opinions, articles, discussion, whatever about schools, education in the Philippines

compared to other countries, the Philippines seems to have two less years of school. Here in Australia, you can stop school at Year 10 (4th year there), but can continue on for a High School Certificate up to Year 12. There should be changed to improve public schools there. Im surprised why the government isn't spending heaps more on facilities and teacher training

I think they will add another one year (after graduating in Elem), or the 7th grade, before one can enter HS. :dunno:

well in my old school in belgium, it was 6 years of elementary, 2 years of Middle School, then 4 years of High School. Phils don't have Middle School. In Sydney, there's 6 years of public school, then 6 years of High School, in which you do exams for an School Certificate in Year 10, then High School Certificate optional in Year. 12.

Let me compare.
US K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
RP K P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Same number of years right? Or was my RP school different?

tama ba....13 yrs daw sa canada

not all schools before have 7th grade here in RP.. only the exclusive ones have that..

nakakalungkot isipin ung state ng education dito sa pilipinas...the government is too preoccupied in spending on other things than on our country's future generation.

yep, sa Dubai din, me 7th grade. so you would be amazed to find your classmates from those schools are 1 or 2 years older than you are.
before, there was no ruling on what age would be eligible for school. so i was able to enter elementary at the age of 5. And college at 15. Today, you have to be 6 years old or at least turning 6 in the next 1 or 2 or 3 months.
now let's talk what subjects did we took in elem or hs.

nakakalungkot isipin ung state ng education dito sa pilipinas...the government is too preoccupied in spending on other things than on our country's future generation.
oo nga po. isa pa, sabi nila, ang edukasyon ang isa sa mga pinaka-importante para sa tao, pero bakit ang mahal ng tuition fees? books? computer lab fees? waahh!

oo nga po. isa pa, sabi nila, ang edukasyon ang isa sa mga pinaka-importante para sa tao, pero bakit ang mahal ng tuition fees? books? computer lab fees? waahh!

look... china spent alot of money for education, they even sent chinese people outside china to study... and look at them now... the US is now fearing that china will replace them in the throne of world supremacy...

before chinese people migrate to the philippines to look for luck (watch mano po 1) ...henry sy was one one of em... but now filipinos migrate to china to look for it... one part of our downlfall is our education, it is a fact we are one of the most talented in the world... but it seemed that we haven't learned how to propagate it...this is the reason why we badly need good education here. it also sad to learn it is only a sub-goal in GMA's ten point agenda

Let me compare.
US K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
RP K P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Same number of years right? Or was my RP school different?

i don't think all pinoys have Kindergartern and Prep...

not all schools before have 7th grade here in RP.. only the exclusive ones have that..

every school should have at least two more years, imo in high school, so that it can be optional for those who want it, and can afford it.

actually I've watched one episode in the Probe Team and they said that around the 40's or 30's (can't exactly remember) there are 7 years of elementary education but then they scrapped one year out of that prior to the inclusion of two more years in high school (siguro gustong ipattern sa US na may Junior at Senior High). Sadly, these plans didn't push through that's why we were left with only 10 yrs of pre-University education.

actually I've watched one episode in the Probe Team and they said that around the 40's or 30's (can't exactly remember) there are 7 years of elementary education but then they scrapped one year out of that prior to the inclusion of two more years in high school (siguro gustong ipattern sa US na may Junior at Senior High). Sadly, these plans didn't push through that's why we were left with only 10 yrs of pre-University education.

That's true, there was a 7th grade level in elementary schools in the Philippines before. Both my parents went through 7th grade, but soon after that they took it out of the curriculum.

Although the Philippines has only 10 grades/years of schooling before college, one thing I've noticed is that Pinoys spend more time in school than students here in US. I remember being in grade six and classes started at 7:00am and ended at 5:00pm, a total of 10 hours (counting the one-hour lunch break). I guess that makes up for the two years that are missing, and high school seniors graduate at age 15 or 16.

In my freshmen year at college here in the US, I was one of the youngest because I had just turned 16 years old, while the rest of the freshmen class was either 18 or 19.

Also, Canada does indeed have grade 13. And here in the US, grades 1-5 are elementary school grades, grades 6-8 are middle (junior high) school grades, and grades 9-12 are high school.

actually in my opinion.. more years of education is not required... Filipinos are studying enough number of years to gear them up to belong to the workforce.... what I think is needed is, improvement of curriculum, of infrastructure, more teachers, and better facilities....

because if those things are not upgraded... whether our students study for 20 years... it would still be the same... we just prolonged the years... and added big costs to our government and to the populace...

yes, we don't have to add additional years. It's better if we will just improve the quality of education. I would say that having strict teachers, instructors, professors are much better than having a kind one. hehehe. Why? In my case, I used to study very hard when I was in HS, because all of my teachers were very strict. Mapipilitan kang mag-aral. but when I went into college, my Instructors were not strict...nakakatamad. walang challenge. :sleepy:

though I agree that facilities and infrastructures can cure this deteriorating education system that we have, I still think that these solutions are not enough. if we have to compete, we need to have more and do more. I graduated from a science high school, yet I still find myself at lost when I studied here in Singapore, as in parang wala akong natutunan nung high school. paano pa kaya yung mga nasa regular high school lang, where good "facilities and infrastructure" and competent teachers are lacking?

however, having more years in high school or elementary for that matter is a long term plan. the government should focus first in upgrading the current system and providing for the needs of every public school in the country. we should utilize what we already have, improve them and use them to inspire the young ones to learn. after all, bilib ako sa galing ng Pinoy. diba, kahit na sobrang bulok na ng mga gamit sa school, nakakagawa pa rin tayo ng mga competent and wordclass graduates. what more kung sobrang ganda na ng mga facilities natin... :)

talaga lang Amras? walang sinabi ang natutunan mo nung high school sa college ng Sg?
ako man. i also came from a science high school. where we have 13 subjects every academic year and our lessons are that of college. pero wala lang yun.
and when i went to college, i thought i already know everything in math, chem and physics. well, what i learned for 2 years in chemistry, they taught that for 2 sems in college. what ive learned in Physics and Math are only the basics. but since we had a relatively good training back in HS, nakapag sabayan naman ako sa mga galing ng UP highschool, at Phy Sci. hehe...basta masipag at mautak ka lang. pero importante rin yung perseverance and determination. note, that not all talented people suceed. it should go along with hardwork.

that's exactly the reason kung bakit ako bilib sa pinoy. hardwork and determination...

saka flexible. can be trained pretty easier than our Asian neighbors.

do you guys know that if you finished high school in the Philippines, you are required one year of college or uni there to start uni in other countries, or you have to go back to their last year of high school.

that's why i think there should be optional two more years for high school. for those who don't want to, fine. But there should be an option.

In Germany, school goes up to the 13th grade (Abitur).

do you guys know that if you finished high school in the Philippines, you are required one year of college or uni there to start uni in other countries, or you have to go back to their last year of high school.

that's why i think there should be optional two more years for high school. for those who don't want to, fine. But there should be an option.

That's so true. I had the unfortunate luck of emigrating to the US right after high school in the Philippines and I had the choice of either going back to HS for another senior year to get credits for classes like American History and the like. Or to take the GED and apply to a local community college before I can transfer to a 4-year college or university. :rant:

I think the Philippines should spend more money for education. First of all, they SHOULDN'T publish textbooks that have errors on it (there are stories in the news about that), more classrooms for students (student teacher ratio should be 1:50, not 1:80). I pity the lives of students who are very crowded in the classrooms where two people have to share old textbooks. The government should also work on teaching the English language a little bit more as well, because we are losing our edge from other South East Asian countries. Filipino shouldn't be replaced though. School hours are actually short too. In some schools, it is said (I heard in the news once) that there are two sessions of teaching due to the huge number of students and a few number of teachers. One is from 7-12 while the other is from 1-6. The teachers should also be given more benefits because if they weren't given that, they'll be attracted by the high salaries of teachers outside the country. The gov't should really work on this.

ok naman ang case ko, i come from a chinese school, medio conservative pero the quality is really good, like we're using the best books in town, tapos ung books pa nga para sa !st year college, mga 4th year HS ang gagamit, & so on...& my class starts at 7:15 & ends at 5, pero hindi pa kami makuwi-uwi non kasi may mga sandamakmak na practices, rehearsals & group meetings pa kaming gagawin, kahit nga during recess di kami makakain kasi nagkokopyahan kami ng assignments, grabe...masaya pero nerdy talaga... pero sulit naman, out of 90 graduates from our batch, cguro mga 1/3 na ngayon nasa US & Canada sila(nagwowork & aral), & most of those who were left here nasa mga major universities...

i think ang dapat lang tutukan ngayon is the public education system, kasi yon talaga ang sobrang laki ng problema, sabi ng mama ko, baliktad nung araw, ang mga nsa private ang bobo, but of course that was before....

I think the Philippines should spend more money for education. First of all, they SHOULDN'T publish textbooks that have errors on it (there are stories in the news about that), more classrooms for students (student teacher ratio should be 1:50, not 1:80). I pity the lives of students who are very crowded in the classrooms where two people have to share old textbooks. The government should also work on teaching the English language a little bit more as well, because we are losing our edge from other South East Asian countries. Filipino shouldn't be replaced though. School hours are actually short too. In some schools, it is said (I heard in the news once) that there are two sessions of teaching due to the huge number of students and a few number of teachers. One is from 7-12 while the other is from 1-6. The teachers should also be given more benefits because if they weren't given that, they'll be attracted by the high salaries of teachers outside the country. The gov't should really work on this.

A student-teacher ratio of 1:50 is still too large. They should lower it to 1:20 or 25, more face time and attention with the instructor the better. :)

i came from a public highschool in manila.. or you can call it a laboratoray highschool.. our curriculum is different.. it's more on a business curriculum.. we have subjects like typing, stenography, salesmanship and bookkeeping/accountancy. It's not just an elective, it's like a major. We also have lots of math and sciences and computer subjects. There are only 100 students per year divided by 3 sections. Every year thousands of students apply. You take up all subjects and on your 3rd year, you get to choose a major, it's either stenography, salesmanship or bookkeeping. Stenography deals more on the office side, salesmanship on the marketing side, and bookkeeping deals more with accountancy.

Graduate din ako sa public HS. 700 students kaming naka-graduate. The student-teacher ratio during that time (1994-1998) was 1:50 maximum only. at dahil Section 1 kami, 35 students lan kami sa klase. Umaabot kami ng Section 13 nun...at nakakalungkot isipin na habang bumababa ang section na kinabibilangan mo, mas populous...cyempre wala clang mine-maintain na grades dun e, pa-easy-easy lan, at hindi un magagaling na teacher ang naka-assigned sa kanila. :sleepy:

Oh my. My high school student:teacher ratio was 15:1. My college was 6:1. I think in the US, the average for high school is about 25-30:1.

25-30:1 sounds reasonable. that's around the size of a normal high school class here. in Bene, it was around 45 in a elementary class, and then they were split in Maths. Btw where do you guys have 100:1? whoah :no:

Does high schoolers in Phils get electives? but that would probably strain the budget furthermore, having more subjects to choose from. Though it is a great way to find out what the future may have in store for you.

grade 7 are only offered in exlcusive private schools (all exclusive girls and boys school, and some expensive coed schools such as CSA, zobel, etc. )

electives, also, are only offered in public science high schools and exclusive private/coed schools.

special schools like science high schools usually offers electives for their students. and the number of student per class is also quite small. during my high school years the standard is 36:1, now they lowered it to 30:1.

The high schools here in the Orlando Metro area have their classes capped at 18-25:1 student-teacher ratio. But with more people moving into the city and its suburbs, it's causing a strain on the county's public education system, we even have to recruit and import teachers from other states (sometimes from foreign countries also), and there's a severe shortage of classrooms to accomodate the influx of new students.

Also, we have magnate programs in the different high schools. If you're interested in math and science, you can enroll in a math and science magnate high school that is not in your assigned schooling zone. There are also magnate programs for business, visual and performing arts, medical studies and international studies.

I don't know if they have this in the Philippines, high schools here offer AP (Advanced Placement) classes, wherein you can earn college credits while you're still in high school. Some students graduate from high school with enough college credits to enter as a junior in any college/university. Another thing is you can skip your senior year of high school by "testing-out," which means that you have enough (or more than enough) credits to get your high school diploma and start college a year early than anyone else.

In my school, student to teacher ratio is 8-20:1. I really suffered when i went to San Agustin in Makati for a while when Jakarta had riots, where the ratio was 45-60:1.

yeah of course 8-20:1 because it's an international school;) my normal core group would be around 22 when i was in 8th grade. but my speech and debate class would be 7:D and even sometimes 4 when some of them go to sports trips.

yep, electives are a good idea. :)

I went to a technical high school (Don Bosco Makati) where we had technical subjects and specializations that prepare us for engineering or IT courses in college. I think the government needs to do more vocational training in high school to prepare the majority of the workforce for life in the industry. Maybe they can also establish technical training schools (at college level) for those who want to focus more on industry. In many cases, university courses nowadays are not very relevant to what industry needs.

Education crisis seen to worsen

Updated 01:13am (Mla time) Oct 24, 2004
By Dona Pazzibugan
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on page A2 of the Oct. 24, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


THE COUNTRY'S public schools are going through their worst crisis ever, with the shortage of teachers and classrooms likely to worsen next year owing to inadequate funding, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) warned yesterday.

ACT chair Antonio Tinio said that by next year, there would be a shortage of at least 60,000 teachers and 50,000 classrooms, based on data presented by the Department of Education (DepEd) during a budget hearing before the House appropriations committee.

The shortage could be higher if Congress fails to pass a new budget, which would force the national government to depend on a reenacted budget for the second consecutive year.

"Our public schools are experiencing their worst crisis ever," Tinio said.

He said the DepEd's proposal to hire 5,000 new teachers and build 6,000 new classrooms in 2005 would not be enough to alleviate the problem.

"In spite of these new inputs, the DepEd's own figures show that students and teachers must brace for a teacher shortage of 49,699 and a classroom shortage of 57,930," said Tinio.

"These are significantly higher than the current shortages of 39,535 teachers and 51,947 classrooms."

He disputed a statement made recently by committee chair Representative Rolando Andaya Jr. (Camarines Sur) that the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would be hiring 20,000 new teachers in 2004 and 2005.

"To be accurate, the DepEd hired only 7,500 new classroom teachers in 2004 and is set to hire an additional 5,000 in 2005. So that's only 12,500," Tinio said.

The rest of the new positions in 2004 and 2005 are for principal and non-teaching items, such as supervisors and clerks, he said.

ACT has been castigating the Arroyo administration for not taking adequate steps to alleviate the acute shortages in the public schools.

"The truth is that the creation of new teaching items under the administration has had no impact on the shortage of teachers, which has grown from 35,818 in 2002 to 49,699 in 2005," he said.

ACT estimates that an additional P70 billion needs to be added to the current DepEd budget of about P106 billion to wipe out resource shortages, provide for a P3,000 across-the-board salary increase for teachers, and adequately fund maintenance and operating expenses of the public schools.

The DepEd had asked for a P110-billion budget in 2004, which includes a budget of P970 million to hire 10,000 new teachers. Instead, Congress reenacted the national budget for that year.

For next year, the DepEd has asked for a P112-billion budget.

The problem of resource shortages in public schools worsens each year.

In 2003, studies placed the shortage of public school teachers at 50,000. About 13,000 new teachers have to be hired every year to maintain a 40:1 student-to-teacher ratio for the 17.4-million students in public schools.

The DepEd last year said the teacher shortage was only around 19,000, but this assumed a class size of 50 pupils to one teacher.

In 2003, independent studies showed the classroom shortage at 44,700. The education budget that year only covered 5,333 additional classrooms, or 12 percent of the total classroom shortage.

The DepEd, however, said classroom shortage was only at 18,700, assuming a class size of 60 pupils to a room.

nung 4th yr highsch ako 11 lang kami sa classroom. 11 na ung buong batch. swerte nga e. nas top 10 ako. hehe.

wow. ang galing galing talaga out of 11 students isa ka sa top ten.
bilib na talaga ako sa iyo kasi you made it to the top ten... haha. :weirdo: :colgate:

:hilarious: asar naman itong si weirdo. :jK: ako naman nun 1st yr. to third year HS, nakakasama pa sa top 10. pero pagdating ng 4th year, top-on...as in tapon! :bash: mas inuna ko kc ang NCAT, extra-curricular activities, etc. kesa academic...wala lan, para maiba naman...:bash:

Maitanong ko lang, ang OB montessori ba dyan sa manila ay kilala sa mga outstanding achievements? Like for example, maraming panalo sa contests, etc. etc. glamour school ba?

Kc d2 sa angeles may ob montessori din eh, ang YAYABANG nila noh! taga angeles ako and they think theyre the best! ang fee-feeling nila. kmusta ba klgayan ng ob dyan?

I want to get your opinion(s). Which produces a better "overall product," graduates from a public or state high school, a private elite non-sectarian high school, or from a parochial or faith-based high school?

OB people are okay, they are not that mayabang. Its just a famous school, but they dont really win duirng academic constests.

I went to OB Makati in Dasmarinas Village up to Grade 1 back in the 80s. As much as I remember, all the teachers were very good, they were all trained in Italy and Germany. And there were many children of expats, my best friend there for a year was a Russian kid. I was there at the same time as Lea Salonga, although she was in a higher grade. She'd perform in school plays and we'd all get tickets to her shows.

I didnt know there was an OBMC campus in Makati.

maybe we can inquire at DECS to make us avail of their top 50 or top 100 schools (public/private/special), im sure meron cila non, but they chose not to publish it. but of course, these schools were already weighed based on the decs' criteria, & of course, accreditation level from the diffrent accrediting agencies, thats the on-going trend now, where literally all schools go gaga over ....

The OBMC Makati campus is in Dasmarinas Village, Paraiso Street, near the house of Sharon Cuneta. :)

I thought Sharon lives near Wack Wack or that her and her family moved south of Cavite?

Siempre Sharon moved to a different house na when she got married to Kiko.

This was a long time ago, 20+ years. Sharon lived in Dasma back then in the 1980s when she was married and newly separated from Gabby. I think her mommy Elaine lives in that house now. I remember it well, kasi everyday kapag hinahatid ako, my sister would point it out na "ayun! bahay ni Sharon!" (she was a Pops fan, who was then Sharon's arch-rival).

Sa may Sta. Rosa, Laguna may bahay si Sharon ngayon. balita ko (at madami ang nagsasabi) napaka-higpit ng security. Nun magi-inquire un kakilala ko, kailangan daw munang ipakita ang bankbook bago papasukin sa loob ng village...ewan kung totoo un. :dunno:

^ bankbook? they ask for a bankbook for a person to enter that village? ano naman kaya yun :sly:

^ bankbook? they ask for a bankbook for a person to enter that village? ano naman kaya yun :sly:
yeah. as if they expect everybody to carry their passbooks with them all the time. it this is true, it's crazy. overkill. paranoia.

di ba sa westgrove yung bahay ni sharon

sa West Grove nga ata. malamang exaggerated na un magpakita ng passbook, siguro mahigpit lan talaga ang security. bahala cla, wala akong balak bumisita sa village nila, kahit gaano pa kaganda un. :goodnight:

ahh ayala westgrove. may bagong st. scho campus dun.

Furthermore, most banks these days don't give you a passbook if you sign up for an "ATM Account" Should people flash their ATM cards?

/\ That will lead to Identity Theft! :lol:

:lol: :hilarious: bahala cla. :D

wow. ang galing galing talaga out of 11 students isa ka sa top ten.
bilib na talaga ako sa iyo kasi you made it to the top ten... haha. :weirdo: :colgate:

aliw no? di gaya ngayon ilan ang tao sa buong college. kahit magka vice dean's list di ako makakapasok. :cheers: siguro sa discipline office's list pede pa. nagka offense ako one time. smoking w/in the vicinity raw ng campus. bat di kaya nila hulihin ung pesteng vehicles sa taft avenue? sa highschool astig ang may offense sa college di na e.

di pa ako nagshift pero i'm taking subjects na offered ng philippine studies. ung isa diaspora of the filipino tas ung isa elective lang contemporary philippines (na in offer ng history department). mejo naguluhan nga ako kung philippine studies or history ang i take ko. pero philippine studies na lang siguro. :cheers:

fifteen units ako this term. ung iba JPRIZAL, FILIPI3 saka SPANFIV. tinake ko na ung spanish kahit di na ako tuloy dapat para makapagtrabaho ako sa call center. astig. sayang nga e andami kong major subjects na tinake sa european studies pero ayus lang. bawi na lang sa nagpapatuition pag nagkatrabaho. :bash:

^ i dont get it... are you taking a minor?

Philippine Education in international comparison...oh,dear.

Science (8th Grade)
http://img156.exs.cx/img156/8767/table51ud.gif

Mathematics (8th Grade)
http://img156.exs.cx/img156/912/table66jg.gif

Anong nangyari sa Pilipinas? Ang baba naman yata! Akala ko ba, ang Pilipino matalino daw! Low ba yung standards ng mga provinces compared to Metro Manila schools?

As for me, math, sciences (biology, physics, chemistry) is my ultimate weakness. I can only contribute in the fields of language(English, Spanish, German, French) and International Studies (Economics, Geography, International Studies). Mataas ang mga grades ko diyan. Pero logical thinking ko mababa.

My Grades...

English: A
Spanish: A
French: B-
Geography: A-
Sports: B+
Physics: B-
Arts: A
Histpry: B+
German: B+
Music: A
Economics: A-
International Studies: A-

failing at these courses...

Mathematics: D
Chemistry: D
Biology: D

nyaks, nakakahiya! Ang bobo ko talaga! I have to improve. In a Teachers conference, my teachers said that I am lazy and that I often daydream a lot. How can I improve?

Standard of Education in the Philippines has gone down substantially ever since in a nationalist effort they deemphasized english, making it harder to teach subjects like math and science.

Then the farther you get out from Manila, the lower the standards as they have even less facilities and the like.

