of the computers in schools need to be repaired or upgraded.

Sen.Edgardo Angara raised this concern as he stressed the need to formulate a comprehensive and sustainable modernization plan for schools especially at the elementary and secondary levels “with the emergence of knowledge-based society.”

Based on a preliminary report of Department of Education after these computers have been delivered to schools, they have not been properly maintained. A computer laboratory consists of a minimum of 10 computers.

Angara said that the era of globalization has placed extreme pressure on the government to produce highly specialized and technical personnel in a relatively short period of time.

“Given the rapid changes and developments in the field of Information Technology, the Philippines has to reorient the thrusts of its educational system to meet the growing needs and demands of a highly competitive world market,” Angara said.

At present, the students in public schools have been left behind by their counterparts in the private schools, added Angara, who also chairs the Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering.

Apart from facilities, Angara also stressed the need to fill up the shortage of public school buildings to accommodate the increasing number of enrollees in public schools.

“To date, the national classroom - student ratio for elementary and secondary public schools is still far from the ideal ratio of 1:30, due largely to the free education program, which has not been met by a corresponding increase in the number of classrooms,” he pointed out.

As per DepEd records, the total nationwide classroom shortage is 41,197 - at current prices, the government will be in need of at least P16 Billion of additional funding to be able to crack the classroom shortage.

Furthermore, it also reported that 20 percent of the country’s classrooms have no proper ventilation, 27 percent have no lighting, 55 percent do not have electricity, and 25 percent have no ceilings.

It also added that in 2005, 20 percent of elementary and secondary schools did not have science laboratories.

Given the scarce resources of the national government, Angara said that there is a need to be more cost-effective and for an innovative way to fund school modernization programs. He said that this can be achieved through active partnership with local government units and private sector such as foundations, private corporations and business groups.

Angara had filed two proposed measures to help shed light into the country’s deteriorating education system.

He authored the School Modernization and Innovation Act of 2007, which seeks to encourage the schools to become more innovative and resourceful in developing and implementing programs geared towards modernization; develop mechanisms that will define the roles and responsibilities of the officials from the regional, division down to the school levels in the implementation of school modernization programs; and provide a mechanism so the private sector can participate in the program.

Under this bill, a School Modernization and Innovation Trust Fund will be established to augment the regular appropriations that will be provided under the annual General Appropriations Act to finance the priority programs for school modernization and improvement of public elementary and secondary schools.

He also authored the School Building Program of 2007 measure which seeks to create a comprehensive program to end classroom shortage.

One salient feature of this bill is the provision for build-operate-transfer, build-lease-transfer, build-transfer, rehabilitate-operate-transfer, and other contractual arrangements that will allow the use of both government and private funds to finance the construction of needed school buildings, and the creation of an
inter-agency committee to formulate and ensure the effective implementation of the program by the DepEd.

The program also provides for the integration of all the necessary information for the effective monitoring and maintenance of existing school buildings.

“This is the opportune time for the government to seriously consider ways of increasing the share of budget devoted to computerization of schools, upgrading of libraries and science laboratories as well as reducing class sizes into a manageable and ideal proportion level for a more conducive learning environment,” Angara said.

“I believe that apart from all these innovations, we must also incorporate information technology in classroom instruction. In this way, we would be able to increase efficiency in teaching and learning process as well as enhance competencies of students,” he added. www.journal.com.ph

DepEd set for big job
By: Alvin Murcia
THE Department of Education will embark on an expanded pre-school program that includes school children enrolled in day care centers to further improve the quality of public education in the country.

The expanded pre-school program is in line with Executive Order 685 signed last January by President Macapagal-Arroyo. The EO is based on Republic Act 8980 which states that the government shall institutionalize an integrated system of early childhood care and development that will serve all children from zero to five years old.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said even if the management of day care centers will remain with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, DepEd is ready to take on the huge task.

The DepEd shall provide existing day care center workers with teacher training on the curriculum and competencies for pre-school education together with the necessary instructional materials. Supervision of educational programs shall likewise be exercised by DepEd.

Meanwhile, the DSWD will continue to perform their functions and will cooperate closely with DepEd to fulfill the new mandate.

Under the 2008 Day Care Center Support Program, the target activities in line with EO 685 include identification of low-performing schools, provision of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) guidelines to day care workers, training of these workers in targeted areas, and provision of books and other instructional materials. This six-month action plan costs P93 million www.journal.com.ph

DepEd expands preschool program
THE Department of Education will expand its pre-school program to include pre-school children enrolled in day care centers.

Citing Executive Order 685, Education Secretary Jesli lapus said the department “is ready to take on this overwhelming task,” even if management of day care centers still remain with the DepEd

The DepEd shall provide existing day care center workers with teacher training on the curriculum and competencies for pre-school education together with the necessary instructional materials. Supervision of educational programs shall likewise be exercised by DepEd.

Meanwhile, the DSWD will continue to perform their functions and will cooperate closely with DepEd to fulfill the new mandate.

Under the 2008 Day Care Center Support Program, the target activities in line with EO 685 include identification of low-performing schools, provision of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) guidelines to day care workers, training of these workers in targeted areas, and provision of books and other instructional materials. This six-month action plan costs P93 million.

Director Yolanda Quijano of the Bureau of Elementary Education said as of January, there were 949 low-performing schools identified for assistance. This represents 50 percent of the total number of identified low-performing schools nationwide.

This plan will be implemented in four phases. The first phase, which was conducted in January, consists of identifying low-performing schools nationwide. During the second phase slated from February to April, DepEd will produce and provide day care workers with Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Standards and Competencies.

The third phase, which will be conducted from April to May, will focus on training day care workers on curriculum standards and strategies. The fourth phase concludes the six-month action plan with the provision of learning materials to five year-old children in June.

DepEd has earmarked a total of P102 million for this six-month day care support program. The biggest allocation -- or P93 million -- will be allotted for the distribution of learning materials.

Local government units (LGUs) are still encouraged to support pre-schools. The following, per EO 685, shall continue to receive support from LGUs: primary health care, pre-natal and post-natal care, nutrition education, micronutrient supplementation, and supplementary feeding. www.journal.com.ph

mababawasan na kaya ang mga estudyante nagsisigaw sa kalye na suportahan sila sa edukasyon?

Bigger budget, foreign aid to boost public education
By: Alvin Murcia
EDUCATION Secretary Jesli Lapus is confident that education will vastly improve due to a bigger budget allocation and the implementation of the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda.

He said BESRA will plug loopholes stunting public education.

The scheme aims to check the existing systems and policies deemed blocking continued development of basic education.

Lapus said the program will definitely reform the country’s public education system and enable the DepEd to upgrade the quality of education.

BESRA has five-point thrusts: school-based management, which draws community participation to ensure the relevance and sustainability of innovations that will be implemented in the schools; competency-based teacher standards providing ways by which teachers can enhance their contributions to improved learning results.

Lapus said the program assures quality and accountability framework involving the need for national learning strategies that assure conformity to standards by all stakeholders; early childhood education, alternative learning, and private education whose policies the DepEd has revisited to maximize their contributions to improvements in learning outcomes and the BESRA concept.

Lapus said that the program will be funded with the Australian government’s P1 billion loan package, part of the foreign government support to the country’s basic education.

He said the Australian government has vowed to continue their funding in the next five years to ensure BESRA will be completed.

www.journal.com.ph

^^sa palagay ko hindi:lol: dadami at dadami pa rin yan taon taon:ohno::nuts:

CHED, TESDA urged to grant scholarship to NCAE topnotchers
STUDENTS who scored 98% and above in general scholastic aptitude (GSA) in the recent National Career Assessment Examinations (NCAE) were recommended for the grant of scholarship to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), according to the Department of Education (DepEd).

This, as Education Secretary Jesli Lapus appealed to education stakeholders both in public and private to assist the government in extending scholarship assistance to these students particularly those who belong to families with annual income of P150,000 or less.

“I am calling on all scholarship-giving organizations, both public and private, to take cognizance of these results and help our young achievers fulfill their promise,” Lapus appealed to private education stakeholders.

“The quality of education we provide today to our students will have an impact to the quality of manpower we will produce in the future,” he added.

Lapus disclosed that some 20,307 high school students who scored 98% and above in GSA in the NCAE test were recommended for scholarship both in CHED and TESDA.

He added that the DepEd has identified 22,879 fourth year graduating students as possible candidates for scholarship in technical-vocational courses. Their names have also been endorsed to TESDA.

“Through this initiative, we are able to direct government scholarship to the most deserving based on their competency and financial needs. Moreover, these students are most likely to complete their college education,” Lapus said.
Jeffrey C. Tiangco www.journal.com.ph

Boosting education through IT
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/31/yehey/techtimes/20080331tech2.html

Government and private institutions are looking more seriously into Information Technology (IT)—and more significantly, on how they can keep up with it. These sectors are looking for ways to improve their internal conditions, as well as to provide service to the public.

At the recent Cisco Skills Competition in Tagaytay City, Elcid Pangilinan, special assistant to the Secretary of Department of Education (DepEd) and Hector John Manaligod, instructional computer systems coordinator and faculty member at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Education, discussed the status quo institutions’ progress on how to make the most of technology.

UP’s ICT-pedagogy system

The UP College of Education aims to achieve this goal through means of collaborating Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and pedagogy or teaching style. The department pushed these goals into action in 2005, when it fused ICT in its courses.

“Teaching should be pedagogy-driven, with supplement from ICT,” said Manaligod.

He said that teachers are given the necessary resources to able to cope with technology. The school curriculum is also subject to change, to better adapt to technology. Given the information overload through the Internet, students now have the chance to learn more than what they get in school.

“Before, the teaching methods were one-way and teacher-centered. Now, it’s learning-centered,” said Manaligod.

Activities, Manaligod said, are more collaborative and project-based, for students to have interaction. Such includes the use of popular Internet tools such as Yahoo! Groups at the beginning of the class to encourage participation.


DepEd and Cisco Partnership

DepEd and Cisco Philippines, according to Pangilinan, will be teaming up to offer basic networking skills to technical-vocational (tech-voc) schools in the Philippines.