Thunderflip. It's obvious from your other grades that you have the capacity to learn and are intelligent. I think you just probably tune out to these other subjects convinced you can't do better A lot of it is attitude and self discipline, it's like work and real life, a lot of it is not fun and you probably won't want to do it but you have to do it to make a living. I think properly motivated you can do whateve you want. And if you're still not convinced, heed the words of the worlds richest man who remarked in a high school commencement speech: " study hard , as believe it or not this is the easy part, if you think your teacher is tough, wait till you meet your boss".
Good Luck.

Teachers leaving the country for better wages overseas doesn't help unfortunately:( and so does the teacher-to-students ratio

i dont think de-emphasizing english as a medium of instruction is the real problem. look at other Asian countries like Japan or Korea where english is not as important but they still managed to go on top.

the problem I see in our system is a very weak primay education. I mean if the foundation is there, and strong and adequate, we won't be having problems in dealing with higher education. also, teachers themselves lack the credibility to teach maybe due to the improper training, or just plainly demoralized by their very low salary.

What's the equivalent for 8th Grade here in the Philippines? 2nd year HS?

Look at it this way, there a 8 million Filipinos overseas working in over 130 countries. Filipinos overseas work in hospitals, oil platforms, construction, schools, .... you name it and we are represented. One other thing those IT and BPO jobs are coming to the Philippines because they know that we have qualified pool of educated people. I dont see that as being negative and do you think all these Filipinos abroad will be hired if their education is inadequate. Think about it!

Jon

What's the equivalent for 8th Grade here in the Philippines? 2nd year HS?

yeah. Here in Sydney I'm in Year 10 (4th year HS), so basically I can go to do TAFE, which is somewhat like an adult training school (not just for youngsters), because senior school (Yr. 11-12) is not completely mandatory and so is the High School Certificate. In my old international school, there were 12 grades (optional 13th) and here there are 10 (optional 2), not including kinder etc.

What I've suggested before was optional extended school years, for those who want to be able to be applicable for overseas universities, I think it was said here before that a high-school graduate wanting to study overseas cannot enter and they need 1 or 2 more years in high school. Having the big gap between public and private Catholic schools doesn't help either.

^ ohh... thanks. Another question, 3 years din ba yung pre-school in other countries? Here its Nursery. Kinder, and Prep... right? Is it also the same in other countries?

kaso, sa Pinas, it's not required to finish 3 years of pre-school before you go to elementary. but as I've heard it, DECS is going to implement this rule that a student should go first to kinder before he can enter elementary school.

the problem I see in our system is a very weak primay education. I mean if the foundation is there, and strong and adequate, we won't be having problems in dealing with higher education. also, teachers themselves lack the credibility to teach maybe due to the improper training, or just plainly demoralized by their very low salary.

i guess i have to agree with you. i remember Pres. Arroyo suggesting that the primary level (prep schools/kindergarten) should be given proper attention because it's these first 5 years (or so) of kids that are crucial to learning. i see the same campaign efforts here in california emphasizing the importance of prep schools.

on the part of the teachers, there are a lot of good teachers out there but as you pointed out, the very low pay doesn't really help in motivating them to advance and improve further.

on the improper training issue, that's really true. when i was in high school, inexperienced, fresh graduates are often hired by my school. minsan naaawa na lang ako sa kanila kasi napapaiyak pa sila sa sobrang gulo ng mga students. and some of them are not really trained well.

^ ohh... thanks. Another question, 3 years din ba yung pre-school in other countries? Here its Nursery. Kinder, and Prep... right? Is it also the same in other countries?

Here where I am (in Orlando), we have Kindergarten I, Kindergarten II and Pre-First. All students go through both Kindergarten years then move on up to First Grade, Pre-First is sort of a "half grade" in between Kindergarten II and First Grade. Students in Pre-First are either too young to enter First Grade in the coming school calendar year, or if they need more time to master the basics of learning before entering Elementary School.

Elementary School grades are 1 through 5.
Middle School grades are 6 through 8.
High School grades are 9 through 12.

Save Philippine Education
By Loren L. Legarda

It's graduation time again and many hopeful graduates will join the ranks of those seeking jobs commensurate to their qualifications. But what kind of graduates do we actually produce? What quality of education do we really have? As far as basic education is concerned, the per capita investment for every child in the Philippines, according to UN figures, is US$138, one of the lowest in Asia and the world. Thailand, which used to send its best agricultural students to the Philippines, spends some US$850 per student. Singapore’s per capita investment is US$1,500, while Japan spends more than US$3700 per year.

The classroom size in the Philippines is 55 students per class, one of the highest in the world. Indonesia and China, two of the most populous countries in the world, have less than 25 students per class. The basic education sector is a story of shortage. We lack roughly 49,000 public school teachers but we can hardly hire because there is not enough money for this. Classroom shortages have been placed at more than 44,000. The sorry image of classes held under mango trees remains a powerful visual reminder of the third-world status of our public education. The schools are close to 6 million short of desks; the textbook shortage is an embarrassing 24 million. The regular budgetary allocation for classrooms, roughly PhP2 billion a year, cannot close the current gap in ten years. The latest education index of the UNDP shows that countries associated with desperation and hopelessness such as Uganda have better educational statistics than Philippine regions such as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

A crash program to save Philippine education has to be put in place. A lump sum investment of PhP30 billion must be allotted to wipe out what we lack in classrooms, textbooks, teachers, and desks. We must implement a year-round training program for teachers. We must equip basic education with science labs and computer rooms. We can’t afford to be laggards in this field. We must recapture our glorious place as an Asian educational powerhouse now.

^ The government should take the education system seriously. It should be valued because this brings out Filipinos towards their full potential in being globally competetive.

why don't they teach you spanish?

Our first official business language was actually Spanish. When the Americans occupied the Philippines in 1898, they established an educational system using English as the medium of instruction. Hence, the official business language was changed from Spanish to English. Nevertheless, the Filipino language has a lot of adopted Spanish words (time and day) and Filipinized Spanish words (such as Intinde for Intiende, tindahan for la tienda, kusina for cochina, etc.).

Spanish was included in the Philippine curriculum years back, and in the 1990's the Dept. of Educ. made it optional, then finally abolished it up to the present years.

Sa UST may spanish class. Diba meron pa rin namang mga school na may spanish sa curriculum nila?

Sa UST may spanish class. Diba meron pa rin namang mga school na may spanish sa curriculum nila?

Yes. I think UST remains "loyal" to Spanish as some of its (old)faculty are of Spanish descent (heard from a former professor there), or/and it has something to do with it being a Dominican school?

But for more practical reasons, most colleges and universities now offer Japanese, Chinese and French, I think.

^ btw, spanish (& french) is also being taught (as electives) in other univ like Normal, Letran, UP, Ateneo, Lyceum, & MLQU :)
what are those universities who offer nihongo & mandarin?? :)

^ btw, spanish (& french) is also being taught (as electives) in other univ like Normal, Letran, UP, Ateneo, Lyceum, & MLQU :)
what are those universities who offer nihongo & mandarin?? :)


Nihongo>PWU-Baguio,San Pedro College of Business Ad.,Southeast Asian College,St. Benedict College,TUP-Manila & Visayas,Trinity College,University of Bohol,PUP,Silliman Univ.,Southwestern Univ.,St. Scholastica's College,UA&P,University of Makati, Univ. of Mla,UP-Dil and LB, Univ.of SanJose recoletos,Univ. of St.La Salle,Xavier Univ.,Univ. of Mindanao,Univ. of San Carlos, UST, West Visays State Univ.(partial list from Merienda).ADMU, DLSU,CEU...
Chinese(don't know which kind :) )on top of my head, can say the last three above:ADMU, DLSU,CEU...

Spanish is usually taught in every college or university here in the country.

i saw this feature on Balitang Amerika last night about the philippine team represented by Ateneo Law students who are currently defending the country's championship title in the moot court competition held in D.C. prior articles about this have been posted before. thanks.

good on them. we really do have some really brainy high school and college students. but a small percentage of smart students shouldn't make the gov't think "oh hey, our education system is all fine, with crap public schools, forcing the others to catholic private schools".

Justice system to be taught in high school

Posted 01:06am (Mla time) April 04, 2005
By Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer News Service


Editor's Note: Published on page A23 of the Apr. 4, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


BESIDES getting acquainted with scientists, scholars, and mathematical equations, incoming public high school freshmen will have to encounter five more subjects come June.

These will be the five pillars of the criminal justice system, namely the community, law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, and correctional institutions.

"Concepts of the criminal justice system must be taught to students so that they will become responsible adults armed with knowledge and having full respect for the rule of law," said Imelda Roces, executive officer and vice chair of the National Police Commission (Napolcom).

In a statement, the Napolcom said the justice system would be integrated into the curriculum as part of Makabayan, the social studies subject in public secondary schools.

The program seeks to underline the value of community involvement in crime prevention, said Roces.

The Napolcom, which acts as the policy-making body of the Philippine National Police, decided to push through with the project following the success of teaching demonstrations by Napolcom-trained teachers in Metro Manila schools last month.

good on them. we really do have some really brainy high school and college students. but a small percentage of smart students shouldn't make the gov't think "oh hey, our education system is all fine, with crap public schools, forcing the others to catholic private schools".

Renell

I have a cousin who studied in a public school. After graduation in high school she took nursing at UST. She is now a supervisor of an outpatient clinic here in the US. It doesnt really matter where you are educated, public or pvt, it is what you do once you get home from school that matters more.

Jon

UPDATE: 2005 Jessup Int'l Moot Court Competition

Queensland University, Australia won the championship. International Islamic University Malaysia finished second.

better luck next time, philippine team :okay:

source: click here (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=127510)

Renell

I have a cousin who studied in a public school. After graduation in high school she took nursing at UST. She is now a supervisor of an outpatient clinic here in the US. It doesnt really matter where you are educated, public or pvt, it is what you do once you get home from school that matters more.

Jon

that's true, Jon ... although the choice of school you'll have will slightly affect your life after college, it's not the greatest determinant factor for your success. There are loads of successful people who graduated from unknown universities, and there are too many graduates from famed uni who ended up with a meager job as well. It only means one thing, you as a person will determine your own fate ... not the school, and definitely not the classmates or other famed persona you knew that will bring or lead you to success. To each his own.

Editorial : High cost, low quality

Posted 00:01am (Mla time) May 27, 2005
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the May 27, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

TENS of thousands of Filipino parents bought into pre-need educational plans because they wanted to assure quality education for their children. In the beginning, such plans were premised on the assumption that government-imposed limits on tuition increases would persist. When the government "liberalized" education in the early 1990s, pre-need companies were faced with a choice of either limiting benefits to plan holders to the amounts assumed when the plans were sold, or to simply honor the plans as open-ended commitments to their clients.

Companies such as the College Assurance Plan Philippines Inc. decided to pay out benefits to plan holders above and beyond what had been assumed when the plans were sold. This worked for a surprisingly long period of time. However, when concerns over the fiscal viability of this commitment began to erode the financial prospects of such companies, and government launched investigations and put a stop to the frantic selling of new plans to finance old ones, the whole system collapsed.

The result is the demise of a genuinely Filipino innovation -- the pre-need educational plan -- and untold misery for hard-working families who put their faith in these firms. The manner in which the industry collapsed does not speak well of how both the executive and legislative branches of government handled their responsibilities. However, educational institutions themselves have, so far, and unfairly, escaped their fair share of the blame.

When the government removed the cap on tuition, it did so on the urging of educators who maintained that the bulk of the increases would be used to increase the salaries of teachers and improve school facilities. The brain drain had already severely handicapped education in this country, and wider latitude in determining fees was, educators insisted, something that would ultimately raise the quality of education.

International test results, however, have shown that the quality of education has not improved -- at all levels. This is particularly glaring when one considers how most private educational institutions have continued to pay dismal salaries to their staff, while charging higher fees for academic and non-academic services and tuition.

Already caught between a rock and a hard place, parents have increasingly resorted to transferring their children to public elementary and high schools (which, surprisingly enough, are also in many instances increasingly able to attract teachers from private schools, as they now apparently pay competitive wages) and state colleges and universities. Aside from very well-known schools that don't feel the need to compete actively, only the diploma mills churning out nurses, for example, are showing increases in attendance.

Parents and students alike know that quality comes at a cost, but the increasing cost of education hasn't resulted in an increase in quality. What they have resulted in, apparently, is an increase in profitability. Education is big business, at all levels.

The country's leading economic players have aggressively entered the education market -- tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan in the University of the East and Thames, insurance and banking magnate Alfonso Yuchengco in Mapua Institute of Technology -- injecting an entrepreneurial approach to education, which wasn't there even when prominent families with business and political interests (the Laurels and Lyceum of the Philippines, or the Tañadas who used to own Manuel L. Quezon University) established and managed colleges and universities. It is not unreasonable to expect that the widening exposure of prominent businessmen in the field of education will inject a more profit-oriented attitude toward the running of the institutions they've bought, as shown, for example, in the highly emotional debate over the absorption of Mapua into the newly minted Malayan University of the Yuchengcos (who themselves are facing difficulties with their educational pre-need firm, Pacific Plans Inc.).

We do not want a return to a regulated regime, as far as the management of institutions of higher learning are concerned. But it is time for the boards, faculties and students of such institutions to seriously consider where profit making and education serve complementary, or mutually exclusive, purposes. If the Commission on Higher Education, for example, due to political pressure, cannot shut down substandard institutions, can it be expected to enforce even minimum standards of quality? And if not, doesn't this place a heavy, but urgent, burden on parents and working students?

My uhhmmm... friend, special friend, is a plan holder of Pacific Plans.
Tapos nagkakaproblema ngayon ang Pacific Plans. tsk! tsk! tsk! pano na yan pag hindi sya nakapag-aral ng college...

hmm, problema nga. let's just hope & pray na makakapag-aral pa rin cya through Pacific Plans. kung hindi, puede naman mag-working student or mag-SA siguro un special friend mo.

Restore Grade 7, plus 1 year in HS
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc
The Philippine Star 05/27/2005

Eighteen million students troop back to 42,000 public schools on June 6. Expect politicians to ululate on its eve what everyone already knows and they must solve but aren’t: sinking quality of education; shortage of books, classrooms and teachers; perhaps even a move of school opening to Sept. to avoid the typhoon months. It’s an annual ritual, akin to the mystic five-year cycle (1990, 1995, 2000, 2005) in which Congress raises a howl about jueteng, then simmers down for the next publicity stunt. Nothing gets resolved. The ills of free mass education remain the same. For, they fail to take stock of the core issues.

Those issues can be summed up into two: higher funding and longer schooling.

The State simply has to invest more for each schoolchild. Thailand spends $900 a year on average for each youth in elementary or high school. Most developed nations devote $1,600 a year per student. The Philippines plunks a dismal $145 (P7975), much of it for teachers’ pay, book printing and classroom construction. Out of that sorry sum must come the equally important teacher training, instructional aids and computers. But nothing’s left. No wonder that, in the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey of 45 countries, Filipino students fared miserably in second-year high school competencies. In Math, they ranked 41st, nosing out only South Africa, Ghana, Botswana and Saudi Arabia. In Science, 42nd, never mind who they beat.

That year Boston College conducted TIMSS tests as well for Grade 4 elementary school competencies in 25 countries. Filipino pupils rated 23rd in both Math and Science, edging out only Tunisia and Morocco. The top five ironically are Philippine neighbors: Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan (which tied with Britain). Those countries block off 20-25 percent of their annual budgets to education. The Philippine allocation is only 12 percent. The culprit in low TIMSS ratings is certainly the teacher. Assessments of Filipino public school teachers in 2004 showed poor skills in English, the language for Math and Science instruction. Education Sec. Florencio Abad Jr. laments that only 10,000 of 51,000 teachers scored higher than 75 percent. The 41,000 failures either did not know enough what they teaching or could not teach good enough. They need to go back to the classroom.

Along with them must return 1.2 million 2004 Grade 6 elementary graduates who were found unprepared for high school. Only 8,000 of them (0.6 percent) had scored 75 percent or higher in the High School Readiness Test. The median grade between the higher and lower scorers was at only 31 percent. The Dept. of Education rushed a bridging program in which an extra year would be added so they can catch up with high school’s rigors. But only 150,000 availed of the voluntary classes. Parents of the rest cried against added expenses and for hustling them through high school so they could work and help out the penurious families – as if the kids would ever be employable with their low scholastic achievements.

Adamant Abad has mandated longer remedial class hours for that 2004 batch, now coming into second year. A similar test of 1.6 million Grade 6 grads in March 2005 had a higher 16 percent scoring 75 or better, and with the median grade at 54 percent this time. That improvement has not deterred DepEd from batting for additional years for all elementary and high schools.

The longer a child stays in school, the more is learned. That truism stems from international studies on brain focus within a classroom’s four walls. Thus, developed countries have adopted a standard eight elementary grades and four high school years. This is in addition to pre-school, nursery and kindergarten to which responsible parents enroll their toddlers.

In response to the 2004 fiasco, President Gloria Arroyo had ordered all local governments to allocate funds for kindergartens. Richer cities did better by injecting nursery curriculums in barangay day-care centers. Undersecretary Chito Gascon hails the initiative, but calls on Congress to adopt the international standard of 12 years schooling. For this, he suggests restoring Grade 7, which President Ferdinand Marcos had scrapped in the late ’70s, and a fifth year in high school.

DepEd anticipates another outcry from parents whose children must be saved from their short-sightedness. So it has talked with private schools, which are only too willing to break up their already stiff syllabuses into 12 years from the present ten. Private initiative is what the ill-funded DepEd has been depending on these past years. Its Brigada Eskuwela, now on its third year, had 375,000 volunteers cleaning up and repairing 20,000 school buildings on May 12-21, thus saving DepEd P1.2 billion in man-hours and materials.

A head start of the 12-year standard in private schools will widen all the more the learning gap with public school youths. But it’s a temporary pain from which the country eventually will gain. Ululating legislators will finally realize that they must plow more money into education, from pork barrels perhaps, so their poor constituents can have the same opportunities in life as the private school products. From there, the country can then catch up with the rest of the world.

-----
The article above really sums up the state of Philippine education during these past few years. As the June date of the resumption of classes come, legislators and congressmen alike share their opinions on how to improve the system of education in the country. These officials basically just try to get some points from the people, but never do anything. Senator Manny Villar has been talking about starting classes on September for consecutive years but other officials aren't doing anything. It is devastating to see how our education system is like this. This is why the Philippines doesn't advance like other countries. Parents of students force their children to just work instead of studying. Also, with more than 80 students in one class and two to four students sharing textbooks, how would students learn effectively.

Sadly, this is the true state of Philippine education. I hope that things would be done as soon as possible to bring the future of the country forward - the youth. It's good though that textbooks are beginning to be looked by experts, and hardworking parents of students work to construct classrooms for their children. Hopefully, the government would do its part. It's just frustrating to see the situation like this.

Nice read.

Fact is, some kids (your relatives, my cousins....) may be intelligent and able to win international and local competition, but that's not gonna make the situation any better. What are we looking at here? It is true what Jbkayaker said, though Philippine education will remain what it is, lacking.

That's depressing news there @Kiel. Hopefully the government will take immediate action and not waste anymore time and try to fix the problem. "The mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Fwd: volunteers needed for DepEd's Balik Eskwela program

Fwd: Oplan Balik Eskwela

----------------------------------------------------
The Department of Education is conducting Oplan
Balik Eskwela -- a preparedness campaign for the
opening of the school year.

The objective of the campaign is to ensure that
students are enrolled properly in schools and that
problems normally encountered during school
opening are prevented and are responded to.

The main message of the campaign is that children
are in school on June 6. This will be done through
the cooperation of DepED with other agencies
agencies, civil society and especially the
communities, in preparing for the school year.

Volunteers are being called upon to help in this
campaign.

We wish to invite YOU to take part in this
worthwhile endeavor.

Should you be interested, here are the details of
Oplan Balik Eskwela and areas where we need
volunteers:

1.Convergence with government agencies, civil
society and business groups

a. We need volunteers to help us coordinate
efforts that other agencies are doing in line with
school opening
b. We also need volunteers to call and get
sponsors for the event
2. Communications / Media Relations
a. We need writers, media liaisons

3. Information / Action Center at the DepED
Central Office

a. We need volunteers for the following sections
of this center:
-16 regional stations
-4 Metro Manila stations
-Media Desk
-Quick Response Team

4.Secretariat
a. We need volunteers to help us with various
tasks in the Secretariat

Our volunteers can for the 1 and 2 do not
necessarily have to be at DepED. We can work with
them remotely. But if they can be at DepED, it
would be good. They begin today (!) until June 11.

For the Information / Action Centre and the
Secretariat, we need them to be stationed at
DepED
from May 31 June 11. We can arrange shifts in
schedule depending on the availability of the
volunteers.

If you can broadcast this email together with my
letter, it would be really helpful to us. They can
email me here, or at
communications@deped.gov.ph
or call me at 09217144677.

17 million school children who simply needs to be
in school by June 6 thats the task we need to do.

Looking forward to have you with us,

ANGELICO MERCADER
Communications Head
Office of the Secretary
Department of Education

...... are all school teachers in phils public schools all full-time? how about those part-timers who are there for a year or so?

I don't like the idea of starting school in September. The summer months are not conducive to learning as the class rooms will be too hot. The students will only feel miserable studying in a hot environment. I think Villar, Drilon and the other Officials lobbying for September school opening have hidden agenda (Why would they care when their kids attend private schools with air-conditioned class room). Another reason could be that it's a perfect timing for their kids to register in an International Exchange student program or enjoy a June-to-August summer vacation in Western countries. The September School opening campaign is Elitist, to satisfy the capriciousness of the rich Conyo kids without considering the well-being of the poor kids. I really want to drag their kids to attend a public school for a month as an eye opener, instead of speaking conyo with the red necks. I always wish for an ear plugs everytime I hear a Conyo nonsense accent.
I know some executive in the Philippines that do not get college graduates with conyo accent :P

DepEd changes class suspension policy during typhoons
By Sandy Araneta
The Philippine Star 06/03/2005

Beginning this school year, elementary level classes will no longer be suspended whenever storm signal No. 1 is declared by the weather bureau, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced yesterday.