The special Cisco training will be offered to those schools who will qualify for the said program. And thus, the qualifying schools will be under the Cisco Networking Academy.

Given the number of dropouts in high school, the qualified schools taken from the 260 vocational schools will be able to learn networking and become network support centers for public high schools.

According to Cisco Philippines, discussions with DepEd began in October 2007 and presently, the project is still underway and is expected to be launched in May.
--Marian Jean Benetua

DepEd launches new English program
By: Jeffrey C. Tiangco
THE Department of Education yesterday launched “Project: Turning Around Low Performance in English” (Project: TURN) which seeks to address the low performance in English of students in some 2,162 elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

The department disclosed that least 1,898 elementary schools and 264 high schools students got a Mean Percentage Score of 34 percent and below in the and below in the 2007 National Achievement Test.

It added the project will initially focus on teacher development, which is composed of three components.

The first calls for training of teachers in oral and written communication.

The second will prepare them to teach reading to students who are beginning, developmental and remedial readers.

The third component will be the teaching of communicative language and authentic assessment in communication.

Teacher-trainees will be provided with printed and non-printed materials and lesson modules for the training.

On the other hand, the students intervention program will involve providing medical, dental and food assistance, to improve their nutrition while providing supplementary reading materials.

The schools will also be provided with initial library collection, on top of setting up of speech laboratory in a high school of each division.

Along with equipment, training and necessary instructional materials, information and communication technology-based reading models will also be provided.

In support of this effort, summer reading camps called “Read-A-Thon” will also be organized to further the students’ reading progress.

Special recognition is also lined-up for the best performing reading teacher and best school in reading

journal online.com

Schools to teach disaster lessons
By: Jeffrey C. Tiangco
THE Department of Education (DepEd) is set to include disaster preparedness and management in the regular curriculum for schoolchildren beginning in the coming school year.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus bared that education officials together with experts from the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) are now mapping up the program that would teach students and teachers on safety measures during calamities, emergencies and other hazards.

In its year-end report, DepEd disclosed that “it has proactively formulated a manual on ‘disaster preparedness and response’ to create awareness among school personnel and community members on the correct and proper actions to take in times of calamities.”

This manual is now being promoted nationwide.

“The Philippines is never without typhoons and other calamities such as floods, fires and earthquakes, and our students should be prepared on what to do when disaster occurs.

“Aside from the fact that ever since public schools often serve as refuge centers to people in communities affected by such calamities, the DepEd deemed right to come out with the manual,” Lapus said.

Lapus cited the Bicol area that was severely ravaged by Super Typhoons Milenyo, Reming, Peng and Senyang in 2006 as well as the typhoon-prone Regions 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8 and the National Capital Region. www.journal.com.ph

Isn't it a requirement for school to have fire drills, earthquake drills, etc.?

What we need is actual implementation, not new laws.

DepEd’s reform plan gets needed boost
By: Jeffrey C. Tiangco
THE Department of Education (DepEd) has got a major boost to implement much-needed reform in the country’s public education sector when it recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Finance (DOF), World Bank (WB), and the Australian Aid for International Development (AusAID) aimed at further enhancing the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA).

The agreement called for AusAID to provide the Philippines through its “Support for Philippine Basic Education Reforms” (SPHERE) trust fund worth Aus$41 million or U.S.$31 million in assistance which will be used to provide additional financing and technical support to the implementation of BESRA.

“This strategic partnership will be a huge contribution to the advancement of BESRA goals. We are grateful for this assistance that is, above all, a recognition of the urgent need to increase resources for basic education,” Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said in a statement.

“DepEd is grateful to the Department of Finance for facilitating this financial agreement that is certain to fast track the implementation of our projects in critical areas,” Lapus added.

He stressed that the implementation of BESRA will aid the department in meeting its Education for All (EFA) goals.

The Australian Embassy, in a statement, vowed to continue to render financial and technical assistance to the country to improve the education sector.

“Australia’s initial funding of A$41 million through the trust fund is anticipated to increase further in the next four years building on the progress of BESRA programs,” AusAID counselor Sam Zappia said.

Aside from Zappia, those who witnessed the signing of the agreement were acting country director Vera Songwe, acting DepEd Assistant Secretary Jesus Lorenzo Mateo, World Bank Human Development Specialist Lynette Perez and AusAID First Secretary Deo Mwesigye at the Australian Embassy in Manila.

BESRA is a package of policy reforms. These reforms aim to systematically improve the institutional, structural, financial, cultural, physical and informational conditions affecting basic education provision, access and delivery on the ground. www.journal.com.ph

Education relief for Filipino parents (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/apr/08/yehey/business/20080408bus14.html)

With parts of the pre-need sector in something of a crisis (no thanks to the bureaucratic muddling of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and not to mention the Insurance Commission also casting a moist eye on the sector), a lawmaker has come up with a suggestion that is so practical that one has to wonder why nobody had ever thought of it before.

Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas is pressing Congress to mandate both the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to put up new voluntary education trust funds for the children and other dependents of its millions of members.

“We have to encourage SSS and GSIS members to consciously save and grow their money today for the future college schooling of their children,” said Gullas, who has earned a reputation both inside and outside the House of Representatives as an educator.

Once established, Gullas firmly believes that the new trust funds will give more meaning to the hopes and dreams of many Filipinos to be able to send their children to college—a sound education being the most important asset that any parent can bestow on their offspring

According to the Cebu solon, the proposed education trust funds are expected to provide essentially the same plans being offered by commercial pre-need providers.

However, Gullas said the SSS and GSIS trust funds should be able to guarantee considerably higher benefit payments, in return for smaller contributions, owing to the tax-exempt status enjoyed by both pension funds.

“To begin with, all educational plan policies sold by the SSS and GSIS will be totally exempt from premium and value-added taxes. Apart from this, the pension funds themselves do not pay corporate income taxes.”

“Thus, every peso put in by members will go directly to the trust funds, unlike in private pre-need firms, where only 40 centavos out of every peso contribution goes to the trust fund, and the rest is spent to subsidize the operations of pre-need firms, including fat agent commissions”, he pointed out.

Under the new proposal the new SSS and GSIS education trust funds would be strictly voluntary. Those willing and able to pay the extra premiums may subscribe. SSS and GSIS members, regardless of civil status, may contribute to the education trust funds”.

He added: “The trust funds address a specific future need—the need to send children to college. Thus, once installed, we are counting on SSS and GSIS members to invest in the funds in a big way.”

Gullas makes the case that most Filipinos, including SSS and GSIS members, spend a substantial amount of their income to support the college education of their children.

Education plan sales by private pre-need providers dropped by P150 million or four percent to P3.65 billion from January to November 2007, compared to P3.8 billion in the same period in 2006, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

With tuition fees rising an average of 15 percent annually at private schools, a family now needs at least P317,400 to pay for an entire four-year college course, compared to only P30,000 in 1987, according to a study commissioned by the Philippine Federation of Pre-Need Plan Companies.

The financial difficulties of a number of educational plan providers have marred the growth of the country’s commercial pre-need industry.

Members of Congress have blamed the financial issues faced by some pre-need companies on deficient regulation, bad and anomalous investment decisions and a flawed business model that resulted in grossly under-funded trust funds.

With this new proposal, the burden of funding the educational needs of their children should be greatly eased by many Filipino families.

DepEd clarifies English use in schools
By: Jeffrey C. Tiangco
THE Department of Education yesterday clarified that English as a primary medium of instruction will only begin at the Grade 3 level.

The DepEd made the clarification in the wakes of calls to enforce English as a medium of instruction in schools to address the students’ lack of proficiency in the language.

The DepEd said English and Filipino and other dialects, under the “lingua franca” program, will still be use during the formative years of learning of schoolchildren or starting in Grade 1.

The DepEd said this was provided under a memorandum issued earlier stressing that English language remains as the primary medium of instruction in all public and private schools.

The DepEd stressed that as “provided for in the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum, English shall be used as the medium of instruction of English, Mathematics, and Science and Health subjects starting Grade 3.”

“The English language shall be used as the primary medium of instruction in all public and private schools in the secondary level, including those established as laboratory and/or experimental schools, and vocational/technical institutions,” the order read.

DepEd Order No. 36 provides the Implementing Rules and Regulations for Executive Order No. 210 also known as “Establishing the Policy to Strengthen the Use of the English Language as a Medium of Instruction in the Educational System.”

“As the primary medium of instruction, the percentage of time allotment for learning areas conducted in the English language should not be less than 70 of the total time allotment for all learning areas in all year levels.

The Department continues to recognize the Filipino language as an official medium of instruction in the basic education level, specifically in the subjects of Filipino and Araling Panlipunan.” The order added.

Education stakeholders said the humiliation suffered by newly-crowned Miss Philippines World, Janina San Miguel, after she mangled the English language during the interview portion of last week’s Binibining portion should serve as a wake-up call for the education sector.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), for its part, said that its offering free language proficiency training to Filipino beauty contestants and titlists, including San Miguel, through TESDA’s Language Skills Institute.

TESDA said the training will enhance the learner’s skills in English and other major languages such as Japanese, Mandarin Korean, Arabic and Spanish.
www.journal.com.ph

I don't like how the Binibinang Pilipinas fiasco raised alarms about the people's profiency in English, yet no alarms are raised that she didn't answer in Filipino. I doubt that she would have been able to answer an articulate answer in Filipino/Tagalog.

Watching television from the Philippines, it's quite annoying to see a random sentence or two in English spoken in between Filipino. It just promotes the use of this mangled language. Now with this order to start instruction in English, I fear that our own language will start a slow spiral.

There's a good essay on this that I read in this one blog that said our own national language is dying a slow death (plus other regional dialects). Too bad it appears the blog has been deleted.