Education Secretary Florencio Abad said this deviation from the policy of canceling classes amid bad weather conditions was being done to address the need to maximize the number of school days in the grade school and high school levels.

"We have observed that since there are no big casualties during storm signal number one, classes in the elementary level should not be disrupted. Minsan kasi malakas na hangin lang ang dala ng bagyo sa signal na ito (Sometimes, only strong winds are experienced during this storm signal)," Abad explained.

Under storm signal No. 1, classes will only be canceled at the pre-school level, he said.

For storm signal No. 2, classes at the pre-school, elementary and secondary levels will be called off.

Abad said classes will be suspended at all levels when the storm signal is raised to number three or four.

However, in cases where there is no storm signal raised but strong rains and heavy flooding are experienced, DepEd will leave it to the discretion of school division superintendents to hold classes or suspend them.

Abad said division superintendents know their areas well and can make a decision by monitoring the weather information for their areas of responsibility.

The education secretary also advised parents to closely monitor weather conditions on radio and television.

Abad said in case there is no storm signal, he advised against calling the DepEd central office in Pasig to find out if there are classes in their place. Rather, parents should call their school principals and superintendents to determine the local school’s status.

"Matatagalan lang sila pag dito tumawag dahil ire-refer din naman namin sila sa school divisions nila. It is better that they call their school divisions and not us," Abad said.

For the college level, Abad said students should contact the Commission on Higher Education.

there was a recent Debating Competition among asian universities hosted by my school. The team from ADMU was the champion, my school won the second place, the UP team was in the semi-finals.

Better learning in 'fun' schools, survey shows

First posted 05:54am (Mla time) June 06, 2005
By Vincent Cabreza
Inquirer News Service


Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the June 6, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines -- Grade school children who expect a new round of classroom lectures when school opens today may find their teachers singing the lessons instead.

Teachers who attended the National Teachers' Congress here last week discovered that their rigid teaching methods were wrong for this generation of Filipino pupils, which may account for the low number of students who pass their subjects each year.

About 80 percent, or 960 of the 1,200 participants in this year's congress at the Teachers' Camp here, acknowledged that they had made their pupils memorize by rote -- math, language and science lessons -- when their pupils actually learned better in a more interactive and "fun" environment, a survey conducted during the congress showed.

Henry Tenedero, an alternative education expert assisting the Department of Education and who administered the survey, said results showed that Filipino teachers should come to school in more colorful attires and should smile when introducing arithmetic to students, many of whom fear numbers.

According to the survey results, teachers should also learn to dance, sing or mime lessons because pupils absorb information when they are supplemented by sound, engaging visual images and even snacks, Tenedero said.

Teachers could also deputize one parent or two to assist him or her in class, the survey showed.

A jeepney driver, Tenedero said, could help teach math in his child's class by explaining how he makes change for jeepney fare. This way, students could learn the practical application of their lessons in school, he said.

Tenedero, who is president of the Baguio-based Center for Learning and Teaching Style Inc., said copies of the survey's results would be given to various schools in the country because it would help teachers cope with their newfound freedom.

Education Secretary Florencio Abad had issued a memorandum granting all public school teachers the leeway to select appropriate teaching methods that are best suited to their communities.

EQ vs IQ

Abad also turned over the budget and management chores of public schools to their principals and their host communities.

These reforms could be more effective if teachers understood how their pupils absorbed their classroom lessons, Tenedero said.

He said the survey helped determine the profile of most Filipino pupils' "learning styles."

The survey was based on an alternative testing mechanism called the Dunn and Dunn Test, named after American educators Kenneth and Rita Dunn, which detects the emotional quotient (EQ) and multiple intelligence of students.

Tenedero said the test showed that most teachers used the left-brain technique of teaching, when Filipino children responded better with their right brain.

Left vs right brain

He said this was based on the theory that the two different sides of the brain control two different patterns of thinking.

The left brain is "analytical" because it sees the world sequentially, logically and objectively. The right brain is "global," according to Tenedero, because "it sees the forest for the trees," has more random responses to stimuli and is more subjective.

He said the 1,200 teachers from both private and public schools in the country were asked to respond to nine questions. These questions were designed to find out the best learning environment for Filipino children.

"Lumalabas (it turns out), [the] majority of the teachers surveyed taught using analytical methods, when their pupils were more global. So you can see that the teachers were unable to reach their students [effectively]," Tenedero said.

Filipino students apparently learned well when they had background sound or music, when they studied in informal environments and were allowed to munch on snacks.

Learn from the Net

Tenedero said the teachers also noted that students preferred to study with bright lights, with a group and with more study breaks.

He said children would respond to a multitude of stimuli, like memorizing math formulas, "when all of their senses are engaged."

He suggested that teachers could study why children learned more when they visited Internet cafés.

"We should study why children learn more information from the Internet than in the classrooms. There is sound, there is participation and there are light snacks," he said.

"Most children can master most topics and most subjects in classrooms. Their academic difficulties begin when their teachers do not teach according to the way they learn," Tenedero pointed out in his book, "What Parents Need to Know About Learning."

there was a recent Debating Competition among asian universities hosted by my school. The team from ADMU was the champion, my school won the second place, the UP team was in the semi-finals.

amras, NUS kaba? :)

NTU po.... Nanyang Technological University

DepEd begins standardizing textbooks
By Sandy Araneta
The Philippine Star 06/10/2005

Starting this year, the Department of Education (DepEd) will procure one textbook per subject, per year during the next five years as part of the effort to standardize textbooks in all public schools nationwide.

Education Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Juan Miguel Luz said the DepEd is giving all researchers a specific target on what topic they should be concentrating on.

"In this way, we would be saving money in research because we can now concentrate on one target every year," Luz said.

He said unlike in the previous years when they procured several different textbooks for students, the agency could not check the quality of books they were ordering.

But with the new plan drafted by the DepEd, officials can monitor the quality of books being printed, he said.

Luz said this year, the DepEd will be printing Makabayan textbooks while books for English, Pilipino, Mathematics and Science would be procured in 2006 to 2009 respectively.

Luz also said that as a start, each region will have one title of the book, per subject, per year. But eventually, the DepEd plans to standardize all titles, with only one title per textbook, per subject, per year nationwide.

He said that with the new procurement plan, the DepEd can surely resolve one of the main problems in the education sector, which is having multiple titles of textbooks on one subject.

Due to the multiple titles that reach public schools, officials tend to choose only one set of textbooks and put all other textbooks in storage rooms.

The DepEd is also currently trying to exchange the other titles with other public schools, Luz said.

He said that since the Book Development Law was signed during the mid- 1990s, the printing of textbooks for public schools was given to independent private publishers instead of the DepEd. Bidding was also made during those years.

However, since a different bidder wins every year, a different textbook is printed. As such public schools have multiple textbooks per subject in each grade or year level each year.

"We have talked with the publishers about the problem on multiple titles. That is why they agreed to the new program," Luz said.

Luz also denied that there is currently a shortage of textbooks.

"The problem lies in the distribution of the textbooks due to multiple titles," he explained. "That is why we have an exchange program on textbooks with public schools."

Fast-Food Education
By Aries Rufo
Newsbreak Senior Writer



Incoming freshman Sherrye Alberto, 20, is excited about her future. A high school graduate of Hope Christian Academy in Sto.Tomas, Batangas, Alberto enrolled at an Amable M. Aguiluz (AMA) school branch in Cubao for a four-year course in business information system. “I heard AMA’s IT [information technology] school is of international standard. I want to specialize in IT so I can work abroad.”

Eda Compra, 22, matriculated at the System Technology Institute (STI) this school year after seeing its state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities. Although the annual tuition is about P24,000, Compra was enticed to enroll after the school allowed its students to pay after enrollment.

Alberto and Compra are among the thousands of students investing their future in AMA or STI—both of which boast of having the largest network of colleges in the country. Like Alberto, Compra believes that an STI degree is a sure ticket to employment abroad or to a high-paying job in an IT company.

Alberto and Compra learned of AMA’s and STI’s courses through ads—an awareness strategy that these two schools are known for—and reinforced by recommendations from peers or relatives.

A Social Weather Stations survey in 2003 commissioned by AMA had confirmed AMA and STI’s high visibility among those who wanted to take up computer courses, leaving behind the more established schools like De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila, University of Santo Tomas, and Mapua Institute of Technology.

Franchised Education

Although relatively new entrants in the educational system, AMA and STI have modified how education as a business is defined and managed. Unlike traditional private schools—many of which are not profit-oriented—AMA and STI proved that education is like any other commodity governed by market forces.

The two schools are credited with introducing the concept of “franchise education,” which allows as many investors as possible to take part in a product or service—in this case, education.

Lito Vitriolo, deputy executive director of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), explains that like any franchise setup, AMA and STI’s “trademark” is contracted to investors for a certain fee. “Aside from using their brand, you also get access to their processes, management system, quality, policies, curricula, etc. in the operation of the school.”

In AMA’s case, its manual covers everything—from the enrollment of students to the course outline, syllabus, curriculum, the hiring of teachers and janitors. The business side, however, is the sole concern of the franchisee.

Franchising proved to be such a gold mine for AMA and STI that it spawned copycats. It also spurred competition between AMA and STI as they tried to copy each other’s business strategies.

Thus, it is not rare to find an AMA branch and an STI branch located within spitting distance of each other.

NEWSBREAK learned that an AMA franchise may cost between P3 million and P5 million, while an STI franchise is pegged at P750,000 for vocational courses and P1 million for degree courses. On top of these franchise fees, AMA and STI receive royalties from the franchisees.

Vitriolo says that the competition also allows education and, theoretically, even quality education, to be more accessible in the provinces. Thus, a student enrolled in AMA or STI in Manila presumably gets the same quality of learning as the student enrolled in STI or AMA in Tagum, Davao del Norte.

AMA and STI, however, were not among those identified by Ched as centers of development for excellence in IT education. In government licensure examinations, AMA’s passing percentage in electronics and communications engineering from 1999 to 2003 was between 10 and 35 percent as against the national average passing rate of 43.98 percent.

In the non-IT-based accountancy course, AMA’s two campuses offering the degree registered from 7 to 10 percent passing rate as against the national average rate of 18.87 percent. AMA, however, has an exceptional passing rate for secondary education at 81 percent as against the national average rate of 33.37 percent.

Student Glut

At any given year, AMA and STI have about 200,000 students combined, outstripping other schools in student population. Patrick Azanza, AMA senior vice president for academic affairs, told NEWSBREAK that AMA alone registers 150,000 enrolments for college and vocational courses, while STI, based on its annual report, has around 45,000 enrollees.

From learning centers offering short-term computer literacy courses with a few dozen students, AMA and STI have altered the educational landscape in only about 25 years.

Founded by businessman and currently special envoy to the Gulf Region Amable Aguiluz V in 1980, AMA Institute of Computer Studies quickly morphed into a computer college the following year, offering a four-year degree course in computer science. Starting with 13 students, its population rose to 600 in less than three years and reached 2,000 in 1985. Its first campus was established in Makati in 1983 and a second one was opened in Quezon City in 1986.

At present, it boasts of 204 campuses, learning centers, and affiliates, including branches in Bahrain, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, China, and Singapore. Plans are afoot to put up branches in Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

STI began as a computer training center in 1983. Public affairs head Resty Bundoc says the initial idea of the founders, who are former IBM executives, was to train potential employees in computer information and technology.

STI eventually spun off to formal education, and by the late ‘80s, it had expanded to 20 branches and programming centers. To date, there are about 100 STI branches, including two branches in Vietnam and one in Indonesia.

The two schools’ rapid growth was aided by a move to offer disciplines other than computer education. Azanza says it was a natural course, as IT knowledge has become a must for other courses, such as nursing, engineering, accountancy, and even teaching. AMA offers a four-year degree course in computer science, engineering, accountancy, secondary education, and health care.

STI has degree courses in engineering, business and management, education, and health care.

Bundoc says the decision to diversify is a business strategy, as enrollment in IT courses appears to have reached a plateau. “The curve is not as high anymore as in the ‘80s,” he says. Information and technology-based courses, however, remain AMA and STI’s biggest source of student population, comprising 70 percent of total enrollees.

Hefty Revenues

AMA and STI have changed the rules of the game in attracting students. They introduced advertising as a marketing strategy. AMA public relations head Johnny Ramos says they spend an average of P100 million in ad placements a year, while STI pours in around P30 million

They reap the returns: the two schools’ combined revenue easily amounts to over P1 billion annually. AMA’s flagship campus, the AMA Computer University in Project 8, Quezon City, posted a net income of P59.3 million in 2001, based on its financial statement submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The following year, its net income rose to P88 million.

AMA refuses to divulge its revenue from its entire educational system, but Azanza says it can easily breach the P1-billion mark.

Based on STI’s annual report, the school grossed P635.4 million from 2003 to 2004, up by 27 percent from the previous fiscal year. Its entire network—to include the centers offering certificate courses—grossed P951.4 million.

The trend is expected to continue as the two schools have opened up nursing courses. “Nursing is the hottest course right now” and this will continue in the next 20 years, says STI’s Bundoc.

Some Ched officials are concerned over the “commercialization” of education by AMA and STI through their franchising scheme. Acting Ched chair Carlito Puno says it could hurt the integrity of education, particularly in the tertiary level. He says it is not far-fetched for some franchisees to be more concerned with making money and in the process short-change students.

“Maybe it is the conservative in me,” says Puno, who was president of the Philippine Christian University before being joining Ched in 2001 as commissioner. Franchised schools may not adopt the “mission and vision” of the parent school because their owners are entirely different.

AMA says, however, that only learning centers offering six month- to two-year courses are being franchised and that the quality of its tertiary education is not compromised. Since they teach vocational courses, these learning centers are under the supervision of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Ched’s Vitriolo says there is danger that substandard schools may falsely create an impression of quality because they are franchised. “This is where Ched comes in, to ensure that these are not diploma mills.” —with Abby Asistio

Send us your feedback: letters@newsbreak.com.ph

Endangered
By Annabelle R. Borromeo




John Santos and Adora de la Cruz (not their real names), both physicians turned nurses, could not meet the standards in two large urban medical centers in Texas. Both were terminated during their eighth week of employment.

Anecdotal reports of Filipino nurses’ termination from hospitals in the UK and the US due to their failure to meet competency standards are on the rise. Why?

The consensus: the quality of nursing education in the Philippines is deteriorating. Look at these indicators: the low passing rates in licensure examinations, the substandard quality of nursing instructors, inadequate training hospitals, and the high attrition rate in nursing schools.

Already, foreign employers are noticing that our nursing seems might be falling apart.

Meladee Stankus, president of Nurse Immigration USA, a US-based immigration firm, says: “We value the qualities of Filipino nurses and have always admired them for their hard work, dedication, and competence. However, over the years, we have seen a decrease in the quality of the nursing graduates from the Philippines, not just in the facility with the English language but more so in critical thinking, assessment, prioritizing, and clinical skills. If the Philippine government does not pay attention to the quality of its nursing graduates, the employers might be forced to look at other sources of nurses like China and India.”

Marilyn Lorenzo, professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Public Health, and chair of the Technical Committee for Nursing Education of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), points out that the pass rates for the Nurse Licensure Examination has been steadily declining since 1994. The pass rate was 61 percent in 1994; today, it is 47 percent.

Several factors may contribute to the low pass rates, says Carmelita Divinagracia, president of the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing. Because of the huge demand for nurses abroad, some owners open nursing schools, not to provide quality nursing education, but to obtain quick returns on investment. The name of the game is quantity, and lots of it.

As of April 2004, Ched records show that there are 370 nursing schools, an increase of 100 percent from 2000 to 2001.Only about 122 have been given permits to operate. There are still a number of schools in the pipeline that were not covered by the moratorium on the opening of new nursing schools that was issued by Ched on May 4, 2004.

‘Flying Deans’

Another cause of poor quality is the low quality of nursing instructors in the country. According to Eufemia Octaviano, chair of the Board of Nursing (BON) of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), many schools that have signified their intention to open nursing courses are not given permits because of the lack of qualifications of the deans and faculty members. Most of the nurses who have master’s degrees and are seasoned academicians and teachers have left the country.

There is a shortage of nursing faculty members.

Many of those now teaching are new graduates, without the experience and maturity to become role models to future nurses. This explains the recent phenomenon of “flying deans” and “flying faculty members.” These dubious titles are awarded to deans and nurse educators who are on the roster of two or three different schools at the same time. Ethical standards are being violated flagrantly as some individuals lend their names only on paper—for a fee, of course.

Base hospitals are inadequate. As nursing is a skills-centered profession, there is no way to acquire competency without providing hands-on care to patients in hospitals. A limited number of hospitals qualify as a base hospital for a college or school of nursing. To qualify, a hospital must have at least a 100-bed capacity, and it must be classified as a tertiary care facility by the Department of Health (DOH).

Until recently, government hospitals could not be considered base hospitals, but the DOH has opened its doors to this possibility. Overcrowding of hospitals with students, where one patient can have as many as four students in a given shift, has led to limits on the number of schools that may affiliate with a hospital.

More of the up-and-coming schools are given “priority” in terms of favorable schedules, access to the different wards and special units of the hospital, and better shifts. Some have reported that the schools that are given better schedules have resorted to giving sizeable “donations” to the hospitals. Some of the more established schools have refused to play the donation game and are suffering the consequences.

The net effect of all these is that schools cannot fulfill their obligation to students and patients.

Shortage of Nurses

Although many students enroll in nursing, the number of graduates from nursing schools has not kept up with the pace. The attrition rate has been high, from 67 percent for the period 1995-1999 to an even higher 89 percent for 2000-2003. If raw data from Ched and the PRC are to be believed, a large number of those enrolled do not graduate.

The percentage of those graduating from nursing schools has been steadily decreasing. Is this the result of some schools’ policy of “open enrolment, selective retention”? Is false hope being given to those who do not have the ability to pass the tough nursing course?

Still, more students are forced to take up nursing by their parents because of the lure of lucrative jobs abroad. In the past, the student would choose nursing as a profession because he or she truly wanted to make a difference in the lives of people. Today, the main motivation for taking up nursing is to go abroad.

It has been said that it is easy to get into nursing but difficult to stay. The demands on the physical, as well as the mental and emotional resources, are heavy. As the reluctant student progresses through the clinical experiences, the motivation to become a nurse is tested, and the student succumbs and quits.

The high attrition rate, the low licensure examination pass rate, and the increasing migration rate all contribute to the fact that the Philippines will suffer a nursing shortage of not just experienced nurses, but also of all nurses in the coming years.

The Road to Nursing

How are nurses educated?

There are two Registered Nurse programs in the Philippines—one is the four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the other is the accelerated degree program for non-nursing graduates.

The entry-level program for the traditional four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree is the Associate in Health Science Education (AHSE) certificate program. The AHSE program was started in 1998 as a response to the poor demand for Filipino health workers globally. The low emigration of Filipino health workers was mainly due to changing immigration laws in the United States in particular. The Philippines soon found a glut in its supply of nurses.

The Ched responded by implementing a common program for all the health care professions. The purpose was to ensure that all the health care professions have a common frame of reference before the individual students branched out into their chosen fields of specialties. If the student dropped out of school after two years, he or she would be able to find work as a community health worker, a dental aide, or a nursing aide.

The AHSE program was initially welcomed because of its practicality and responsiveness to changes in the job market, particularly in the shift to provide an alternative course for those who could not support their education to the finish.

But as the effects of the global nursing shortage began to be felt, the AHSE was criticized as no longer relevant, of being inadequate, and of being superficial in its treatment of subjects. Proponents of AHSE say that the curriculum is not defective and that it is the implementation and lack of faculty support and preparation that cause it to fail. The debate continues.

The second route to a nursing degree is through a degree for “second coursers” or “second-degree holders” of non-nursing programs. This is one initiative to open access routes to nursing education for a broader range of applicants, including mature students and those who have finished a non-nursing course. A large number of these second coursers are physicians.

Jaime Galvez-Tan, vice chancellor for research at the UP and executive director of the National Institute of Health, says that around 3,500 doctors have left the country as nurses since 2000. A little more than 1,500 doctors have passed the national nurse licensure exams in 2003, according to PRC data.

There are about 4,000 doctors enrolled in nursing courses in the country. At least 40 nursing schools offer courses for doctors who want to study nursing. Schedules are very flexible to accommodate the physicians’ schedules. The cost of a two-year course ranges from P75,000 to P150,000. Some of the courses last from one and a half years to three years.

In some schools, the physicians become “instant nurses” without undergoing the necessary nursing training, as long as the fees are paid. Owners of these nursing schools think that the skills of physicians encompass nursing skills.

There are physicians who say they do not mind working as nurses in the US. The problem is that they then don’t meet the standards abroad for lack of nursing skills.

Uphill Battle

The Ched technical committee and the PRC-BON are the official guardians of quality in nursing education. The members work with limited resources and little pay. When the Ched and PRC-BON recommend closure of some nursing schools to stop the deterioration in the quality of education, their hands get slapped by politicians. The recent closure of 23 nursing schools by Ched was met with fierce opposition from politicians.

To ensure quality nursing education, the Ched has developed a three-pronged approach that includes strict regulation of the opening of new nursing programs, monitoring and evaluation of existing programs, and assisting in the development and improvement of nursing programs. The goal is to ensure that the brand “Filipino Nurse” does not lose its leadership position in the global health care labor market.

The Ched, in cooperation with the PRC-BON, released the Nursing School Report Card on the performance of schools offering the Bachelor of Nursing Program in the last five years (2000 to 2004). Schools were ranked as “outstanding” (five-year board performance rating of 90 percent and above), “high performing” (pass rate of 75 percent to 89 percent), “average performing” (pass rate of 50 percent to 74 percent), “low performing” (pass rate of 30 percent to 49 percent), and “very low performing” (29 percent and below).

Of the 175 nursing programs with five or more batches of nursing board examinees, 6 percent were outstanding performers; 8.5 percent were high performers; average performers, 26 percent; low performers, 35 percent; and very low performers, 21 percent.

The schools have been given five years to show that they are capable of producing quality graduates. “If we do not act now, the quality of nursing education will slide down a slippery slope, and we will never be able to dig ourselves out of the hole of mediocrity and substandard performance,” UP’s Lorenzo warns.

Nursing school reform must be on the public policy agenda. The time to undertake improvements is now. —with Jay Calma

The author holds a Ph.D. in nursing. She returned to the Philippines after years of working in the US and now shares her expertise in nursing practice, education, and research.

Send us your feedback: letters@newsbreak.com.ph

Political Connections
By Aries Rufo, Abby Asistio
Newsbreak Senior Writer



AMA and STI have clashed with the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) over the move to offer nursing courses in some of their branches.

This was believed to have caused the resignation of former Ched chair Fr. Rolando de la Rosa. As pieced together by NEWSBREAK, the conflict began in 2003 when AMA and STI applied to operate a BS nursing course. On top of STI’s 14 nursing schools, it applied for five more, and AMA, one more.

In June 2004, Ched granted provisional permits for AMA and STI to accept nursing students, subject to compliance with certain requirements. Ched eventually revoked the provisional permits because AMA and STI failed to secure a tertiary base hospital, a primary requirement for schools that offer nursing.

Refusing to accept the decision, AMA and STI sought Malacañang’s intervention, although STI later withdrew its appeal. The Palace issued a stay order, allowing AMA to continue offering the nursing course.

Sources in Ched tell NEWSBREAK that Malacañang’s decision was not surprising since AMA has clout in the Palace. A high-ranking Ched official says that the Aguiluzes have always managed to be in the good graces of whoever sits in Malacañang. During President Joseph Estrada’s time, the official says, AMA Computer College in Quezon City attained its university status shortly after Estrada was given an honorary doctorate from the American League of Colleges and University. It was generally believed that Amable Aguiluz V was the one who worked for the honorary doctorate for Estrada.

Under Arroyo, political connections were not a problem since Aguiluz’s father and namesake was auditor general and national treasurer during President Diosdado Macapagal’s term.

Patrick Azanza, AMA senior vice president for academic affairs, says there was nothing anomalous in seeking Malacañang’s intervention since it is the proper forum for making the appeal. Ched, he argued, is under the Office of the President, and technically, its decision can be appealed there. Azanza says the Palace may have found merit in AMA’s case as there were 22 other nursing schools that were protesting Ched’s policy.

Lito Vitriolo, Ched deputy executive director, says it is understandable if AMA exercised its influence to protect its investment. “In a business enterprise that involves huge investment, it’s hard to exist without connections.”

Send us your feedback: letters@newsbreak.com.ph

Ched’s Migraine
By Gemma B. Bagayaua
Newsbreak Staff Writer



When Fr. Rolando de la Rosa tendered his resignation as chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), one of the reasons he cited was Malacañang’s lack of support for programs he had been pursuing.

During his short stint from October 2004 to April 2005, De la Rosa had tangled with big names when he led the Ched on a crackdown against substandard nursing schools. The commission refused to grant permits to well-connected institutions and suspended the creation of new nursing schools on the ground that the country did not have enough resources and facilities to ensure that these schools would produce quality graduates.

Businessmen wanting to open nursing schools accused Ched of imposing impossible requirements on newcomers, thus favoring established nursing schools. Congress stepped into the picture and threatened at one point to scrap the commission’s budget.

Commission insiders say that the last straw for De la Rosa came when Malacañang issued a stay order allowing one nursing school to operate despite its inability to follow Ched standards. Malacañang’s move, the insiders say, only made the complicated task of implementing the commission’s mandate even more difficult.

Established in 1994, Ched was given the role of keeping an eye on public and private degree-granting programs in all higher educational institutions in the Philippines. Its primary objective is to promote high standards in the education and training of the country’s scholars and professionals while ensuring that such education and training is accessible to all.

The commission has traditionally employed the carrot and stick approach in implementing this mandate. It has powers to regulate private institutions as well as provide incentives for colleges and universities that are performing well, while ensuring that academic freedom is protected.

For instance, Ched is supposed to identify and support potential centers of excellence (COEs) in fields needed for national development. These include information technology, agriculture, and teacher education. The commission offered incentives for schools to improve themselves, including grants from the Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF).

Ched is also empowered to set standards and evaluate the performance of educational institutions, and may impose sanctions on non-performing schools, or even recommend their closure.

Academic Freedom

Some private school administrators complain that Ched’s way of ensuring quality is preventing creativity and innovation in the education sector.

“They [Ched officials] think within a box,” says Patrick Azanza, AMA’s vice president for academic affairs. The Ched, he says, is imposing unrealistic requirements on nursing schools. He also accuses some Ched officials of favoring older nursing schools that are threatened by new schools. It does not help, he adds, that some commission officials were once connected to schools offering nursing programs.

The tiff over the nursing schools is not the first time Ched came into conflict with AMA. Ester Garcia, a former Ched chairperson, recalls that Ched had previously investigated AMA for offering courses without permits from Ched.

The commission is “too rigid,” says Chito Salazar, president of Araullo University in Cabanatuan City. Its requirements, he says, leave little room for innovative approaches to learning: “Ched has traditionally been focused on input evaluation rather than output.” The commission’s definition of quality goes to the extent of measuring the numbers and size of classrooms and libraries down to the square foot. In many instances, Salazar says, Ched rules violate academic freedom.

Businessmen who want to open schools take issue with the Ched requirement that they apply a year in advance and that facilities must be in place upon application. “I therefore have facilities, faculty, and space for a whole year doing nothing because I have to apply a year in advance. What happens if they don’t grant me a permit?” Salazar asks.

In the case of nursing, Ched requires a school to set up a skills lab upon application even though students will need the lab only when they enter their third year, says Resty Bundoc, head of the public affairs group of STI, another school. The lab should be required only on the second year, he says, because new schools are required to reapply for permits before their third year, anyway.

Gatekeeper

Perhaps the most controversial action taken by Ched lately is its decision to stop issuing permits for new schools. “That is a business decision. If I lose money because I opened a lechong manok shop even though I know that there are so many shops, that is my problem,” Salazar says.

Rather than act as gatekeeper, Salazar says, Ched should just provide the public with adequate information to enable them to choose the right schools. “The market knows,” he says. Nowadays, he adds, students shop for schools and, before enrolling, they check a school’s facilities, faculty, and credentials, and compare the tuition with that of other schools.

Leaving the market to weed out non-performing schools is not a good idea, some educators maintain. They say there is still a need to regulate the creation of new degree-granting institutions because abuses persist.

To some extent, school preferences are influenced not by the schools’ actual quality of instruction but by the advertisements they put out. Thus, despite repeated publication of names of schools that have been performing poorly in the board examinations, these schools still manage to get students.

Indeed, there is much room for improvement in Ched, acting chair Carlito Puno admits. The commission retained much of the original structure and personnel of the old Bureau of Higher Education when it was still under the Department of Education, Puno explains.

This was not intended by proponents of the law creating the commission, Puno says.

Ched was supposed to start on a clean slate so that it could be a more dynamic force in higher education. Somewhere along the way, a provision allowing the old bureau staff to move into Ched was inserted in the measure, thus, the agency’s current predicament.

“They are not really equipped to look at the quality level,” says Paulino Tan, president of the Asia Pacific College. Thus, Ched officials tend to focus a lot on counting school facilities and equipment. Tan says, however, that the commission makes up for this lack of expertise by inviting industry experts to help them evaluate schools applying for permits.

Up to March of this year, Tan was chair of the Ched’s technical panel for information technology education. Technical panels are created by the commission to set guidelines and policies for particular disciplines.

Puno says that industry practitioners now compose around 40 percent of technical panel members.

The commission is weighed down by other factors, like numerous laws regulating the practice of professions. “Sometimes they even specify curricular requirements,” Garcia says.

Incentives are hard to come by. Since Ched was established, government financing institutions expected to contribute to the HEDF have been unable to comply with their obligations. The HEDF is supposed to get 40 percent of the total travel tax collections, 30 percent of professional regulations fees, and 1 percent of the lotto sales. This year, the commission’s total budget is P206,514,000.

Overcrowded Sector

From time to time, alarms have been raised over the proliferation of schools whose students fail the board examinations. Data from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) show that most nursing schools could not get half of their graduates to pass the nursing board.

This situation is not limited to the nursing schools. Passing rates are alarmingly low for such popular courses as teacher education and accountancy. The PRC data do not even show the complete picture. Many schools do not let all their graduates take the board examinations for fear of lowering their passing averages.

“If you open a school and you cannot get your students to pass the board—and all they are asking is 10 percent passing (30 percent for nursing)—you should close down the school,” Tan points out. Unfortunately, he says, whenever Ched tries to close down the schools, politicians step into the picture.

Many private school administrators also take issue with Ched’s requirement that teachers and deans should have postgraduate degrees, and that students should have a requisite number of general education units aside from the discipline’s specific courses. Ched officials maintain, however, that these are necessary to ensure quality.

Skills currently required in the practice of professions may no longer be the same in the next five years, Garcia explains, but the critical thinking and analytical skills that can be learned in the general education courses are constants that will help a professional adapt with the changing times.

Schools are having a hard time coping with the commission’s requirements, Ched officials say, not because they are too stringent but because the country’s higher educational system in general is overcrowded. There are around 1,400 public and private colleges and universities in the Philippines at the moment.

Of this number, Garcia says, only the top 20 percent can compare favorably with schools abroad.

Political Interference

The tendency of schools to flock to popular courses does not help foster expertise. The nursing bandwagon is not an isolated case. During Garcia’s time, the commission was forced to close down substandard maritime schools following threats from the International Maritime Organization that it would stop getting seamen from the Philippines if it did not crack down on substandard schools. In the process, the commission locked horns with legislators who owned maritime schools.

Garcia survived the ordeal and managed to finish her term. She eventually learned to deal with Congress. She says: “You just have to tell it to them straight. The country’s interest is already at stake here.”

Safeguards have to be instituted, Tan says, because one invests not just money but time in education. “Can you imagine a student going through four years of college and finding out that he did not learn anything? It’s too late to do anything about it. You can close down the school, but people have suffered.”

Educational institutions, like banks, involve public interest, Tan says. “If you invest your own money in a manufacturing plant and lose your money, only you suffer for it. But if you put up an educational plan or a school and its quality is bad, people lose their money and their time.”

Ched critics may have a point. “They have been doing this for so long and it is not working,” Salazar says. It might be time for the commission to come up with a different approach. Instead of focusing on its gatekeeper functions, it should provide the public with more information that would guide them in choosing schools.

For instance, apart from board passing rates, the school facilities and faculty qualification should be made public. Industry associations, Salazar says, could contribute by publishing the names of schools from where they hire new recruits.

With such efforts, it is hoped that Ched eventually will achieve the delicate balance between quality and quantity.

Send us your feedback: letters@newsbreak.com.ph

Political Connections
By Aries Rufo, Abby Asistio
Newsbreak Senior Writer



AMA and STI have clashed with the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) over the move to offer nursing courses in some of their branches.

This was believed to have caused the resignation of former Ched chair Fr. Rolando de la Rosa. As pieced together by NEWSBREAK, the conflict began in 2003 when AMA and STI applied to operate a BS nursing course. On top of STI’s 14 nursing schools, it applied for five more, and AMA, one more.

In June 2004, Ched granted provisional permits for AMA and STI to accept nursing students, subject to compliance with certain requirements. Ched eventually revoked the provisional permits because AMA and STI failed to secure a tertiary base hospital, a primary requirement for schools that offer nursing.

Refusing to accept the decision, AMA and STI sought Malacañang’s intervention, although STI later withdrew its appeal. The Palace issued a stay order, allowing AMA to continue offering the nursing course.

Sources in Ched tell NEWSBREAK that Malacañang’s decision was not surprising since AMA has clout in the Palace. A high-ranking Ched official says that the Aguiluzes have always managed to be in the good graces of whoever sits in Malacañang. During President Joseph Estrada’s time, the official says, AMA Computer College in Quezon City attained its university status shortly after Estrada was given an honorary doctorate from the American League of Colleges and University. It was generally believed that Amable Aguiluz V was the one who worked for the honorary doctorate for Estrada.

Under Arroyo, political connections were not a problem since Aguiluz’s father and namesake was auditor general and national treasurer during President Diosdado Macapagal’s term.

Patrick Azanza, AMA senior vice president for academic affairs, says there was nothing anomalous in seeking Malacañang’s intervention since it is the proper forum for making the appeal. Ched, he argued, is under the Office of the President, and technically, its decision can be appealed there. Azanza says the Palace may have found merit in AMA’s case as there were 22 other nursing schools that were protesting Ched’s policy.

Lito Vitriolo, Ched deputy executive director, says it is understandable if AMA exercised its influence to protect its investment. “In a business enterprise that involves huge investment, it’s hard to exist without connections.”

Send us your feedback: letters@newsbreak.com.ph
wow connections

Taken from manilabulletin
DepEd addresses problem on teacher’s backlog
By JOANN S. VILLANUEVA

MANILA (PNA) – Backlog of teachers has been one of the perennial problems the Department of Education (DepEd) is grappling every opening of school year.

Other burdens are lack of textbooks, desks, arm chairs and school buildings.

The government has continued to address these problems to no avail since student population has been steadily surging annually.

In public schools, the ratio is a staggering 60 to 100 students per one teacher. This is a far cry from the ideal number of one is to 45-50 set by DepEd.

Teachers handling classes with more than 60 students are having a hard time providing the students their lessons due to several factors like small and ill-ventilated classrooms, and the incapacity for all the students to hear much less understand what the teachers is saying.

Education Secretary Florencio Abad pointed to the uneven distribution of teachers as the reason by the backlog.

Thus, under the new set-up the new teachers would be distributed in areas where there is a great need for teachers.

TEACHER DEPLOYMENT

The DepEd chief said they are asking Congress to allow the appointment of teachers to divisions outside their present posts since under current law this is now allowed.

"But this (deployment) would be done after we have determined which divisions really need the augmentation of teachers. What we are doing right now is making sure that teachers would be distributed according to the needs," he said.

DepEd has mapped out divisions where there are acute teachers’ backlog and these are coded as "red" areas.

In school year 2004-06, based on a one is to 50 teacher-to-student ratio, Region IV-A or the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) topped the "red" areas with 2,984 elementary and secondary teacher requirements, while Region I or the Ilocos Region came last with 160 teacher requirements.

For the second to sixth position, the "red" areas were Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), 2,135; National Capital Region (NCR), 2,055; Central Visayas (Region VII), 1,995; Central Luzon (Region III), 1,558; and Central Mindanao (Region XII), 1,440.

For the seventh to 11th position, these were Eastern Visayas (Region VIII), 865; CARAGA, 724; Cagayan Valley (Region II), 712; Western Mindanao (Region IX), 676; and Bicol Region (Region V), 645.

And the rest were Northern Mindanao (Region X), 588; MIMAROPA (Mindanao, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan or the Region IV-B), 574; Southern Mindanao (Region XI), 558; Western Visayas (Region VI), 425; and CAR (Cordillera Autonomous Region), 168.

Education Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz said last year’s figures on teachers’ backlog have been reduced due to the re-assessment on the distribution of teachers.

"And definitely, we would base the deployment of the new teachers according to the extreme needs (for more teachers) nationwide," he said.

The DepEd official said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has readied the R1 billion that DepEd requested as salary of the new teachers, who would be hired starting June 1.

"But the salaries would not be sent to the DepEd Central Office but the regional offices," citing the department’s program regarding the decentralization of the salaries of teachers and other personnel to the provinces.

Mabuti sana to, wag lang ghost teachers!

OO nga, dapat lgu's nalang magpasweldo sa kanila eh...

i disagree on the 'no collection' policy of Deped, i mean public education is meant for the poor but reality tells u, the school badly needs money, kung aasa lang sa govt, the same scenario is bound to repeat over & over. even 200pesos for each stude for the whole year will make a difference, (say 200x20Mil students) gaano lang naman yon? if these parents have the common sense & dignity to let their kids finish their school dba?

:)

Japan grants Y445M worth of scholarships

First posted 06:41pm (Mla time) July 09, 2005
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net



Get INQ7 breaking news on your Smart mobile phone in the Philippines. Send INQ7 BREAKING to 386.


JAPAN makes available to Filipinos 445 million yen (890 million pesos) worth of scholarships for graduate studies in the fields of public administration, economics, business administration, public health, and information technology.

This after Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and Japanese Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamazaki on Friday evening signed and exchanged notes on two grant-assistance projects that are part of the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) project administered by the National Economic Development Authority under the auspices of the Japanese Government’s Grant-Aid Program.

The signing and exchanging of notes officially marked the appropriation of additional 445 million yen for the fourth batch of Filipino scholars for academic years 2006-2007 as well as the first and second batches of the JDS project. This brings to 1.335 billion yen (2.67 billion pesos) Japan's total assistance to the Philippines for this project alone, according
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to the Japanese embassy in Manila.

It said the project is geared to enhance the scholars' expertise and help build a pool of future Filipino leaders who will contribute to the overall economic development of the country.

The DFA, on the other hand, said the first grant of 101 million yen will cover the first and second batches of the JDS project for the period of April 1 this year to March 31 next year, while the second grant of 344 million yen will cover the fourth batch of the JDS project for the fourth year of implementation which covers Term I (period between the date of effectivity of the present agreement and March 31, 2006); Term II (April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007); Term III (April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008); and Term IV (April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009).

Romulo thanked the Japanese government for its support for the Philippines’ development strategies, and that the grant “has proven once again that Japan is a true friend of the Philippines in all aspects of the relations between our two countries."

For his part, Yamazaki stated that in meetings with previous JDS scholars, he was “greatly impressed” with their intelligence, and was confident that the continuing JDS program will be a “bridge” for a further strengthening of ties between Japan and the Philippines.

Taken from manilabulletin
Prov’l high schools grab all top 10 slots in DepEd examination
By TONY PE. RIMANDO

For the first time in the history of the Department of Education (DepEd), provincial high schools, led by a Mindanao secondary school, grabbed all top 10 highest slots in the 2005 national achievement test (NAT) administered by the agency’s National Educational Testing and Research Center (NETRC) late in school year 2004-2005 leaving no place for big city schools in the top group.


The NAT, which sought to determine the academic performance of fourth year students in all 5,000 public high schools nationwide, covered the major subject areas of Mathematics, English, Filipino, Science, and Social Studies (Araling Panlipunan).

A statistical report released recently by DepEd to all its regional offices showed that Surigao City-based Caraga Regional Science High School (HS) emerged the overall topnotcher in the NAT garnering the highest general mean percentage score (MPS) of 83.08 in the five subject areas.

The DepEd reported that Caraga Regional Science HS specifically achieved an MPS of 97.04 in Mathematics, 84.8 in English, 86.44 in Science, 64.89 in Filipino, and 82.85 in Araling Panlipunan.

Two other Mindanao secondary schools also barged into the NAT top 10, the DepEd report said. They are Surigao del Norte’s Claver (Taganito) National HS which received a general MPS of 75.91 and Surigao City’s Nonoc National HS (Annex) which snatched a general MPS of 74.08 to place overall fourth and 10th respectively in the NAT.

Ranked overall second in NAT, the DepEd said, is Ilocos Regional Science HS based in San Fernando City, La Union which collected a general MPS of 82.05 in the five subject areas.

The DepEd revealed that Tagbilaran City Science HS ranked overall third after accumulating a general MPS of 76.36 even as Alalum National HS of Batangas garnered a general MPS of 75.90 to place overall fifth.

Significantly, four of the top 10 slots in the NAT were occupied by secondary schools in the economically depressed Eastern Visayas, the DepEd added.

These institutions are: Ormoc City’s Rustico Capahi Sr. Memorial National HS which got a general MPS of 74.77; Northern Samar’s Lope de Vega National HS, 74.66; Eastern Samar’s Hilabaan National HS, 74.44; and Western Samar’s Almagro National HS, 74.13, to come out sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth placers, respectively.

The inclusion of four Eastern Visayas high schools in the 2005 NAT highest 10 slots enabled it to be chosen by DepEd as the best academically performing region in the country with Caraga and Ilocos being ranked first and second runner-ups, respectively.

Do any of you guys here in the Philippines watch channel 8, that government Bayan something channel. It has a very good program today featuring the United States offering hundreds of Filipinos scholarships to go to the US and get a Master's in Nursing. The good part is that these Filipino scholars are required to come back to the Philippines and teach in Filipino Nursing Schools. After their service they can either continue teaching or LEAVE THE COUNTRY (of course they'll leave the country). Nevertheless, I think this is a good program in order to turn around the declining competency of newer Filipino Nurses.

Taken from manilabulletin
Prov’l high schools grab all top 10 slots in DepEd examination
By TONY PE. RIMANDO

For the first time in the history of the Department of Education (DepEd), provincial high schools, led by a Mindanao secondary school, grabbed all top 10 highest slots in the 2005 national achievement test (NAT) administered by the agency’s National Educational Testing and Research Center (NETRC) late in school year 2004-2005 leaving no place for big city schools in the top group.


The NAT, which sought to determine the academic performance of fourth year students in all 5,000 public high schools nationwide, covered the major subject areas of Mathematics, English, Filipino, Science, and Social Studies (Araling Panlipunan).

A statistical report released recently by DepEd to all its regional offices showed that Surigao City-based Caraga Regional Science High School (HS) emerged the overall topnotcher in the NAT garnering the highest general mean percentage score (MPS) of 83.08 in the five subject areas.

The DepEd reported that Caraga Regional Science HS specifically achieved an MPS of 97.04 in Mathematics, 84.8 in English, 86.44 in Science, 64.89 in Filipino, and 82.85 in Araling Panlipunan.