Tambalang DepEd at pribadong sektor, lumalakas
By: Ros 'Kaka' Olgado
Adlib

Kamakailan, 1.137 scholar ang nag-graduate mula elementarya sa ilalim ng programang TULONG ARAL, isang proyektong pang-edukasyon sa pagtutulungan ng Department of Educatioon at ng Petron, isa sa pinakamalaking kompanya ng langis sa bansa. Bahagi ito ng Adopt-A-School program ng gobyerno upang maengganyao ang mga malalaking negosyante at kom-panya na tumulong sa mga sawimpalad nating kababayan na walang maipanustos sa pag-aaral ng kanilang mga anak.

Ayon sa DepEd, karamihan sa mga bagong graduate na ito ay tumanggap ng sari-saring parangal at papuri sa kanilang paaralan. Ang iba nga ay nakakuha pa ng top honors. Nakakataba ng puso ang ganitong balita, diba, mga Kaka?

Buti na lang at kahit na sa panahong ito na puro pagkakakuwarahan ang inaatupag ng marami, meron pa ring mga taong may malasakit at nagkakawanggawa. Kung laging ganito, marami sa ating kabataan ang mabibigyan ng magandang pagkakataon na makabangon mula sa pagkakalublob sa kahirapan

Sa kasalukuyan, ang TULONG ARAL ay sumusuporta sa may 6,000 mahihirap na estudyante, mula Metro Manila hanggang sa Mindanao. Kasama sa pag-alalay na ito ang libreng libro, school supplies, uniporme, gastusin sa mga school projects at meal allowance araw-araw. Dagdag din sa tulong na ito ang paghahasa sa mga titser at livelihood programs para sa mga magulang ng mga iskolar. Napakasuwerte ng mga batang ito, mga Kaka. www.journal.com.ph

Climate change to be part of public school curricula
By: Alvin Murcia
TRAINING modules and lesson guides for environmental subjects for public school teachers will be developed to prepare the mentors teach lessons on climate change.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the lessons on climate change will be incorporated in elementary and high school curricula soon to raise awareness on global environmental issues among public school students.

This was contained in a memorandum of agreement signed recently by the Department of Education (DepEd), the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change (PTFCC) and the National Power Corporation (NPC).

“Our children will inherit the earth from us,” Lapus said, adding, we must make sure that this inheritance is in great shape for them to cherish.”

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, chairman of PTFCC, signed the MOA with Lapus. Also present during the signing is NPC Senior Vice President Silvano Zanoria.

“This joint initiative,” according to Lapus, “will make our public school students realize that they have a vital role to play in the fight against environmental degradation.”

DepEd and PTFCC, with funding from NPC, will develop training modules and lesson guides for public school teachers.

The teachers will also undergo training on the use of these modules. A web portal is likewise planned to provide both students and teachers access to relevant information on environmental issues around the globe. www.journal.com.ph

Education program yields positive result
By: Jeffrey C. Tiangco
EDUCATION Secretary Jesli Lapus said the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) of the Department of Education (DepEd) is yielding positive result to achieve the Education for All (EFA) targets set by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2007.

“For the global community to achieve Education for All (EFA) targets, we are supporting the UNESCO focus to channel its resources to field operations where the needs of member-states are greatest,” Lapus said.

The United Nations is moving towards a unified and coherent structure under the framework of “Delivering as One.” Various UN agencies are working in concert on a country-basis. The objective is to streamline projects for cost-effectiveness and to make sure that national education strategies are robust and in place.

For UNESCO, this means more experts will be assigned away from the headquarters to the regions. Its program and budget is shifting towards allocating more funds for technical assistance.

Lapus claimed that for the past two years, the budget for basic education registered unprecedented increase with the approval of the 2008 annual budget of P1.127 trillion with some P150 billion allocated for DepEd.

Lapus also lauded the participation of private sector, citing last year’s funding contribution from corporate and organizational groups.

He said the assistance extended by the private sector in promoting their social responsibility has enlarged extra budgetary concern for public education by ten-fold.

He claimed that the same help in terms of annual classroom construction with its rate doubled while new teacher items created tripled. www.journal.com.ph

DepEd awaits go-signal for sex education
THE Department of Education (DepEd) is awaiting the go-signal from the Presidential Council on Values Formation (PCVF) for the inclusion of sex education curriculum in the public high schools.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, however, stressed that the draft of adolescent reproductive health manuals are not sex education materials but deal purely on health and science angles on reproductive health.

He added that PCVF is currently reviewing for approval the modules titled “Secondary Teachers’ Toolkit on Adolescent Reproductive Health” and “Patnubay sa Pagtuturo ng Araling Adolescent Reproductive Health para sa Alternative Learning System”.

Lapus also stressed that the revised modules were “products of nationwide multisectoral consultations.”

Earlier, the DepEd was at the middle of the controversy over the sex education module for high school students which some sectors, particularly the Catholic Church, find sensitive and offensive.

The DepEd immediately suspended the distribution of the sex education lesson guides that are meant for teachers’ use and not for the students.

The Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), on the other hand, in opposing the inclusion of sex education in high school curriculum, said parents and not the education department should teach children on sex education.

The CBCP claimed that teaching sex education in secondary school endangers students’ moral and spiritual well-being and may even constitute child abuse.

Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, branded the DepEd’s sex education modules as “indoctrination.”
Jeffrey C. Tiangco www.journal.com.ph

Number of foreign students in RP up by 63% in Q1 (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/92704/Number-of-foreign-students-in-RP-up-by-63-in-Q1---BI)

The number of foreign students seeking higher education in the country has increased in the first quater of this year, according to the Bureau of Immigration.

From January to March, a total of 8,881 foreigners have been issued with student visas and study permits, BI records showed.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said this is a 63 percent increase from the same period last year.

"This development, on the increase in numbers of foreign students, is a vote of confidence by foreigners on the quality of our educational system," Libanan said in a statement.

The increase in the number of foreign students in the country resulted to a P16-million collection that Libanan said "is a substantial contribution to our national coffer."

The Immigration chief added that the increasing number of foreigners studying here props up the country's image not only as an attractive tourist destination but as a premier education center as well.

"Many of these foreign students initially came here as tourists before deciding to study here," he said.

Leading the list of foreign students were Koreans (4,717), followed by Chinese (536) and Americans (222).

From wiki:

Secondary school in the Philippines

Secondary education in the Philippines is largely based on the American schooling system. It consists of four levels. Secondary schooling is compartmentalized, meaning, each level focuses on a particular 'theme or content'. Secondary school is often called simply as 'High school', and as such, this will be the prevailing word in this section.

The first year of High school includes five core subjects, namely, Algebra I, Integrated Science, English I, Filipino I, and Philippine History I. The second year of High school includes Geometry, Biology, English II, Filipino II, and Asian History. The third year of High school includes Trigonometry, Chemistry, American Literature, Filipino III, and World History, and Geography, and the fourth year of High school has Calculus, Physics, World Literature, Filipino IV, and Economics. Other minor subjects include Health, Advanced Computer, Music, Arts, Technology and Home Economics, and Physical Education.

In exclusive schools, various languages are offered as Electives, together with Computer programming, Literary writing, as well as other subjects. Chinese schools add language and cultural subjects. Preparatory schools usually add some Business and Accountancy courses, while Science high schools have Biology, Chemistry, ad Physics on every level.

Secondary students traditionally sit for the National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT), which is originally tailored as a counterpart of the American SAT, and is administered by the Department of Education (DepEd). Like its' primary school counterpart, it was eventually phased-out after major reorganizations in the said department. As of now, there is no government-sponsored entrance examination for Tertiary schools, and all schools, public or private, administer their own College Entrance Examinations (CEE).

After finishing secondary education, students have a choice of either continuing their education by taking two or three years of vocational courses, or going to college or university.

---Sadly, this is not the case anymore. When I was in HS, tertiary education with this curriculum is already considered as an advanced level. Could you imagine that?! In my opinion, although the MAKABAYAN subject was intended to "rationalize" and make Primary and Secondary education more focused, it also has more detrimental effects. For instance, allotting only 1.5 units for the Social Sciences is utterly self-destructing not only for our students but also for the identity of the Filipino State or Nation. No wonder our people are not aware of the socio-political and socio-cultural weaknesses of the Philippines and are thus ignorant of our political institutions, government, history and nationhood, etc.

Aside from that, our public primary and secondary schools are bursting at the seams. In my school alone, there are more than 50 sections with 80 students each who are studying for only 5-6 hours a day (or informally called "half-day")! And to think that my school is located in a highly urbanized city. What more could be the plight of those located in far-flung areas, which gets lower budget allocations.

The number of years to finish primary and secondary education in the Philippines is also not at par with our neighbors. We only have 10 years to finish elementary and HS compared to ASEAN's ave of 12-13.:ohno:

Palace official urges PTAs to play role in improving quality of education


PRESIDENTIAL Adviser Raul Banias said parents teachers associations (PTA) should play a vital role in improving quality of education in the country as the sector gets the biggest allocation from the national government.

Banias said with the Arroyo administration’s thrust for quality education as a means to fight poverty, the PTAs are seen as potent participants in assessing the performance of their respective schools in the country.

Banias lamented the fact that parents and teachers and the community as a whole are elated being the first or the top performing in some academic competitions but if one looks at the performance closely, the percentage scores are actually low compared with the standard quality.
He also said the local government, likewise, should study the data yielded by the district and national examinations on how their pupils fare as compared with other areas.

“It is not enough to rejoice at being first in academic performance among other schools but to evaluate whether the scores are high enough compared with standards of academic excellence,” Banias said.

He said the PTAs are also tasked to be part of the initiatives in improving the quality of their students, not merely there to comply with monetary contributions or raise funds.

Banias said the LGUs are also great motivators for quality education in their communities if they give the necessary support through relevant programs, based on sound planning.

“The local officials should study data on education carefully, for them to channel their resources, no matter how small, to answer even the most basic of needs of the education sector, “ Banias said. thedailyguardian.com

Walang school fees sa public school--DepEd
(Dindo Matining)



Magandang balita para sa magulang na nagpapa-aral sa public schools.
Para mabawasan ang gastusin nila ngayong darating na pasukan, hindi na mangongolekta ng anumang bayad o school fees sa lahat mag-aaral na mag-eenroll sa lahat ng antas ng public schools sa bansa.