Two other Mindanao secondary schools also barged into the NAT top 10, the DepEd report said. They are Surigao del Norte’s Claver (Taganito) National HS which received a general MPS of 75.91 and Surigao City’s Nonoc National HS (Annex) which snatched a general MPS of 74.08 to place overall fourth and 10th respectively in the NAT.

Ranked overall second in NAT, the DepEd said, is Ilocos Regional Science HS based in San Fernando City, La Union which collected a general MPS of 82.05 in the five subject areas.

The DepEd revealed that Tagbilaran City Science HS ranked overall third after accumulating a general MPS of 76.36 even as Alalum National HS of Batangas garnered a general MPS of 75.90 to place overall fifth.

Significantly, four of the top 10 slots in the NAT were occupied by secondary schools in the economically depressed Eastern Visayas, the DepEd added.

These institutions are: Ormoc City’s Rustico Capahi Sr. Memorial National HS which got a general MPS of 74.77; Northern Samar’s Lope de Vega National HS, 74.66; Eastern Samar’s Hilabaan National HS, 74.44; and Western Samar’s Almagro National HS, 74.13, to come out sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth placers, respectively.

The inclusion of four Eastern Visayas high schools in the 2005 NAT highest 10 slots enabled it to be chosen by DepEd as the best academically performing region in the country with Caraga and Ilocos being ranked first and second runner-ups, respectively.


Ask yourself how this is possible, quite interesting.

Ask yourself how this is possible, quite interesting.

In fairness to Caraga science high school, only 49 students graduate from there every year. they only admit 90 freshmen every year...then, they kick out those students who have at least one grade below 85% every year. that's how tough it is. some of the graduates from that school are among the Oblation Scholars of the University of Philippines at Diliman a.k.a. Top 50 of UPCAT. For those who can afford it opted to study in Ateneo and La Salle in college. i've been there many times to evaluate the school from time to time and though the facilities of that school are substandard, i must say that the students are really exceptional.

You know why they got so high scores in Math? Simply because 3rd year and 4th year students study Advanced Calculus and they use the same textbook used in UP Diliman for courses like Math 53, 54 and 55. Freshmen also use the same Algebra and Trigonometry textbook used in UP for Math 17. That's how advanced they are and only those who are really brilliant can graduate.

Now, ask yourself, how's that impossible???

Do any of you guys here in the Philippines watch channel 8, that government Bayan something channel. It has a very good program today featuring the United States offering hundreds of Filipinos scholarships to go to the US and get a Master's in Nursing. The good part is that these Filipino scholars are required to come back to the Philippines and teach in Filipino Nursing Schools. After their service they can either continue teaching or LEAVE THE COUNTRY (of course they'll leave the country). Nevertheless, I think this is a good program in order to turn around the declining competency of newer Filipino Nurses.



I've watch channel 4's program this morning and they were talking about the scholarships they're offering to filipino nurses. Two students were also interviewed. Sana maraming pumasa para maraming matutulungan. Nasa Ortigas center ata ang office nila.

Off topic pero about education din naman.

Link here (http://www.medical-industry-news.com/20050610/global_scholarship_alliance_nurse_scholars_accepted_into_nursing_honor_bag.jspx)


Global Scholarship Alliance Nurse-Scholars Accepted into Nursing Honor Society
10 June 2005

Global Scholarship Alliance (GSA) announced today that eight GSA nurse-scholars participating in its cultural exchange program through the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, Texas have been accepted into the prestigious nursing honor society, Sigma Theta Tau International.

The Filipino nurse-scholars, who are working towards a Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree at UIW, are also gaining first-world clinical experience through Methodist Hospital. Sigma Theta Tau International is the second largest nursing organization in the world with more than 125,000 active members.

GSA’s program is designed to help alleviate the global nursing shortage by providing graduate education and academic training to qualified international nurses through American universities and hospitals. Following the four year and a half year program, the nurse-scholars at UIW will be required to return to the Philippines to help lead and train the next generation of nurses. GSA also offers scholarships to nurses in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and India.

“We are very proud of the eight nurse-scholars at UIW and their commitment to their craft,” said J. William DeVille, chief executive officer at Global Scholarship Alliance. “We take pride in delivering quality, talented nurse-scholars to our partner universities and hospitals, and the fact that these individuals were accepted into the nursing honor society is a positive reflection on them, the education and training they are receiving and on our program. With this recognition by the honor society, these nurse-scholars will be even more qualified to help lead and develop the nursing program and healthcare system in their home country when they return.”

As noted on Sigma Theta Tau’s Web site, NursingSociety.org, “membership [into the nursing honor society is by invitation to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students, who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, and to nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing.” The GSA selection process also reflects this commitment to excellence by carefully evaluating educational transcripts, licensing board scores, work histories and clinical experiences, references, and background checks to ensure that only first-rate nurses are accepted into the program.

Prospective nurse-scholars are required to possess a baccalaureate degree in nursing (BSN or an equivalent degree), a registered nursing license in their home country, and two or more years of hospital experience. They also must pass the U.S. nursing exam and a language proficiency exam. The nurse-scholars are then hand-picked by representatives from U.S. universities and hospitals through face-to-face interviews in the nurses’ home countries. Those selected must also meet U.S. licensing and immigration requirements before arriving in America.

“As evidenced by their induction into Sigma Theta Tau International, these eight nurse scholars have demonstrated that they are committed to the highest standards of scholarship, leadership, and clinical excellence,” said Dr. Kathi Light, Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions at UIW. “Our university is committed to working with a diverse student body in exploring strategies for reducing health disparities in a global society. The GSA nurse-scholars bring an international perspective that has been a positive influence in our MSN program. We all benefit from their presence at our university and in our partner hospital. The GSA scholarship program is an exciting and ethical way to address the global nursing shortage.”

Participants in GSA’s program receive full MSN scholarships to an American university and are eligible to work part-time at university-affiliated hospitals during the period of study, full-time while on school holidays, vacations and breaks, and for 18 months after completing their degree. Upon completion of the program, the nurse-scholars must return to their home countries for at least two years to work as clinical instructors, nurse leaders or hospital administrators. Including the nurse-scholars at UIW, GSA has 55 current nurse-scholars in eight cities across the United States.

About Global Scholarship Alliance:
Global Scholarship Alliance partners with leading U.S. universities and healthcare organizations in an effort to enrich nursing globally by providing scholarships and professional development for future nurse leaders and educators, building alliances between leading U.S. universities and hospitals, and fostering the equitable distribution of nurses throughout the world. The company facilitates cultural exchange programs and provides scholarships to foreign nurses who seek professional development through the combination of a U.S. Masters of Science in Nursing degree and academic training in a U.S. hospital.

U.S. universities and hospitals benefit from a long-term solution to declining enrollment and the global nursing shortage; and through the requirements of the program, educated and U.S. hospital trained nurse-scholars return to contribute to the education and training of future nurses in their home countries. The company currently provides scholarships to nurses from a variety of countries including the Philippines, India, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Global Scholarship Alliance has alliance partnerships in Kansas, Ohio, New York, Minnesota, and Texas. More information is available at www.GlobalScholarship.net or by contacting Steve Albert at 513-665-4544.

In fairness to Caraga science high school, only 49 students graduate from there every year. they only admit 90 freshmen every year...then, they kick out those students who have at least one grade below 85% every year. that's how tough it is. some of the graduates from that school are among the Oblation Scholars of the University of Philippines at Diliman a.k.a. Top 50 of UPCAT. For those who can afford it opted to study in Ateneo and La Salle in college. i've been there many times to evaluate the school from time to time and though the facilities of that school are substandard, i must say that the students are really exceptional.

You know why they got so high scores in Math? Simply because 3rd year and 4th year students study Advanced Calculus and they use the same textbook used in UP Diliman for courses like Math 53, 54 and 55. Freshmen also use the same Algebra and Trigonometry textbook used in UP for Math 17. That's how advanced they are and only those who are really brilliant can graduate.

Now, ask yourself, how's that impossible???

Thanks for this supplemental information.
Wow, I tend to believe that provincial HS are using a more effective curriculum, that is, focusing on the basics (esp. Math, Science, English).
Another factor might be the distractions of computer games and other forms of entertainment to the students in the big cities.

Actually Mango, my Dad is thinking of moving us to the province once my two younger brothers come here to the Philippines to study for two years. My Dad believes wholeheartedly that children raised and educated in the provinces are better educated and disciplined. I guess i would have to agree, i mean look at how i turned out being raised in the big city and all. :)

I must agree with your Dad. I myself was raised and educated in the province until HS. From my own experience, teachers in the province are more disciplinarian simply because there is still the traditional thinking that teachers are your second parents.
(Perhaps we have also this in Big cities but more prevalent in provinces since people usually know each other). They can reprimand or even punish a student when necessary. But nowadays, "no-touch, don't reprimand" policy seems to be the norm esp. in expensive schools.

I know of many Filipino parents who are doing the same as your Dad.
They want to expose their children on the essence of simple living, even for just a short period of time.
Away from remote controls and fast foods. (although they are sprouting everywhere nowadays).To be able to live on the bare essentials.
That there is life other than keyboards and remotes :D

^^ i agree too, quality of educ in MM in general is well, crap compared to those in the provinces, escuela-bahay lang eh :) and teachers in the provinces are so used to pamper or spoonfeed their students, unlike in big cities na kanya-kanya kayo :)

In fairness to Caraga science high school, only 49 students graduate from there every year. they only admit 90 freshmen every year...then, they kick out those students who have at least one grade below 85% every year. that's how tough it is. some of the graduates from that school are among the Oblation Scholars of the University of Philippines at Diliman a.k.a. Top 50 of UPCAT. For those who can afford it opted to study in Ateneo and La Salle in college. i've been there many times to evaluate the school from time to time and though the facilities of that school are substandard, i must say that the students are really exceptional.

You know why they got so high scores in Math? Simply because 3rd year and 4th year students study Advanced Calculus and they use the same textbook used in UP Diliman for courses like Math 53, 54 and 55. Freshmen also use the same Algebra and Trigonometry textbook used in UP for Math 17. That's how advanced they are and only those who are really brilliant can graduate.

Now, ask yourself, how's that impossible???


This is exactly my point. IN all of the schools mentioned above these are not magnet schools similar is size and scope such Bronx Science, Stuyvesant or even PHilippine Science. These are very much more like specialized classes and in many cases quite simlar to the honors section of the big regional or city high schools but they've been turned into schools. A good case in point is the honors section of Davao City High which if taken as a school by itself is probably similar in achievement and raw mat (students). While I do not wish to detract from the fact that these kids are doing well on these tests, I'm just pointing out that there is a story behind the numbers as well. I"m sure most of these provinces want to have exemplary schools, but I'm wary when it seems that so many schools all over the country are now sprouting out doing so much better than even the original magnet school PiSay. Reminds me of the efforts of schools like Fatima Medical School which consistently topped MD test with the PRA over UP-PGH by grooming their best, but of course which doctor would you go too.

I think there are good schools in the city just as there are bad schools in the province. If you are comparing public schools this is still very much an issue of which particular school it is. In general schools in the city will have better options on a whole range of school and extracurricular activities. You probably have kids with better discipline and stronger values , i.e. your environment is more wholesome. This is not a Philippine thing though this is a worldwide thing. In the end as a parent you have to make a determination as to which set of skills and values you think will best prepare your chiled for the his/her life in the future.

New studies push CHED to strengthen science teacher training

First posted 11:56pm (Mla time) July 28, 2005
By Alexander Villafania
INQ7.net

THE COMMISSION on Higher Education (CHED) is renewing its focus on improving the quality of teacher training in the field of Science and Math and curbing the emigration of the country’s most skilled educators, especially to the US.
CHED’s reaction followed several new studies showing that mass departures of S &T and Math teachers to the US was due to several factors -- lack of continuing education from government, the political environment, and most especially the discouraging perception about the teaching profession in the country.

One of the CHED studies showed that the number of teachers moving abroad annually had steadily grown from 241 in 2000 to 517 in 2004; the US accounts for 49.6 percent of all foreign-based teachers.

Some of these teachers are not practicing their professions abroad, however, and are instead employed as domestic helpers or caregivers.

Another study showed that a large number of educators in the Philippines are not teaching subjects that are within their specific skill sets.

CHED Commissioner Maria Cristina Padolina said CHED has started talking to several education-promotions institutions to implement five-year roadmaps that will highlight improving the quality of teacher education and incentive programs to encourage teachers to stay in the country.

In addition, there will be plans to convince Filipino teachers abroad to come back to the Philippines permanently or temporarily as part of a technology transfer scheme.

Padolina said they’re focusing more on Science and Math teachers because these skills are most in demand in Philippine primary and secondary schools. These educators’ specific skills also make them prime employment targets by foreign schools.

CHED recently conducted its first forum for teacher quality improvement and monitoring – roundtable talks with the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Education to come up with policies specific to improving Science and Math teaching.

Among the objectives of the forum are pre-service and in-service training for incoming and current educators, as well as personal professional development.

Taken from manilabulletin 2005 Aug 7
Poor teacher training blamed for declining S&T education

By melvin G. calimag

A host of factors, chief among them the poor training that science and math teachers receive before and during employment, is responsible for the country’s deteriorating science and math education.


This assessment was made by government officials from the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Science and Technology, and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) during a recent forum on science and math education.

In a presentation, DepEd Undersecre-tary Fe Hidalgo validated what has been suspected all along: most science and math teachers are ill equipped to teach the subjects. Most of them, in fact, are not science and math majors at all.

Citing a report presented by former DepEd Sec. Florencio Abad to Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and members of the Cabinet shortly before his resignation, Hidalgo said the country’s poor achievement in science and math tests can be partly traced to inadequate teacher preparation.

"(Filipino) teachers do little supervised student teaching or practicum in pre-service education prior to licensing, or a probationary teaching period," Hidalgo said, quoting Abad’s report, which cited the 2003 results of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS).

To prove that teacher training is indeed a crucial element for effective learning, the education official noted that even if the Philippines has the highest amount of instruction time devoted to math in the world (193 hours per year versus 107 to 145 hours in best-performing countries), the country still placed at the bottom of the standings in the TIMMS survey.

This can be attributed, she said, to the fact the Philippines spends too much time on other student activities not related to actual teaching-learning activities in the subject areas, which is usually a reflection of teacher competence.

"[We] spend more time on test and quizzes but not enough time on problem solving and interactive learning," Hidalgo said, again citing the findings of the TIMMS study.

She said there are two contributors to the poor quality of science and math education that are cost-related: under-investment in public high schools and overcrowded classrooms.

Because of budgetary constraints, the education department is prevented from acquiring needed equipment to facilitate science and math learning.

As for overcrowded classrooms, the TIMMS survey showed that the average second year high school class size is composed of 54 students, way above the international average of 30 students.

Another factor that could also explain the country’s declining science and math competency is the lack of support items in Filipino homes, Hidalgo said. These tools, which can greatly help in uplifting science and math proficiency, include computers, books, and study desks.

To keep the country from sliding further to mediocrity in the scientific field, the education department has proposed to adopt strategies that would focus on teacher training and asking the help of Congress to increase the budget for education.

One of these proposals involves changes in the hiring and appointment of new teachers. This strategy calls for requirements in English proficiency in licensure exams and computer literacy in teacher hiring.

Also, in-service training for non-majors teaching English, science, and math in high school will be intensified. This means that in order for them to continue teaching the subjects, they will have to take the required units during summers.

Another component of the strategy is modifying the curriculum of teacher education institutions. As a start, the DepEd is collaborating with CHED so that all colleges and universities who are offering bachelors degree in education to have double-degree programs for science and math.

According to the CHED Commissioner Ma. Cristina Padolina, a pilot program has proven to be effective as this has produced satisfactory results in tests conducted among its first batch of graduates.

The agency has thus decided to expand the number of higher education institutes offering double-degree programs in science and math for this current school year.

2 RP students take third place in Taiwan math tilt

By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter

Two Filipino high-school students trained by the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild-Philippines won bronze medals in the Kaohsiung Invitational World Youth Mathematics Intercity Competition in Taiwan Friday.

Emmanuel Plan of the Ate*neo de Manila University High School and Mark Benedict Tan of Xavier School emerged as the top Filipino finishers in the contest, which drew 136 contestants from 14 countries and territories.

Besides the Philippines, other countries and territories which participated in the contest were Canada, Singapore, South Africa, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Thailand, Kaohsiung, Taipei, North Taiwan, South Taiwan and Fuzhou in China.

The Philippine delegation was headed by Dr. Simon Chua, MTG president. The guild, an organization of math teachers, trained the high-school students weeks before the competition.

Chua said the MTG is now in its tenth year of training Filipino students to compete in local and international math competitions.

The new awards are the latest achievement for Filipino students in world competitions. In July seven elementary pupils won a silver and six bronze medals in the Po Leung Kuk Ninth Primary Mathematics World Contest, held in Hong Kong.

The Filipino team leaders and deputy team leaders who accompanied the students in the Taiwan competition were Dr. Eduardo de la Cruz Jr., dean of the Institute of Education and Normal of Arellano University; Roberto Degolacion, MTG office director; Eugenia Guerra, MTG secretary; Isidro Aguilar, education supervisor of Taguig and Pateros; Virginia Penafuerte, Las Piñas division superintendent; and Jose Manresa Español and Ciedelle Purificacion Yuhico, teachers of the Philippine Science High School.

Besides Tan and Plan, other students who participated in the Kaohsiung contest were Alvin Belleza of Ateneo de Manila University High School, Chiara Rosario Lanuza of the Philippine Science High School, Washington Co of Oro Grace Christian School, Emerson Escolar of Grace Christian High School, Christopher Bhojwani of Grace Christian High School, Kyna Elyse Cheu of Sacred Heart School-Jesuit, Francesca Choi of Chiang Kai-shek College, Melissa Dy of Chiang Kai-shek College, Jeffrey Go of Xavier School, Arnold Lindros Lau of Xavier School, Calvin Bernard Lim of St. Stephen’s High School, Luke Wicent Sy of Hope Christian High School, Daniel Andrew Tan of Grace Christian High School and Raymond Tan of the Jubilee Christian Academy.

Education and the pursuit of money

My August 9th column titled Exodus and Patriotism about how Filipinos view the goals of education vis- a-vis its effect on the exodus of Filipino professionals drew a long discussion thread in my weblog. Some people believe that education is about economics. It is an investment and, therefore, the rate of return should be, at the very least, commensurate with the amount of investment. In short, if, after college, the graduate is unable to land a good-paying job, then, the goal of his education is not met. As an investment, his education failed. This point of view is not unique to the Philippines. On the other hand, there are those who believe that education is a matter of survival in a highly competitive work market. Not necessarily to strike gold but simply to remain competitive. All that led to the question of what the real goal of education is and should be, and whether the perspective that education is simply a means to assure economic viability is unique to the Filipino experience.

In June last year, England’s Prince Charles delivered a rather high-handed speech criticizing the British education system. I don’t normally pay attention to royalties’ prepared speeches but this one struck an oft-forgotten aspect of education. He questioned the manner that the government appeared to “justify education on utilitarian grounds alone.” Here is the exact quote:

“Schools and universities must, as politicians like to remind us, ‘deliver’ the ‘skilled workforce’ the UK needs if it is to remain competitive in the ‘knowledge economy’. But, if we have reached the point where we justify education on utilitarian grounds alone, then we might as well give up.” (from The Guardian Unlimited)

Sounds familiar? Sure, it does. The thrust of the Philippine educational system is not much different from such utilitarian goals.

A century ago, education was a privilege of the rich — something akin to high culture. Children of the rich were sent to universities and finishing schools not so much to learn any valuable skills to prepare them for the real world — to earn a living — but as a status symbol. In short, education was elitist.

With the introduction of the public education system and the ensuing democratization of education, the middle and lower classes gained access to colleges and universities. But this new generation of students had different needs and uses for their degrees and newly acquired knowledge — to earn a living to improve their economic and social status. Ergo, the shift from classical (some claim useless) education to more practical (money-making) courses. Classical courses like Fine Arts, Philosophy, Literature, Linguistics and the Humanities were slowly relegated to the background to give way to courses in engineering, applied sciences, business management and, later on, computer courses and information technology. We have been programmed to believe that the goal of education is to achieve the equivalent of “The American Dream”. It is a means not only to earn a living but to make enough money to climb up the socio-economic ladder.

No doubt that education needs to be relevant and stay relevant according to the changing times. Educational institutions are, after all, business entities. They will push forward courses that are more “saleable”. In the same manner that students will not take up courses which they see no practical use for. Still and all, I do see danger in totally doing away with classical education. I see them as refinements of humanity. Perhaps unnecessary in a utilitarian world but still desirable if we will only place more value in the person of the individual.

The changing thrusts in education toward utilitarianism is already being felt. Some refuse to see the signs; some are pathetically unaware of them. The dwindling interest of the young in books, reading and literature; the blurring lines between art and crass commercialism; the inability to read into the meaning of written words... even in something as fundamental as the inability to say something about oneself properly as when writing a letter of application or in composing a comprehensible curriculum vitae.

Although Prince Charles broached a significant question, the shortfall was in implying that classical and modern education are necessarily separate from one another. The solution is in their proper integration into every curriculum which is definitely a job that pertains to government — the creation of education policies that every educational institution will be obliged to follow.

Therefore, while the economic factor behind every Filipino’s dream to complete his education cannot be denied and should not be trivialized (we all need money to survive, after all), I disagree that the ability to make money, and lots of it, should be the be-all and end-all of education. Why? It is about values formation and the effect on our personal lifestyles. Personally, I find it demeaning and humiliating to be assessed by society based on my capacity to earn money. A person’s worth has to be more than that.

Perhaps, the ultimate question should be: Does an educational system that emphasizes its utilitarian values beyond all else the kind of educational system that will create a prosperous and content Filipino people?

In the 1994 Norman Jewison film Only You, the Italian character Giovanni (played by Joachim de Almeida) made an interesting statement to the American Kate Corvatch (played by Bonnie Hunt). He told her that you Americans live to work while we Italians work to live. Just recently, an interesting comparison was drawn by The New York Times columnist Paul Krugman between the United States and France, both “highly productive societies”, in his July 29th column. He wrote that France has a lower gross domestic product per person than the US because the workweek is shorter and the vacations longer, allowing the French more time with their families. Despite this, the productivity of France is not compromised. Why? Because French economic policies are “highly supportive of the family as an institution”.

Think about that.

11 Million Filipinos Illiterate
By Jonathan M. Hicap, Friday, September 09, 2005

ELEVEN million Filipinos are illiterate, the Departmentof Education officer in charge, Fe Hidalgo, said Thursday. Hidalgo said “literacy is vital to Filipinos’ competitiveness in the knowledge-based economy.”

She stressed the importance of literacy in the development of a nation at the National Literacy Conference organized by the Literacy Coordinating Council.

Explained Hidalgo, “Literacy is vital to our nation’s survival. In the context of the global economy and sustainable development, we must bear in mind that the future is entirely dependent on how well we prepare our young to meet the demands of a highly competitive global workplace.”

Based on the results of the Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey conducted in 2003, the literacy rate of the 57.6 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 years is 93.4 percent, a slight decline of 0.5 percent from the figures in 1994.

Hidalgo noted that despite the high literacy rate, functional literacy is at a low 84.1 percent.

According to the National Statistics Office, “functional literacy is a higher level of literacy which includes not only reading and writing skills but also numerical and comprehension skills.”

Functional literacy among the group is 84.1 percent, lower than the 83.8-percent result in 1994. Metro Manila posted the highest functional literacy rate of 94.6 percent, followed by Calabarzon, 90.4 percent, and Ilocos, 88.6 percent. The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao had the lowest functional literacy rate at 62.9 percent.

Based on the survey, females had a higher functional literacy rate at 86.3 percent compared with the males’ 81.9 percent.

With the 84.1-percent result, Hidalgo said, “This means that over 15 percent of our population does not have the literacy skills they need to communicate effectively, think critically and develop an appreciation of themselves, their society and the broader global community.” She added:

“That’s 11 million Filipinos who do not have the literacy skills required to enable them to provide worthwhile livelihood for themselves and their families now and in the future. They do not have the literacy skills to become truly productive,” she said.

The same survey also disclosed that 30.5 percent of children are out of school because they are forced to find employment and another 19.9 percent are out of school because of the high cost of education.”

Hidalgo said the Department of Education has implemented the Alternative Learning Systems and the Schools-First Initiative as intervention programs to address the problem.

Part of these programs include institutionalizing preschool education and making every child a reader by third grade and to increasing the number of textbooks and other instructional materials, she said.

Responding to the education needs of the growing hospitality industry

World tourism is predicted to grow to one billion international travelers by 2010, with 195 million in the burgeoning Asia Pacific Region. In 2005 alone, the World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that travel and tourism activities directly account for 74 million jobs and will generate US $1.7 trillion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) worldwide.

With this compelling fact, Asia will no doubt produce new challenges, as well as opportunities, and emerge as the global centre for excellence in the hospitality and tourism businesses. And with its impact on jobs and economy, the potential for the future is looking brighter.

In the Philippines, we are uniquely positioned to ride on these "Asian Waves" and play a leading role in the hospitality and tourism education in Asia. But in order to stay ahead in today’s fast-paced world, it is essential that professionals and organizations within the hospitality and tourism industry continuously strive to upgrade and improve skills and broaden knowledge. Is the Philippines up for the challenge?

Being a country where English is widely spoken and used as the official business language, a popular destination for the study of the English language, and at the same time a call center hot spot puts the Philippines at an advantage.

The country is also fortunate to have a dedicated national ministry fully committed to the promotion and development of the tourism industry. In fact, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano expressed that his foremost objective at the Department of Tourism is to reel in five million tourists by 2010, and complement the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s 10-point program where the industry can contribute to the fullest. "I’ll make sure to spread the benefits of travel and tourism to contribute substantially to the increase in livelihood to our people, foreign exchange earnings for our country, as well as enhance our image and international goodwill," Durano said in a recent interview with Prime Asia Magazine.

With Filipinos innate strong hospitality and natural warmth, this DOT undertaking is indeed full of promise. Its ideals become even stronger with more and more Filipinos being recognized for their global achievements in the industry.

President and CEO of Club Corporation of Asia (CCA) Philippines Corporation, Arthur Lopez, who was the first ever Filipino to have been appointed as hotel general manager for an international chain in Australia and New Zealand, positively shares, "Filipinos definitely have the opportunity and capability in leadership roles in the European dominated industry, not only in the Philippines but also overseas."

This interesting fact has also been established with the recent appointment of the first woman executive chef at the White House, Filipina-American Cristeta Comerford, who studied for a degree in Food Technology here in the Philippines.

The medium-term higher education development and investment plan of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) strongly supports these international achievements by continuing to provide and define the policy and programs that will enable the higher education sub-sector to fulfill its role in the development of the country’s human resource in the context of globalization and the emerging knowledge-based economy.

And as the hotel and hospitality industry moves from a skills-based to a knowledge-based industry, higher learning and leadership skills has become increasingly critical to opening career doors and helping managers to be fully attuned to the culture, service and competitive aspects of the sector. And with an increasing demand for graduates around the world, it provides a brighter outlook for hospitality management schools in the country, making it the perfect opportunity to learn from such a stimulating and globally significant field.

According to Mark Keith, managing director of the HVS Executive Search in Hong Kong, "Leadership qualities are formed through the furnace of adversity, competition, encouragement and character building experiences." He adds, "Self efficacy, the ability to be inspirational, to persuade and influence, resilience, staying power, and a readiness to see opportunity are some of the key ingredients of leadership."

With the kind of dynamic fervor signifying the need for well-trained, experienced managers and staff who have the appropriate skills and know-how to relate to cultural differences, this makes for a broad field of opportunities for graduates of top hospitality management and culinary arts programs. And this is the very reason that the soon-to-be-launched Enderun Colleges has been established.

Supported by strong industry links, its programs have been developed from relevant research and consultancy activities. The application and professionally oriented curriculum are geared towards preparing students for leadership roles, allowing a strong potential management or executive career in the hotel, culinary and tourism sectors to better respond to the education needs of the industry.

Enderun’s mission is to be recognized in providing high quality education, with a solid foundation for building a career in hospitality management, and emphasis on international internships – giving a distinct edge over other hospitality management courses. With the academic consulting support of the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland, it is parallel to prominent hospitality and tourism schools, providing the same quality of excellence in hospitality and culinary education in the Asia-Pacific.

(Enderun opens its doors for a Bachelor’s Degree in International Hospitality Management in June 2006 with scholarships being offered. Short courses on entrepreneurship and the culinary arts will likewise be introduced starting January 2006. It is located at 2/F Wynsum Corporate Plaza, 22 Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For more information, call tel. nos. 638-5555, 636-1613 or email admissions@enderun.com.ph. Visit its website at www.enderun.com.ph.)

Manila Bulletin (http://www.mb.com.ph/YNCP2005100646046.html)
American life: A Filipina teacher in Baltimore
By JOANNE PABLO PATRICIO

Aileen Mercado, one of the 57 Filipino teachers who are now in Baltimore, Maryland, was featured in the Baltimore Sun, the leading newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, last August 29, 2005.


She and the rest of the Filipino teachers were among the first batch who went to Baltimore under the teacher-exchange program.

The program aims to expose students to different cultures. The teachers on the other hand, are to learn different educational system of different countries. The contract is three years and they ought to come back to the Philippines to share what they have learned. Moreover, they have the privilege of getting their families to join them abroad.

The teacher-exchange program is done yearly in the different states in the US There are agencies here in our country that are connected with that program. They usually get teachers who specialize in Math, Science, Reading, Music, Preschool and SPED. English fluency is a big plus, too.

Out of 100 teachers who passed the initial screening, only 58 were deemed eligible to go to Baltimore last June. Teacher Aileen is one of them.

Teacher Aileen worked in Bridges in Timog Ave., Quezon City as a SPED teacher initiall, and later as administrator. After 16 years of teaching here in the country, she decided to try it abroad.

"I want to go there not because many of my colleagues are in different parts of the US already but because of my children," Teacher Aileen qualifies.

Even though she was earning quite because of her expertise and her tutorials, her job snatched most of her time away from her family.

"In the States, I work up to 3 p.m., giving me enough time to be with my kids,’’ she emphasizes.

Today, she lives in Symphony Center Apartment Homes in Park Avenue where her unit has wide windows overlooking the city.

"The unit is so beautiful, something that I have always wanted — spacious, clean, state-of-the-art kitchen, big bathroom, carpeted floor and all the works!" she exclaims. She lives with the other teachers from Russia, France, Germany and other Asian countries.

She was also elected as a representative to work with the school system administration whenever a problem arises. She is now teaching in Highlandtown Middle School, known as one of the "persistently dangerous" schools. It was classified "dangerous" because of the number of suspensions the students got last year.

"There are about 1,100 students in my school and we got 2 percent suspension. It also has among the state’s lowest test scores and it needed special education teachers. But I have accepted as a challenge that it’s one of the most dangerous schools in Baltimore City in the eyes of some. In our eyes, it’s an opportunity to grow,’’ Aileen further says.

Aileen teaches language arts and math to students with disabilities who are mainstreamed with non-disabled peers.

"I had my first day yesterday at nakauwi naman ako ng buhay (and got home alive) and I didn’t find it dangerous at all," she adds.

Aside from the teaching skills, the Filipino teachers have mustered courage to be away from their homeland and face the challenges of life in America. Cheers to the Filipino teachers abroad!

yes, cheers to the Filipino teachers (here and abroad). :cheers:

Just Curious , what are the main subjects being teach here in Philipines ? are all children mandated to attend school ? what are the percentage of children attending public schools in PHL ?

Philippine education by the numbers


only 43% - of the first graders graduate from high
school

only 14% - of the first graders graduate from college

15% - of the children entering Grade 1 will not reach
Grade 2

75% - of elementary graduates can no longer read
independently

only 20% - of graduating elementary students showed
"mastery in all required competencies"

30% - of Grade 6 studnets showed no mastery at all

less than 1% - of graduating high school students had

mastery in basic subjects.

Less than 1% - of 4th year high school students pass
the mastery test

60% - of 4th year students showed no mastery at all

73% - of those who teach Physics are non-Physics
majors.


Mon

==================
FRIDAY |October 14, 2005 | PHILIPPINES

Public school education deterioration worsens

THE House committee on appropriations yesterday
expressed alarm over a report by the education
department that the quality of public education is
continually deteriorating.

The report said 75 percent of elementary graduates can
no longer read independently, less than 1 percent of
fourth year high school students pass the mastery
test, and only 14 of 100 first graders graduate from
college and 43 from high school.

"The dropout rate is alarming. For those who can
graduate, they are found wanting in the reading and
writing department," said Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr.,
committee chair, in a hearing over the DepEd's
proposed P118-billion budget for 2006.

The DepEd reported that "for every 100 children
entering Grade 1, 15 of them would not reach Grade 2,"
which Andaya says means that "attrition starts early."

Andaya said what is "more alarming and one that sets
the Philippines apart from other countries," is the
failure of more than half of those who enter high
school to finish the course.

The DepEd lamented the "dismal failure" of public
school students to meet the "acid test" in learning as
gauged by "national standardized tests."

The report said only one in five graduating elementary
students showed "mastery in all required competencies"
based on a test given last May while for high school
students, less "than 1 percent" had mastery in
basic subjects.

"What is worse is that three out of 10 Grade 6
students and six out of 10 fourth year students
showed, in the words of DepEd, `no mastery,' at all,"
Andaya said

DepEd traced the reasons on "poor achievement in
Science and Math to, among others, poor English
reading skills."

Andaya said one reason for the low achievement test is
the assignment of teachers, noting that 73 percent of
those who teach Physics are non-Physics majors.

But Andaya said "help is on the way" to public schools
as new tax revenues will pour for more teachers,
classrooms, books, and training.

"We can't achieve it overnight but the most important
thing is for us to head towards that direction," he
said. – Wendell Vigilia

COPYRIGHT 2004 (c) People's Independent Media Inc.

Just Curious , what are the main subjects being teach here in Philipines ? are all children mandated to attend school ? what are the percentage of children attending public schools in PHL ?

Based from my high-school which is in 4 years we had:

Major Subjects
As Catholics, Christian Living Education (1st - 4th)
Mathematics (1st -4th) includes Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Calculus and the like
Science
-General Science (1st)
-Biology (2nd)
-Botany and Zoology (3rd)
-Chemistry (3rd)
-Physics (4th)
-Advanced Physics (4th)
Communication Arts in English (1st to 4th) Includes Grammar, Composition and World Literature
Social Sciences
-Philippine History (1st)
-Asian History (2nd)
-World History (3rd)
-Economics (4th)
Communication Arts in Filipino (1st to 4th) Includes Grammar, Composition and Filipino Literature

Minor Subjects
Research (3rd)
Physical Education (1st-4th)
Accounting (3rd)
Consumer's Education (4th)
Business Communication (3rd)My personal favorite
Database Management (3rd)
Home Economics
-Cookery (1st)
-Sewing (2nd)
-Gardening (2nd-4th)
-Baking (4th)

We did not have those fancy subjects like Spanish, French, Etiquette, Manners etc. as they dont have any real world applications.
That list is based from a Catholic private school.

And as for the percentage, just follow the rules:
if you're poor go public
if you're poor but intelligent go to special science schools
if you're middle-class, upwards and have fair and above intelligence, go private
but if you're rich yet stupid, try bribing those schools that offer only flair and "expensive tuition"

And as for the percentage, just follow the rules:
if you're poor go public
if you're poor but intelligent go to special science schools
if you're middle-class, upwards and have fair and above intelligence, go private
but if you're rich yet stupid, try bribing those schools that offer only flair and "expensive tuition"

:lol: So that what's going on these days!

Philippine education by the numbers


only 43% - of the first graders graduate from high
school

only 14% - of the first graders graduate from college

15% - of the children entering Grade 1 will not reach
Grade 2

75% - of elementary graduates can no longer read
independently

only 20% - of graduating elementary students showed
"mastery in all required competencies"

30% - of Grade 6 studnets showed no mastery at all

less than 1% - of graduating high school students had

mastery in basic subjects.

Less than 1% - of 4th year high school students pass
the mastery test

60% - of 4th year students showed no mastery at all

73% - of those who teach Physics are non-Physics
majors.


Mon

==================
FRIDAY |October 14, 2005 | PHILIPPINES

Public school education deterioration worsens

THE House committee on appropriations yesterday
expressed alarm over a report by the education
department that the quality of public education is
continually deteriorating.

The report said 75 percent of elementary graduates can
no longer read independently, less than 1 percent of
fourth year high school students pass the mastery
test, and only 14 of 100 first graders graduate from
college and 43 from high school.

"The dropout rate is alarming. For those who can
graduate, they are found wanting in the reading and
writing department," said Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr.,
committee chair, in a hearing over the DepEd's
proposed P118-billion budget for 2006.

The DepEd reported that "for every 100 children
entering Grade 1, 15 of them would not reach Grade 2,"
which Andaya says means that "attrition starts early."

Andaya said what is "more alarming and one that sets
the Philippines apart from other countries," is the
failure of more than half of those who enter high
school to finish the course.

The DepEd lamented the "dismal failure" of public
school students to meet the "acid test" in learning as
gauged by "national standardized tests."

The report said only one in five graduating elementary
students showed "mastery in all required competencies"
based on a test given last May while for high school
students, less "than 1 percent" had mastery in
basic subjects.

"What is worse is that three out of 10 Grade 6
students and six out of 10 fourth year students
showed, in the words of DepEd, `no mastery,' at all,"
Andaya said

DepEd traced the reasons on "poor achievement in
Science and Math to, among others, poor English
reading skills."

Andaya said one reason for the low achievement test is
the assignment of teachers, noting that 73 percent of
those who teach Physics are non-Physics majors.

But Andaya said "help is on the way" to public schools
as new tax revenues will pour for more teachers,
classrooms, books, and training.

"We can't achieve it overnight but the most important
thing is for us to head towards that direction," he
said. – Wendell Vigilia

COPYRIGHT 2004 (c) People's Independent Media Inc.



As I said this is the most problematic thing happening to our country right now.

^^ I remember you stated it in earlier posts @bustero.

i came from a laboratory high school.. and our curriculum was different.. it's business based.. we had subjects like bookkeeping, salesmanship and stenography and you have to choose one as your major at the end of 2nd year.. we had typing for 2 years.. so everybody was really fast when we graduated.. 2 years of basic computers too.. a lot of my classmates are CPAs / Lawyers now.. and about 1/3 went it to IT..

its very unusual that some pnoi got out of not taking 7 & 8th grade when they went here. i wasnt those fortunate one's though

[b]
Public school education deterioration worsens

The report said 75 percent of elementary graduates can
no longer read independently
nge? reading na nga lan eh... :(

actually in my opinion.. more years of education is not required... Filipinos are studying enough number of years to gear them up to belong to the workforce.... what I think is needed is, improvement of curriculum, of infrastructure, more teachers, and better facilities....

because if those things are not upgraded... whether our students study for 20 years... it would still be the same... we just prolonged the years... and added big costs to our government and to the populace...



I agre.... I graduated from a public elementary school... and the Teachers are not really that good, most of them would just write on the blackboard. If the govt would just focus on improving the curriculum and upgrading facilities.. i think it will work better for students. But i also believe that the quality of education hee in our country is so much affected by the varrying socioeconomic conditions. Some of my classmates before eats tuyo and kamatis for lunch.. and after that they will have to walk several kilometers of mountain dirt just to get home. Now, they work for my mom as houshold keepers. We take care of their schooling.. tsk tsk

Maybe grades can be bought? School teacher's can be bribed ? Now, those who did that same pattern in the past are the ones teaching in schools and colleges today. Now, that's a problem... I quoted that from a filipino friend not too long ago, is there any truth to all these?

^^ bribery rarely occurs. firstly wala namang pera pang suhol eh, mahirap pa sa daga yung majority ng mga morons. but as weve said, the situation is very complex, & everyone must share the blame. it all boils down to budget, if decs has no money to build schools, & so the parents to pay for kids' schooling, pareho nalang silang mukhang ewan.

sa palagay ko.. parents play a big role in a child's education.. it's not enough na pumapasok lang sa school ang bata.. kahit public or private school pa yan.. dapat tinututukan din nang mga magulang pagdating sa bahay..

Only 62% of Elementary students go to High School
By Sandy Araneta The Philippine Star 10/23/2005

Following a study that showed only two percent of Filipino students were college material, another report reveals that only 62 percent of elementary school students from both public and private institutions make it to high school.

This data was revealed by a non-profit organization yesterday in a statement made during a three-day conference held at Ateneo de Manila University in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, and attended by some 100 public elementary school teachers.

In its fact sheet released to the media, the Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation (SAS) said there are now a total of 13 million elementary school students, of which 12 million are enrolled in public schools nationwide.

"Of these, only 62 percent make it to high school," the SAS fact sheet revealed.

SAS also cited Department of Education statistics saying that DepEd still needs about 20,000 public school teachers as the student population rapidly increases every year.

SAS is a non-profit organization established in 2001 to help build a nation of readers. The group is embarking on a "silent revolution" in the Philippine education sector by conducting a first-of-its-kind training conference for public school teachers this month.

SAS added that most public schools are crowded, under-funded and public schoolteachers overburdened.

"Most public schools lack basic teaching and learning materials. Without enough classrooms and teachers, schools are badly overcrowded," said the SAS.

Its paper said many teachers are expected to handle 60 or more students per class. Most public school teachers have very few opportunities for professional development while on the job, the SAS also said.

The SAS held a three-day conference called "Programang Kaakbay" as an initiative to supplement and sustain the reading program and provide more support to public school teachers, to help solve the growing problems in the education sector.

SAS sees teachers as the key to shaping the future of the next generation of Filipinos.

During the conference, the teachers listened to talks by education experts and inspirational speakers, as well as participated in hands-on, interactive workshops and small-group discussions conducted by known reading advocates from the media, literary, entertainment, fashion and education sectors.

In a study released last August, KAAKBAY Citizens’ Development Initiatives (KAAKBAY CDI) said only six out of every1,000 grade six elementary graduates are prepared to enter high school, and only two out of every 100 fourth year high school students are fit to enter college.

KAAKBAY CDI also disclosed that only 19 out of every 100 public schoolteachers are competent to teach English.

Study: RP spends less on education
By JONATHAN M. HICAP The Manila Times Reporter

Millions of Filipinos have no access to high school and college education owing to the government’s failure to allocate enough funds for education since 1995, according to a study released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The 2005 "Education Trends in Perspective: Analysis of the World Education Indicators" is a report on the education trends and spending between 1995 and 2003 in the Philippines and 18 other middle-income countries which took part in the World Education Indicators program.

The UNESCO-OECD said access to high school was stagnant and graduation rates declined in the Philippines compared with significant growth in other participating countries.

It added, "Growth of tertiary education was also slowest in the Philippines" at 20 percent compared with the other 18 countries.

Although the Philippines experienced robust growth in gross domestic product of 30 percent from 1995 to 2002, the country’s population grew the biggest among the 19 countries in the 5 to 14-year-old age group by 15 percent.

"This puts pressure on the education system to increase student numbers at all levels," the study said.

School-life expectancy in the country was 12 years, the third lowest among the countries and has remained unchanged since 1995. The study said enrollment in primary education could not cope with the increasing population.

The Philippines spends only a measly 3.1 percent of the GDP on education, the third lowest in the countries that were ranked.

It also noted that teachers in the country work long hours and handle class sizes of more than 40 students. The country has the highest student-teacher ratio of 37 students a teacher in high school among the 19 countries.