Ang direktibang ito ay inilabas ni Department of Education Secretary Jesli Lapus sa isinagawang management committee conference kahapon.


Para sa kaliwanagan ng lahat, sinabi ni Lapus na pwedeng mag-enroll ang lahat ng mga mag-aaral sa lahat ng antas, pre-school, elementary man o high school kahit na wala itong pera sa darating na enrolment period ngayong taon.


Subalit, pagsapit ng Hulyo, maaring nang si*ngilin ang mga estudyante ng kanilang miscellaneous at publication fees.


Hindi na rin obligado ang mga mag-aaral na magbayad ng kanilang membership fee sa Boy Scout and Girl Scout, Red Cross, anti-TB Fund at sa Parent’s, Teacher’s Community Association (PTCA).


Ang mga mag-aaral naman ng public schools mula grade I hanggang grade IV ay walang babayaran kahit na anong school fees o contributions sa kanilang pag-enroll ngayong school year 2008-2009.


Tanging ang mga mag-aaral sa grade 5 at grade 6 at lahat ng antas sa high school ang sisingilin ng publication fee bilang bahagi ng campus journalism program ng DepEd.


Inatasan na ni Lapuz ang lahat ng school supe*rintendents sa buong bansa na mahigipit na ipatupad ang naturang direktiba dahil ito’y nakasaad sa mandato kung saan libre ang edukasyon para sa elementarya at mataas na paaralan.


Layunin umano nito na mabawasan ang pasanin ng mga mag-ulang sa mga gastusin sa pagpaparal ng kanilang mga anak.

www.abante.com.ph

DepEd to school execs: Start ‘Brigada Eskwela’
By: Jeffrey C. Tiangco
THE Department of Education (DepEd) has directed all school officials to start preparing for the staging of “Brigada Eskwela” also known as the National Schools Maintenance Work (NSMW) time for June 2 school opening.

The directive was issued with nearly a month to go before the classes open in anticipation of a hassle-free school opening.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the “Brigada Eskwela,” slated on June 2-7, is a school-based maintenance program nationwide that engages all education stakeholders to contribute their time, efforts and resources in ensuring that public schools are all set for class opening.

“It is a week-long event where local communities, parents, alumni, civic groups, local businesses, non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), private individuals and even teachers and students volunteer their time, skills to do minor to medium repairs and maintenance work in the schools,” Lapus said.

Lapus said “Brigada Eskwela” is just one of the many programs they are set to implement as part of their preparation for the opening of classes in some 42,722 public schools nationwide.

Records showed that DepEd is expecting more than 20 million elementary and secondary students to troop to school for the opening of the classes.

Last year, DepEd said there were more than 19 million elementary and secondary students including 2,365,840 in private schools and 17,310,090 attended public schools. www.journal.com.ph

Malunggay to be grown in public schools
By: Cory Martinez
THE Bureau of Plant Industry will soon be providing seeds, seedlings and stem cuttings of the lowly-vegetable “malunggay” to elementary and secondary schools nationwide that would be planted in the school premises, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday.

The DA said that the move is part of the agreement earlier signed between the DA and the Department of Education directing elementary and secondary schools in the country to plant malunggay trees in school premises and communities through integration in Science classes and school community outreach projects.

Aside from providing the seeds, seedlings and stem cuttings, the BPI would also be providing technical assistance in terms of plant propagation and processing of malunggay leaves and fruits for food.

Following the signing of the agreement, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus issued Memorandum Order No. 234 enjoining bureau directors, regional directors and school division/city superintendents to fully support the program.

The DA-Biotechnology Program Office has advocated malunggay as a “power gulay” because it is seven times richer in Vitamin C than oranges, four times richer in calcium and two times richer in protein than milk, four times richer in Vitamin A than carrots and three times richer in potassium than bananas. www.journal.com.ph

53 schools apply for tuition increase
By James Konstantin Galvez, Reporter
http://manilatimes.net/national/2008/may/09/yehey/metro/20080509met1.html

AROUND 50 private elementary schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) have already filed their application with the Department of Education-NCR to increase their tuition fee this coming school year.

“We expect any increase in that range since the school owners know that any increase beyond that would result to a decline in their enrolment,” said DepEd-NCR Director Teresita Domalanta, adding that the tuition fee increase may range from 2 percent to 10 percent this school year.

“Nauunawaan naman nila na medyo mahirap ang buhay ngayon kaya di naman sila magtataas ng masyado sa tuition at iba pang mga bayarin [As they are aware that living conditions are not easy these days, the increase should not be too much],” she added.

As of Thursday, Domalanta said 53 private elementary schools have already filed their petition.

The official said they are still in the process of updating the petition filed by secondary schools.

The deadline for the submission of the petition is on May 15.

There are around 1,000 private elementary and secondary schools in Metro Manila.

DepEd said it allows schools to hike their tuition provided it is in accordance with their regulation and that majority of the increase would go to the upgrading of school equipment and salaries of the teachers.