@ Dvorak, you are so right. I think parents play an enormous role in their child's education other than sending them to school. There are so many distractions being accorded to today's youths that its much harder for parents to monitor their children. One important thing parents should do is encourage their children to read. Reading is very very important.

My father encouraged me and my sisters to read comics.

51 filipino teachers from the philippines got recruited to teach in the las vegas school district u.s a

My father encouraged me and my sisters to read comics.

altho we had comics, my father had a ton of very old popular mechanics and popular science issues. dahil don, nagkailusyon ako about life in the u.s.

How family on a P16,700 income can cope with VAT

First posted 01:16am (Mla time) Oct 20, 2005
By Norman Bordadora
Inquirer News Service

LIKE most Filipinos, couple Rex and Marie San Diego,
both public school teachers, are bracing for harder
times with the implementation of the 10-percent
expanded value-added tax (VAT) law on Nov. 1.

"It's all right if we're the only ones affected. But
if it's the children, then that's another matter," Rex
said. "Maybe it's time for us to look for jobs
abroad."

Rex earns P10,600 and Marie P9,900 a month as teachers
at the Quezon City Science High School. But their
combined take-home pay of P16,700 is not enough to
cover the household's monthly expenses of P21,540.

"Last month our youngest got sick and we had to bring
her to the hospital. Our budget is so tight that when
things like this happen, (we) have no choice but to
borrow money," Rex said in an interview.

The couple have two daughters -- Moira, 5 and Maya, 2.

Budget shortfall

With their budget short by almost P5,000, the San
Diegos have resorted to cutting back on some expenses
and have even defaulted on some monthly payments.

Their rent of P2,000 for a duplex unit owned by Rex's
father is almost always a candidate for an IOU. They
may also no longer be able to set aside P1,500 for
health care.

"There's always the family and the teachers'
cooperative to turn to," Rex added, referring to the
source of borrowings.

The budget shortfall comes even as Rex, who handles
the school paper staff, has no vices.

He doesn't smoke, drink and won't even bet P10 on a
six-number lotto combination.

Marie, who teaches English, also leads a Spartan
lifestyle. She doesn't shop for the latest fashion and
her husband says she bought her last pair of shoes two
years ago.

Relatives are asking Marie, who graduated cum laude
from the Philippine Normal University in 1991 and had
taught at private schools, to teach in the United
States so she can earn more.

"Our children are still quite young for me to leave
and work abroad," Marie said.

Using the conservative projections of the Department
of Finance (DoF), the research group Ibon Foundation
Inc. said the San Diego household's monthly budget of
P21,540 should increase by at least P961.50 to
P22,501.50 to cover the higher prices.

Groceries

"Definitely, they will have to cut back on their
marketing and groceries," said Ibon executive director
Rosario Bella Guzman.

The San Diegos allocate P4,000 a month for their
market needs and P3,500 for groceries. "(We set aside
a bigger amount for the market) because it's much
better buying fresh food (than processed stuff)," Rex
said.

Guzman said the San Diego family may have to cut their
spending on food, too.

"There are many families like that. They'd scrimp on
everything else except food. (But with the more
difficult times ahead), they may have to do so,"
Guzman said in an interview.

With the DoF's projected 6-percent increase in food
prices, Ibon said the San Diegos' food costs would go
up to P4,240 for wet market supplies and to P3,710 for
groceries.

"Usually, you cut back on that part of the budget that
is allocated the most money," Guzman said.

Electricity

The couple spend P3,600 a month for public
transportation and the same amount for lunch at the
school canteen.

With the DoF's projected increase of 6 percent on
public transportation and prepared meals, the couple's
budget for fares and lunch in the cafeteria would rise
to a total of P7,632.

Despite having the barest electrical appliances (a
television, a refrigerator, two electric fans, a rice
cooker and a flat iron), the P1,000 the San Diegos pay
monthly for electricity will rise to P1,079 if they
consume the same kilowatt hours, said Ibon.

"Their electric consumption would be next to be
reduced," Guzman said. "Small households no longer
iron clothes, especially children's clothes. Others
just use coolers instead of refrigerators. These are
common coping mechanisms," she said.

While the couple have not received annual salary
adjustments in the past few years, they can still be
considered middle class, Guzman said.

Prepaid landline

"Spending for health insurance is definitely a middle
income expense," she said. "(With rising prices), that
will also eventually have to go," he added.

Guzman said that the San Diegos' telephone service
might soon give way to a pre-paid landline.

"Also, if they have borrowings as a result of their
already existing deficit, the family's monthly
payments may also increase. They might also increase
their borrowings as a result of the higher prices,"
she said.

Guzman said both Rex and Marie were candidates for
"social mobility" who could work abroad or transfer to
better paying jobs in private schools.

She said citizens of other countries could afford to
pay consumption taxes since 40 percent to 50 percent
of these go back in the form of social services.

"The P1,500 a month (the San Diegos) pay for the
pre-school tuition would no longer be necessary
because the government would take care of that,"
Guzman said in comparing the social services in
developed countries with those in the Philippines.

Guzman said Rex and Marie could consider working in
private schools because these usually offer discounts
for their children's tuition.

Still, the couple are opting to stay in the public
school. "We don't want people to say that it's all
depressing (to work in a public school). I mean we
have a choice and we made it," Marie said.

"This is where we think we are most needed," she said.

Recto: Pass budget to improve public schools
10/26/2005 3:00:00 AM


By Rey E. Requejo

To ensure that revenues generated from the Expanded Value Added Tax are put to good use, Congress should pass the proposed P1.05 trillion proposed budget for 2006 to address problems of the public school system specifically the lack of teachers, classrooms, books and chairs, Senator Ralph Recto said.

Recto, chairman of the Senate committee on ways and means, said that, in the coming school year, public elementary and high schools will open their doors to 18 million students, but lack 10,549 classrooms, and 12,131 teachers.

Citing a report from the Department of Education, Recto stated that public schools would be needing 1.22 million more chairs and a record-high 67 million textbooks this coming June.

The total tab in erasing this backlog, Recto noted, is about P10.5 billion.

“The good news, however, is that there are proposed allocations in the 2006 national budget to reduce these shortages, but not enough to wipe them out,” he said.

Under the proposed P119 billion DepEd budget for next year, P1.2 billion will be allotted to hire 10,000 new teachers.

To reduce the shortage in the number of classrooms, the government plans to spend P2 billion for the construction of 5,000 classrooms.

Recto said the government will also bankroll the acquisition of 18.1 million textbooks worth P1.8 billion.

DepEd said it needs to replace next year’s first to fourth grade English textbooks in a bid to arrest the decline in students’ reading and writing skills.

The proposed 2006 budget also provides for a P1 billion allocation for the purchase of 1.33 million chairs.

“For the first time, we may be having a surplus and cancel the need for standing room only classes,” Recto said. “Because of these investments in education, the objective of achieving a backlog in school needs will be within striking distance.”

“It also underscores the need for a new 2006 budget because these can only materialize if funded by law,” he added, despite observing the problem of annual student population growth.

Recto explained that for every 50 new students, P400,000 is needed for one classroom, P110,000 for a teacher’s one-year salary, and P15,000 for textbooks

Look at how much they spend on transpo. Basically 40 bucks each way. 21% of takehome pay as a budget for transportation to work is out of wack. This is the price of urban sprawl.

Cross-posting this in Pinas as English Speaking Nation thread.

English 101

FROM:

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200510310710.htm

Relearning English in public schools

DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco

The Philippine Star 10/31/2005



It is no secret that we are no longer as proficient in speaking and
writing in English because over the last 20 years or so, public
education has downgraded English instruction. There was this theory
that using Pilipino as the medium of instruction would increase
comprehension among other things and deliver better educated Pinoys.

Well, that didn't happen. The crazy thing is, most of our regional
neighbors were going the other way - emphasizing English instruction
to better equip their people to compete in today's globalized world.
Even China and Vietnam, whose current regimes couldn't be faulted for
lacking a sense of nationalism, are investing on teaching their
people how to speak and write in English. They often hire Filipino
English teachers.

In China, there is a feverish effort to make even taxi drivers able
to communicate in English. I was told during my recent visit to
Shanghai, ability to communicate in English is necessary for taxi
drivers to renew their driver's license. This is probably in
preparation for the Olympics. It is also because China is now visited
by a large number of foreigners, tourists and investors, something
made obvious by the nearly hour-long wait behind long immigration
lines at the airport.

The waning of our English-speaking and writing skills couldn't have
come at the worst possible time. Thousands of our graduates remain
unemployed and many are unemployable here or abroad because of, among
others, inadequate English language skills. Thousands of good jobs
requiring ability to communicate in English are unfilled, even as our
unemployment rate remains high.

Last I heard, only three out of 10 applicants for call center and
other back office jobs are hired because of this problem. Henry
Schumacher of the European Chamber of Commerce was telling me of a
project wherein they provide English language training for some of
those rejects and manage to get a good number of them hired after.

As even our DepEd now admits, our problem is also rooted in lack of
teachers. A high percentage of current teachers have poor English
skills. That's because the younger teachers are products of the
Pilipino curriculum we have had until recently. The older Filipino
English teachers have left to work in China, Thailand, US, Vietnam.

The need to train teachers is obvious. The American Chamber of
Commerce, working together with the Makati Business Club and the
Philippine Normal University had a pilot group of teachers trained by
DynaEd, a computer based interactive language course. Now, I am told
by Bambina Buenaventura that they have gone beyond training teachers
and have actually gone into the classrooms in selected public schools.

Two of the actual classroom applications of the DynaEd system are
sponsored by Philip Morris Philippines in Batangas and by Pilipinas
Shell Foundation at the Zamora Elementary School in Pandacan, Manila.
Beneficiaries of the Philip Morris project are their scholars and
college students from Lyceum of Batangas, Lipa City Colleges &
Christian College of Tanauan.

The one from Pilipinas Shell Foundation benefits the Teachers’ SPEECH
(Specialized English Enhancement Course for High School and
Elementary Teachers) Program. The beauty of the DynaEd system is that
our public school teachers and students get trained not just in
English proficiency but also in the use of computers as a multi-media
teaching tool.

Incidentally, the DynaEd system also works in the workplace
environment. Some corporations have actually started training
programs for their employees to gain English proficiency as a tool to
improve productivity. Solid Cement Philippines and PHINMA are
examples of companies that used the DynaEd system for training their
employees.

I imagine there are other systems that can be used to quickly upgrade
the English language skills of our young people. There are those who
say that preparing students for future jobs shouldn't be the main
concern of education. But then, we don't have the luxury of educating
our people for education's sake. After going through our educational
system, they have to already possess the skills needed for them to
land jobs here or abroad.

Even those who seek employment as nurses, or even those who want to
work as sailors, need to have better English language skills than the
typical high school or college graduate now have. The time may soon
come when China, Vietnam and other Asean countries would have better
English language proficiency than us. We need to work overtime to
regain our historical head start in this area.

The problem now seems too daunting. But if individual companies or
groups adopt schools or classes the way Philip Morris and Shell did,
the combined effort would yield a better result than if we just
waited for government to get its act together in the public schools.
Special programs for the currently unemployed would also help them
improve their chances of landing a job. Language training is an area
ripe for companies to take on as part of their corporate social
responsibility projects.

Of course language skills are but one of the skills we need to invest
on. But it is a very good place to start.

Tagalog 101

FROM:
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200510319906.htm

Do we need to have a national language?

INSIDE CEBU By Bobit S. Avila

The Philippine Star 10/31/2005



What a week we had with two great events happening in Cebu City. Last
Tuesday, we had that historic consultation by the Consultative
Commission (con-com) mandated to help draft a new Constitution, which
really hasn't been done with the advisement of the Filipino people.
Last week was the first time in 34 years that those who would draft
the new Constitution sought the thoughts of the Filipino peopleŠ the
first time in 34 years!

Call it timely then that last Thursday and Friday, we attended the
Seminar-Workshop on Proactive Responses to Language Issues in
Philippine Education and Development at the University of the
Philippines-Lahug campus, sponsored by the Kalayaan College and NCCA.
Compared to the con-com consultations, this group was a much smaller
one, but with many regions representedŠ but the passions and the
energy in protecting their own regional languages were very fierce
and intense. Dr. Jose Abueva, chairman of the con-com, was the
opening speaker.

In his speech, Prof. Abueva first talked about the national language
that he supported for many years, its objectives and purpose. But
lately, he experienced a paradigm shiftŠ that as a believer in a
federalized Philippines, it is easier for him to convince people that
in a federal system, the local language would be the dominant
language that would be taught in schools. Studies have shown that it
is easier to teach kids using their native tongue as they can absorb
the subjects better than through any other tongue.

During the workshop, we heard speakers like Dr. Jasmin E. Acuña of UP
and Miriam College talking about the Development and
Intellectualization of Filipino. She bewailed the move of the Arroyo
administration to shift back to English, believing that Filipinos
would become second-class citizens in their own country. While I
agree with her on this view, however, I must add that forcing
non-Tagalog people to speak only in Tagalog disguised as Filipino
also makes us second-class citizens in our own native regions!

I'm a good example. I write in English, but I'm defending my right to
preserve Cebuano. But then, Cebuano is not taught in any school in
the Cebuano-speaking areas. Hence, I read Cebuano so slowly, almost
as slow as when I read TagalogŠ and no, I can't write in Cebuano, as
I have already forgotten many words and their proper spellings. Pait
gyud kaayo!

One of those who attended the workshop was Engr. Jes Tirol of the
University of Bohol (UB) who can speak in deep "Binisaya." A case in
point is measuring something using my right hand. There's a Cebuano
term (I believe this is common to Bisaya speakers) when you stretch
your thumb all the way to the little finger; we call it "usa ka
dangaw." From the thumb to the ring finger, it's called "usa ka
dangkal." From the thumb to the middle finger, it's called "usa ka
balanguit," and from the thumb to the forefinger, it's "usa ka
tukaw." Cebuanos always use "usa ka dangaw" in measuring with the
hand because the Cebuano language is so precise; we use all our
fingers for measuring. Unfortunately, most of us have already
forgotten the other fingers.

We also heard Dr. Galileo Zafra of UP speak on the development of
Filipino: what has been done, what needs to be done. But the
professor spoke in Tagalog, which they dub "Filipino"Š and most of us
couldn't understand what he was talking about. So I got hold of a
copy of his speech and since it was also written in Tagalog, I found
it to be a useless piece of paper for people like me and those in the
seminar who cannot speak Tagalog.

On Friday, Dr. Dr. Jose Dacudao talked about the "Dying Peoples of
the Philippines." By this, he meant that languages were disappearing
and when a spoken language disappears, so too would its people. A
case in point is the Aztec, Mayan or Inca civilizations. They were
peoples who ruled their part of the world and when their tongues
vanished, so did the people.

It was the first time that Dr. Jose Dacudao (he is a neurosurgeon
based in Butuan City, an Ilonggo and the national founder of the Save
our Languages through Federalism or Solfed) met with what he calls
"Tagalistas," people who promote Tagalog nationalism. Mind you, there
are many Cebuanos who are "Tagalistas" because they believe that we
should have a National Language, which they call Filipino, but for
all intents and purposes, it is a dialect of Tagalog as 99.9 percent
of it is taken from the Tagalog language.

A very interesting piece came from Victor N. Sugbo of UP Tacloban
City who spoke on "Something Weird Happened on the Way to
Nationhood." Let me quote from the conclusion of his paper: "By
acknowledging the importance of regional literatures and local
languages in the national culture, our different loyalties may be
welded since ethnicities are accorded respect and making national
literature becomes a communal project. Finally, in our desire to
attain nationhood, something weird took place - our country lost
pieces of its cultural memory. It is time to restore those pieces in
the voices of our poets and storytellers in the local languages."

Then we heard Dr. Marcario Tiu of the Ateneo de Davao who spoke in
Cebuano on Languages and Education: Colonial Legacy and the National
Imperative. His observation was crystal clear: "Whoever has the power
dictates what language to use in the schools." This happened in 1888
when Spanish Governor General Valeriano Weyler decreed that only
Spanish would be used in all educational institutions throughout the
islands. The same thing happened when the Americans colonized us.
Imperial Manila wields power today and they are doing what the other
colonizers have done!

I fully agree that national unity should mean respect for each
other's ethnicity and cultures. We are a nation of Filipinos who
speak different tongues, just like Canadians have two major
languages. This is not to say that we Cebuanos want Cebuano to be the
national language. On the contrary, only a few Cebuanos believe in
thisŠ what we want is a common language that would make us understand
each other better, but not at the expense and the destruction of
other languages. Hence, many of us consider English the "great
leveler" as it doesn't make one ethnic language superior to the
others, just like what Tagalog has done, making the others inferior.

The big question is, should the new Constitution include a national
language? English doesn't discriminate against other Filipino tongues
the way Tagalog does!

* * *For e-mail responses to this article, write to
vsbobita@mozcom.com. Bobit Avila's columns can also be accessed
through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talk show,
"Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, at 8 p.m., only in Metro
Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.

Tagalog 101

The big question is, should the new Constitution include a national
language? English doesn't discriminate against other Filipino tongues
the way Tagalog does!

* * *For e-mail responses to this article, write to
vsbobita@mozcom.com. Bobit Avila's columns can also be accessed
through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talk show,
"Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, at 8 p.m., only in Metro
Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.



Are they saying that the "english" should be use as a national language instead of one of the local dialects, I think while there is a need for a national language, the regional languages or dialect should be culminated and given an equal importance. While it is important in today's world to learn how to communicate in english more effectively, I don't think the country's national language should be dropped as it would possibly end up in losing the the countries cultural identity.

In the business world, it is mostly the english language is being used as a medium of communication but that depends on where or what country one is dealing business with, what about the French, Spanish, Chinese or Japanese? Like the Japanese for instance, once you speak their language to them, it's like you just melt their hearts and once you did, it's easier to do business with them even the fact that the person you talk to there can speak english fluently.

It is sad if a country lose it's own identity. Maybe the school system there in the Philippines needs to be addressed as far as teaching languages.

I don't know if I just misunderstood the whole deal.

Yeah I have mixed feelings about those two articles. The problem with choosing a local language as a national language is the same problem as choosing English as the national language. You tend to bury the equal importance of the other local languages. Because Filipino is primarily based on Tagalog, people in the south are not as fairly represented in the national language. But English buries all the importance of the local cultures uniformally and doesn't favor one to another (the way Filipino as a national language favors the tagalogs over the Pampanguenos, the Ilocanos, the Waray, etc.)

This is also a problem in India. Some hindu nationalists there want hindi to be the national language-- all official communication in hindi. However, like the Philippines, there are numerous (in fact more) regional languages in India that are of equal importance as hindi. But there is also a movement (I don't know how strong) to not use English because it is a "colonial" language.

I wonder if something akin to what they have in Singpore would work. They're a very Chinese city-state. But the official propaganda says "three ethnicities, one language." English is used in a way so that the three ethnic groups are not competing with each other for supremacy (there have been race riots in Indonesia and Malaysia). At the same time, they're very proud of the different identities of these ethnic groups, so it is possible to "keep an identity." But I think things are much more complex in the Philippines.

I don't know what my point is. I just woke up.

Reading from the threads, I am impressed with the way the Mindanaoans (our Davaoeno forumers) are adept in all three languages: Tagalog, Bisaya and English. Perhaps, they hold the key to this language dilemma.

^espanol also

Yeah I have mixed feelings about those two articles. The problem with choosing a local language as a national language is the same problem as choosing English as the national language. You tend to bury the equal importance of the other local languages. Because Filipino is primarily based on Tagalog, people in the south are not as fairly represented in the national language. But English buries all the importance of the local cultures uniformally and doesn't favor one to another (the way Filipino as a national language favors the tagalogs over the Pampanguenos, the Ilocanos, the Waray, etc.)

This is also a problem in India. Some hindu nationalists there want hindi to be the national language-- all official communication in hindi. However, like the Philippines, there are numerous (in fact more) regional languages in India that are of equal importance as hindi. But there is also a movement (I don't know how strong) to not use English because it is a "colonial" language.

I wonder if something akin to what they have in Singpore would work. They're a very Chinese city-state. But the official propaganda says "three ethnicities, one language." English is used in a way so that the three ethnic groups are not competing with each other for supremacy (there have been race riots in Indonesia and Malaysia). At the same time, they're very proud of the different identities of these ethnic groups, so it is possible to "keep an identity." But I think things are much more complex in the Philippines.

I don't know what my point is. I just woke up.

When I was studying in Singapore, we had to choose a second language to learn in school, either Malay or Chinese (Mandarin), and that is a requirement from grade school all the way to high school. Singapore has four official languages, English, Chinese, Malay and Hindi; but their lingua franca is of course English, or "Singlish" to be more precise.

^^ I was wondering if that was helpful or useful to you, Kimber. Did you become proficient in the second language?

Yes, it was both helpful and useful. When I was there, I can carry on a conversation in Malay, but without further practice these days I'm afraid that my knowledge is slowly eroding. By the way, there are numerous words that are similar to Tagalog.

The widest spoken language in the world is not english but mandarin (note that I did not say chinese as there are many variations of this as well but thats a different story alltogether). English is not even the second most spoken language, it's spanish, como estas. BUT in the there is no more international a language then English, this is really an edge if we speak it, it's the reason we can go anywhere. The reality is that if we learn english we are not going to become strangers in our own land, "give me a break", but not learning it well takes off our competitive edge.

I understood what they wanted to achieve when they changed the medium of instruction from english to the vernacular. This is not really new, unfortunately unintended consequences always occur and as such english proficiency has gone down the drain.

The quest for a national language is as old as the country. This is a hundred year old conversation. In the end to unify the whole country there does need to be a national language and it really is doubtfully english. Pilipino which is tagalog based is really an amalgam of many languages and dialects the greatest number of which is tagalog, which at the time and now still has the most native speakers. You just need to pick one in the end.

The problem is the balance, and obviously there is none at the moment. Literacy is going down in spite of vernacularisation in education. And English is very bad even for college graduates. Granted that the issue of vernacularization is only one (i.e. lack of budget, no classrooms etc) aspect. But definitely it's effect on english is correlated.