“They will have to show in detail where and how they will use the increase since they have to consult with the parents first, as well as other stakeholders,” Domalanta said.

She said her office will strictly monitor compliance with the 70-20-10 requirements namely that 70 percent of any tuition fee increase should go to the upgrading of school equipment, 20 percent for the acquisition of textbooks and other equipment and 10 percent for salary upgrade of the faculty.

Among the schools that have already filed their petition were the Saint Theresa’s College, having filed an increase of 5 percent, Saint Joseph’s College (10 percent), Trinity University of Asia (8 percent) and Ateneo de Manila with 6 percent.

In Manila, the Malate Catholic School is asking for an 11-percent hike followed by the University of the East and Letran who are both seeking a 10-percent increase.

But another official who requested anonymity said as of today there are three schools asking as much as a 20-percent increase.

These are the Las Piñas College (25 percent), Batasan Chunan Christian School (26 percent to 29 percent), and the Southeastern College (36 percent to 47 percent).

Domalanta said even this hike should be taken in the proper context, adding that tuition fees in these schools were below the standard compared to other institutions.

Earlier, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said they expect an 8 to 10 percent increase in tuition fees this school year for higher education institutions in the country.

Atty. Julito Vitriolo, deputy executive director of CHED said they are looking at a measly 20 percent, the total number of colleges and state universities who would be asking for an increase.

There are about 1,452 colleges and universities, both public and private, in the country at present.

SC orders FEU to pay student
– Sandy Araneta
Friday, May 9, 2008
http://philstar.com/index.php?Metro&p=49&type=2&sec=26&aid=2008050879

The Supreme Court (SC) recently ordered the administration of Far Eastern University (FEU) to pay more than P200,000 to a law student after a school security guard accidentally shot and wounded the victim inside the campus in Manila in 1996.

The Court’s Third Division, in an 18-page decision penned by Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago during the SC’s summer session in Baguio City, affirmed the decision of the Manila Regional Trial Court, Branch 2 that found FEU liable for damages for breach of its obligation to provide students with a safe and secure learning atmosphere.

The ruling ordered the school to pay then sophomore law student Joseph Saludaga actual damages of P35,298 plus six percent interest per annum from the filing of the complaint until the finality of the High Court’s decision.

The school was likewise ordered to pay temperate damages of P20,000; moral damages, P100,000; and attorney’s fees and litigation expenses, P50,000.

The complaint against FEU president Edilberto de Jesus was ordered dismissed.

The SC ruling also ordered the security agency, Galaxy Development and Management Corp. (Galaxy) and its president, Mariano Imperial to pay FEU damages equivalent to the said amounts.

Associate Justices Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, Minita Chico-Nazario, Antonio Nachura and Ruben Reyes concurred. Saludaga was shot by security guard Alejandro Rosete on Aug. 18, 1996.

He was rushed to the FEU-Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation (FEU-NRMF) due to the wound he sustained.

Rosete was brought to the police station where he explained that the shooting was accidental. He was eventually released considering that no formal complaint was filed against him.

Saludaga filed a complaint for damages against the school on the ground that they breached their obligation to provide students with a safe and secure environment and an atmosphere conducive to learning.

53 schools seek higher tuition
AT least 53 private elementary schools in the National Capital Region want to increase tuition this coming school year.

Department of Education-NCR Director Teresita Domalanta said tuition increase may range from two to 10 percent.

“We expect any increase in that range since the school owners know that any increase beyond that would result in a decline in their enrolment,” she said. “Nauunawaan naman nila na medyo mahirap ang buhay ngayon kaya di naman sila magtataas ng masyado sa tuition at iba pang mga bayarin.”

She said DepEd will allow schools to hike their tuition if it is in accordance with their regulation and if the increase will go to the upgrading of equipment and salaries of the teachers.

Among the schools that filed their petition are the St. Theresa College, St. Joseph College, Trinity University of Asia, Ateneo de Manila, Malate Catholic School, University of the East, Letran, Immaculate Concepcion Academy, Aquinas School and Dominican School, Jose Rizal College and Lourdes School.

Domalanta said other schools may file petitions for tuition increase before the school opening in June. Alvin Murcia www.journal.com.ph

^^

This is inevitable because they have to increase the pay of teachers and the high costs of utilities and other facilities....

^^

This is inevitable because they have to increase the pay of teachers and the high costs of utilities and other facilities....

kailan kaya nagtaas ang sweldo ng mga guro...

I don't like how the Binibinang Pilipinas fiasco raised alarms about the people's profiency in English, yet no alarms are raised that she didn't answer in Filipino. I doubt that she would have been able to answer an articulate answer in Filipino/Tagalog.

Watching television from the Philippines, it's quite annoying to see a random sentence or two in English spoken in between Filipino. It just promotes the use of this mangled language. Now with this order to start instruction in English, I fear that our own language will start a slow spiral.

There's a good essay on this that I read in this one blog that said our own national language is dying a slow death (plus other regional dialects). Too bad it appears the blog has been deleted.

I understand that if the Philippine language is given emphasis in primary schools up to 1st half of highschool, but then beyond that, especially in college, should really impose the english instruction policy.