If I recall, the thrust before when they decided to shift the medium of instruction from English to the vernacular is to enhance learning in the fields of Science, Math and Technology. To get a competitive edge in these areas. There was a study before that our Asian neighbors are good in grasping knowledge and know-how in these fields because it was taught in their own languages. This shift had the unintended effect of deteriorating English language proficiency as a whole. But I wonder, was the goal of enhancing learning in the fields of Science, Math and Technology achieved? How are Filipino graduates in these fields faring? Are they much better at it because it was taught in the vernacular?

^espanol also


Yes that is correct with pure Spanish and Chabacano being spoken in Zamboanga and in other parts of Mindanao. Spanish also has some speakers in little clusters throughout the country. Suprisingly, Chabacano also has speakers in Cavite and Laguna with their tagalog twist to it, but the main Chabacano land is Zamboanga.

I think the issue of "national language" occurs in all countries that are either big in population but of course, nationally diverse in terms of regional groups. It's true that there are more used dialects, but even then, not everyone will be happy. So either schools should start offering courses of other Philippine dialects, or just purely put English as the main business/ed/govt language and nothing else, not even Tagalog spoken. Philippines is lucky in that we do have an "official" language that is not native to our culture. But it is still ours. English. I think in order to put an end to it all, we'd have to go with English for business, education, and government. Why fix something when it isn't broken? We've been doing this way almost forever now, even if we're not aware so why tamper with it?

If I recall, the thrust before when they decided to shift the medium of instruction from English to the vernacular is to enhance learning in the fields of Science, Math and Technology. To get a competitive edge in these areas. There was a study before that our Asian neighbors are good in grasping knowledge and know-how in these fields because it was taught in their own languages. This shift had the unintended effect of deteriorating English language proficiency as a whole. But I wonder, was the goal of enhancing learning in the fields of Science, Math and Technology achieved? How are Filipino graduates in these fields faring? Are they much better at it because it was taught in the vernacular?


They've tried translating some "accounting" terminologies, it turned out bastos.
samples:
asset = ari
used asset = laspag na ari
:bash:

^^ :lol:

I remember those:

liquid asset - basang ari o tumutulong ari
frozen asset - matigas na ari

^^ It's getting a little bit risque here....leave it to Lili to let your temperature and heart rate rise! :lol:

well bottom line literacy levels have actually gone down since the implementation of the law. there probably are other reasons for this but math and science will not matter if you can't read nor write.

^^ It's getting a little bit risque here....leave it to Lili to let your temperature and heart rate rise! :lol:

Working up an appetite for a hot tamale for lunch? (See Pagkain thread for reference.)

^^ :lol: A hot tamale? Maybe a fajita perhaps (say it like when you say the word "vagina."). ;)

^^ Coming from you Kimber, I'm appalled!! :eek2: Some speech impediment you got. :lol:

I said that once while ordering and the waitress, err....I meant server, have to be PC minded these days, gave me the most threatening look I've seen in my life! I said that "I'd like to try your plump and juicy (steak) fajita." :lol: After that incident, I never did it again!

Yes that is correct with pure Spanish and Chabacano being spoken in Zamboanga and in other parts of Mindanao. Spanish also has some speakers in little clusters throughout the country. Suprisingly, Chabacano also has speakers in Cavite and Laguna with their tagalog twist to it, but the main Chabacano land is Zamboanga.

I think the issue of "national language" occurs in all countries that are either big in population but of course, nationally diverse in terms of regional groups. It's true that there are more used dialects, but even then, not everyone will be happy. So either schools should start offering courses of other Philippine dialects, or just purely put English as the main business/ed/govt language and nothing else, not even Tagalog spoken. Philippines is lucky in that we do have an "official" language that is not native to our culture. But it is still ours. English. I think in order to put an end to it all, we'd have to go with English for business, education, and government. Why fix something when it isn't broken? We've been doing this way almost forever now, even if we're not aware so why tamper with it?

This one actually makes sense to me " Why fix something when it's not broken?" . If the main problem is a deterioration with mastery of the english language, then don't let the student pass the course until they perfect it. Discourage the use of a slang english since slang english is trashy in the 1st place, I don't know why most asians would pick up english from the ghetto when they can learn the proper way? Singaporean's "Singrish" (no offense) is one of the baddest ever I've heard so far, it makes me puke sometimes.

^u meant ghetto - ebonics

^u meant ghetto - ebonics
not necessarily the blacks or ebonics, but just a street talk in general, it just happened that "ghetto" became synonymous to black talk or ebonics if you may but it also rampant with youths nowadays, even the typical American in small town america speaks with bad english and wrong grammar half of the time. It's what being portrayed in the media or the movies which in turn is being picked up by the non-english speaking countries or people especially the youths.

This one actually makes sense to me " Why fix something when it's not broken?" . If the main problem is a deterioration with mastery of the english language, then don't let the student pass the course until they perfect it. Discourage the use of a slang english since slang english is trashy in the 1st place, I don't know why most asians would pick up english from the ghetto when they can learn the proper way? Singaporean's "Singrish" (no offense) is one of the baddest ever I've heard so far, it makes me puke sometimes.

The problem is that most schools just could not give the students a failing mark because of other factros. The school also considers the lack of teachers, books and classrooms so they would just pass the students even if they don't deserve it because of these deficiencies. They have to pass the students so they would be able to accomodate the incoming students.

The use of slang English is already being discouraged. But how could you stop the media from influencing the youth? Taglish and Engalog (and another one...I think it's called Coño English) are all popular in the madia right now. So I think that parents should also teach their children to use the right way of speaking the language while they're still young. Children could easily learn anything while they're still young. Their brains could absorb more and faster when still young. :)

I'd say the government should encourage more enlish shows especially during primetime where most kids are back from school and watching tv with their family. and tv stations should stop tagalizing foreign shows (Alias tinagalog yuck! 24 tingalog, yuck ulit!). i mean, my thai friend improve his english by watching a lot of american shows, and I think it's a very effective way to improve one's diction and vocabulary.

^my lit prof. suggested that i put caption when i watch tv

yah it's the same way with reading a book while listening to an audio book at the same time. :)

amras,
how in your opinion does the educational system there in nanyang compare with local schools?

Lighting the path to a brighter future
By MERLINA R. HERNANDO and ANGELO G. GARCIA

If the strength of a country’s education system were determined on how low its rank in international surveys, then the Philippines would definitely be one of the front liners.

In 2004 Trends in International Math & Science Survey (TIMSS), the country ranked 41 out of 45 countries for high school Math and 42 out of 45 for high school Science. For Grade school, it ranked 23 out of 25 countries for both Math and Science. With this, one question pops out: "How low can the Philippines go?"

According to Department of Education OIC Fe Hidalgo, the quality of education in the country continues to decline. "More and more students no longer qualify to the requirements of respective jobs available in the country," she reports. The public education system in the country is slowly deteriorating due to insufficient resources and low quality of education. "The system, as we know, has been in crisis for the last 30 years in terms of achievement level," she further explains.

Still according to her, the roots of education crisis include the under investment in education, institutionalized stagnation, and poor management. "What we are trying to do is to develop measures wherein all Filipinos could acquire basic education competencies." This could be achieved by developing in children the ability to learn in non-natural settings; develop the ability to learn numerical literacy; and to learn higher order thinking skills. "We should all eye for functional literacy by transforming schools into community-based institutions," she states.


THE YOUTH AND E-LITERACY

One of the causes that have been always plaguing the system year after year is the lack of resources. The 2005 resource gaps indicate how the government under-invest in the education system: there are a total of 8,684 classrooms, 26.85M textbooks, 2.24M seats, and 20,874 teachers shortage.

In the Philippines, part of the crisis in the public education system is the growing digital divide. In fact, recent studies of the DepEd show that only about six percent of public schools have facilities that give students Internet training and access. In addition, only 39 percent of the country’s public high schools have computer equipment platforms that can be wired to the Internet. This—among so many problems in shortage of facilities—lead to another form of poverty: the poverty of knowledge.

Indeed, this kind of poverty is now becoming one of the biggest predicaments the leaders of the world has to mull over. Trying to do its share in solving this piece of puzzle, Ayala Foundation, Inc. in cooperation with the government and executives from the private sector, has decided to launch Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (GILAS)—an education initiative that aims to link students in public high schools to the Internet by providing Internet lab and other useful educational tools—last January. GILAS’s main goal is to provide Internet access for students and basic literacy programs in all the 5,443 public secondary schools in the country in the next five years.

Since the initiative requires the participation of local government units in implementing the program especially in the different provinces in the country, a cocktail reception was organized to help the students of yet another city to be linked to the Internet.

Held at the Filipinas Heritage Library recently, the gathering paved the way for Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas to seek help from other organizations to implement the program in his city. According to Mayor Treñas, because of the strategic location of Iloilo City, it is fast becoming the preferred business and government gateway to the flourishing region of Western Visayas. But according to him, the city will not get there if they do not pay appropriate attention to the development of its manpower pool and reassure the business sector and potential investors of a steady supply of a relevantly skilled ready manpower complement. "It is in this light that that we are paying special attention to the quality of education of our high school students who would comprise the bulk of skilled workforce in the future." Still according to him, the program hopes to bring the city’s high school students to the information age and give them a chance to compete with not just the best in the country but also best in the world.


THE FIGHT AGAINST INFORMATION POVERTY

Most Filipino youths believe that finishing high school is enough for them to join the work force. Little do they know that such low level of education is itself a stern handicap because work-force productivity and competitiveness depend much on the modern worker’s ability to harness the tools and resources available especially on the Internet.

In today’s modern age, computer and the Internet play a vital role in education. It is an imperative that these are just some of the new resources any school must possess. But, as of December of last year, only 40 percent of public schools have computer laboratories accessible to students, and less than six percent of these laboratories are connected to the Internet.

According to GILAS program director Luigi Bernas, providing access to the Internet is the most cost-efficient educational intervention that the private sector can make given the Philippines’s fiscal constraints. "We feel that by providing Internet access to public high school students, we are helping them connect to a brighter tomorrow."

The presentation prepared by GILAS also backs up Bernas’ assessment that inadequate Internet connectivity and literacy is a critical weakness in the Information Age. The report also reveals the sad fact that the huge budget deficit and the country’s myriad of needs make it difficult for the government to increase its education spending. This lack of spending manifests itself in the lack of classrooms and teachers, poorly trained teachers, underdeveloped curricula, and practically non-existent libraries. "As a result, the quality of graduates from the public school system has been rapidly declining…[and] this under-education has severely handicapped the new participants in the national and global workforce."

Bernas says that with the Internet, they have found a powerful and efficient tool to address the education gap among the country’s youth. "Through Gilas, we can provide access to the Internet that democratizes information-giving [thus] students get free access to electronic encyclopedias that aid in research, math, science, and languages."

Since libraries in the public school system are in poor condition and in need of basic books, Bernas believes that the Internet access could provide a partial immediate solution to the problem. "Computer labs in schools could provide the tools for computer training, which prepares high-school student for jobs in the fast-growing business process outsourcing industry and other fields requiring basic computer skills," he says. "Also, computers and Internet access facilitate networking among schools and promote the sharing of teaching modules, the standardization of material, and teacher training."

Technology—through Internet—is indeed a powerful and efficient tool to address the education gap among the country’s youth because it gives students a free hand to a variety of information that could help them gain more knowledge.

Rare books and more: The Filipinas Heritage Library is a catalyst for culture

In the heart of the Makati Business District, on a generous patch of green squared off by Ayala and Makati avenues and Paseo de Roxas, is a rather quiet, rather quaint building, around an inconspicuous driveway and tucked away in the reluctant shade of trees. In the midst of tall buildings and busy streets, it is something of an oasis—in more ways than one.

A division of the Ayala Foundation, the Filipinas Heritage Library is a place of escape—away from the noise and the busyness of the rest of the world, and into the generous, colorful pages of history. It has over 15,000 contemporary books on Philippine history, art, language, religion and the social sciences, a collection of over 2,000 rare books with beautiful goatskin covers and brittle pages, a microfilm archive, and an extensive library of slides and photographs.

The site of the Nielsen Tower in 1937—the first commercial airport in the country and the oldest building in the area—the Library’s home since Centennial year 1996 was actually declared a historical landmark. As such construction on the building had been limited, which prompted the expansion downwards to a basement level in 1996, when the Library moved there from their previous home in the old Ayala Museum, and now houses most of the Library’s collection.

The busy library’s aim is to serve as a catalyst for culture. Through various projects, activities, and services—anything from simple research facilitation, to holding various workshops on photography, writing, and soon, film appreciation, to creating and maintaining their online library and resource catalog.

The online site, which is a special joint project they started with the Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle libraries, has made them the one-stop electronic research center in the Philippines. Aside from having an online card catalog and a photo library with 30,000 photos from their collection already up, it also serves as a gateway to other databases in the Philippines via its electronic linkages with 86 other libraries as of the last count.

"We are a small, specialized library," says library director Antonia Ortigas. "But we have a high internet presence, because we want to use technology to raise Filipinos’ level of consciousness on the need to preserve and study the country’s heritage." The library is now slowly digitizing its rare books collection, and their publishing group has produced CD-ROMs and book that help raise awareness of our culture.

The library also features a public space, which has quickly become a popular, cozy venue for such activities as book launches, lectures, conferences, workshops and trainings, concerts, and social functions. These many activities have served to bolster its existence because the library is now not only a repository of the Philippines’ rich cultural heritage, but also a venue for nurturing and revitalizing it.

The Filipinas Heritage Library is located along Makati Ave., and their website is www.retrato.com.ph.

@kiretoce: ya i've heard that news and it's very bad for me..dat's quite a shame we are one of the highest lit. rates in asia and we ranked so low.. i'm trying to keep my grades up to be successful in my own field maybe lot's of students now don't take schooling seriously..

Well, what I noticed in the Philippines is that not only there is a lack of public education facilities but public libraries and research facilities. We keep on building malls yet we fail to generate public interests in reading and exploration. Education should not only be limited to school-age children. We have a very high literacy rate so we have to put them into use by funding public library programs to bolster our efforts to make every Filipino informed. A wealthy country has a well-informed population and we should try to attain that objective.

^^ Material profit over intellectual profit I guess.

the government should build an informative and reliable library in every city/municipality here in the country! ur right Askal82'

The Filipinas Heritage Library is located along Makati Ave., and their website is www.retrato.com.ph.

I like this website but you can't access the photo achieves that they have. They don't show the entire photo, unless you pay for it. I mean what is the use of it if its not free?! >(

dat suck's a library photo archives un-free!

Brain-drain hardly affects growth of developing countries, says Kalam

By Gaurav Srivastava, Manila: President A P J Abdul Kalam on Monday told
students of the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City that the phenomenon of “brain drain” hardly affects the development of any developing country.

Replying to a query about the migration of intellectuals, he said that there is nothing to lose, if a certain percentage of population goes abroad to acquire knowledge.

Kalam, however, emphasizes that the countries like India and Philippines should develop their own research and development facilities. He said that at least 40 per cent of the Filipino population and ten million Indians were working abroad.

The empowerment of various layers of management structure was the best instrument to maximize the performance of a given fund to the developmental tasks, he said.

“When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms. When the creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes,” Kalam said.

Kalam also used the to highlight the pioneering contribution to Physics by Albert Einstein and CV Raman.

At no time, has man been beaten by problems. He strives continuously to subjugate impossibility and succeeds, Kalam said.

http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=3520

Well, what I noticed in the Philippines is that not only there is a lack of public education facilities but public libraries and research facilities. We keep on building malls yet we fail to generate public interests in reading and exploration. Education should not only be limited to school-age children. We have a very high literacy rate so we have to put them into use by funding public library programs to bolster our efforts to make every Filipino informed. A wealthy country has a well-informed population and we should try to attain that objective.

I totally agree with you Askal. It's very worrying that for many adult Filipinos "literature" basically means reading Tagalog comics. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be a cultural snob, many comics are great, but many more are trash. :)

takenfrom manila bulletin...

P500 M released for textbooks
President stresses need for better education
By GENALYN D. KABILING

DBM to transfer fund to DepEd


In an effort to produce more brilliant minds in the country by improving the quality of public education, President Arroyo yesterday ordered the release of P500 million to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the purchase of additional textbooks and other reading materials for all public schools in the country.

The President directed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to allocate the huge amount from the P35-billion fund intended to pump prime the economy.

"Maglalabas ang DBM ng P500 million para sa mga libro at instructional materials para sa madaling pagtuturo," she said during a visit to the Andres Bonifacio Integrated School (ABIS) in Welfareville Compound, Barangay Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City.

Upon arrival at the school, the President played teacher to 52 Grade 1 students, mostly scholars of the Petron Scholarship Foundation, and even held a book-reading session for them. Mrs. Arroyo, an economics professor before she entered politics, read the book Magic Mat written by Virgilio Almario. The book played up the importance of learning and reading to achieve a higher level of education.

The book — which takes the lead character Fidel to significant events of the Filipinos’ struggle for independence from 1896 to 1898 — seeks to teach children to learn from the sacrifices of the revolutionary heroes and teach them love for freedom and Filipino heritage.

Grade 1 teacher Charito Bolina said Petron Foundation donated the sets of "Big Books," including Magic Mat, to the school in line with its Bright Minds Read program.

The President also taught geography to the young students, guiding them on a map tour of some countries during the 15-minute story-reading.

Mrs. Arroyo was accompanied by Mandaluyong City Mayor Neptali Gonzales II, Mandaluyong Rep. Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr. and ABIS principal teacher Juanita Valle.

After the school visit, the President went to a warehouse of the Department of Health in Quezon City to check the medicines being sold at half their regular prices. Mrs. Arroyo assured the public that common medicines such as paracetamol, oresol and amoxicillin are available in government health centers at lower prices nationwide.

At past 3 p.m., the President proceeded to the meeting of jeepney associations with Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairperson Elena Bautista at Aberdeen Court in Quezon City. Mrs. Arroyo thanked the jeepney operators and drivers for their limited offer of 50 centavo-discount on passenger fares in Metro Manila. The discount will run from Feb. 10 to 17 in line with their Jeepney Week celebration.

"Thank you for giving relief to the riding public," she said. "Now you can see we cannot resolve poverty overnight because we need hard work, discipline and the cooperation of all," she added.

In line with the government’s campaign to convert economic gains into real benefits to the people, the President has allocated money from the P35 billion in government revenues to pump prime the economy in the areas of food, education, health, housing, and public infrastructure.

The funds came from the government’s energized tax collection due to fiscal reforms, which include the controversial expanded value added tax.

How to lure donors to upgrade education
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco
The Philippine Star 02/17/2006

Let’s face it. Even if the government’s allocation for education remains the biggest slice of the budgetary pie, it will remain inadequate to meet the needs of our future generations of Filipinos. A large part of that budget covers overhead, salaries and related administrative expenses of the massive bureaucracy at Dep-Ed. There is little left over for teacher training and building the proper infrastructure – schoolhouses, computer labs or even just desks and chairs.

Apparently, the public school system in many parts of the United States has the same problem. This is why many school districts have become creative about how to get some of their badly needed facilities even if the taxpayers can no longer pitch in. An article in The New York Times reminded me of an early proposal of DTI Secretary Peter Favila in an MOPC Forum that we should explore the possibility of taxpayers spending directly for things like education and getting credit for it. It is a means of minimizing leakage in the bureaucracy.

In a sense that is already being done in the Ayala Group’s Center for Excellence (Centex) program, which is set to graduate their first batch of talented elementary school children from poor families. There is a real need to identify the bright pupils in our public schools and give them cutting edge education.

When one of my daughters practiced teaching in Balara Elementary School (as a prerequisite for graduation), she told me it was a pity to see a handful of bright pupils in a class of 80 being bored to death. I think it is an unpardonable crime to waste a good brain. And for these bright children from poor families, a good education is their ticket out of poverty.

It is interesting to note, as the Times article points out, that even a rich superpower can’t provide for its children’s education. This is why in some American public schools, they are experimenting with the Name Game, as a donor lure. In Fairmont Park in Philadelphia, they are set to inaugurate next fall, a stunning $55-million high school. According to the Times, it is for now, called the School of the Future, a state-of-the-art building with features like a Web design laboratory.

The Times article says it may turn out to be the school of the future in another sense, too: It is a public school being used to raise a lot of private money. A glossy brochure offers dozens of opportunities for donors to get their name or corporate logo on the walls: $1 million for the performing arts pavilion, $750,00 for the gyms or the main administrative suite (including the principal’s office), $500,000 for the food court/cybercafe, $50,000 for the science laboratories, $25,000 for each of the classrooms, and so on. Microsoft, a partner in designing the school, has already committed $100,000 for the Microsoft Visitors Center. For a cool $5 million, a donor gets the grand prize – naming the school.

Actually, that’s not such a new idea. The top business schools in the US have sold naming rights... Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University in Chicago, for one. Here, the Ateneo School of Management is officially known as the John Gokongwei School of Management, after the taipan donated a cool P250 million with the possibility of additional donations.

Perhaps, in the case of Balara Elementary School, Manila Water can use some of the P1 billion it saved by getting an extension of its tax free incentive this year to improve the facilities there, train teachers and even have a Centex there for the bright pupils. They can call it the Ayala/Balara Elementary School and that should be fine. Most likely, the pupils there are children of their employees or residents in the area around their head office. It makes for good employee and community relations.

The chief executive of the Philadelphia public schools told the Times he had no problems seeking private sector donations because 85 percent of the kids in the system are below the poverty level and their needs are beyond what they could get from the taxpayers. His approach he said, is "Leave No Dollar Behind", a play on the Bush administration’s controversial Leave No Child Behind program.

They do have a board that reviews prospective donations, weeding out undesirable donors, which includes alcohol and tobacco companies. Here, I guess we have to be careful that the donors do not include drug and jueteng lords. Big corporations should be encouraged to adopt specific public schools so that the impact of their financial infusion into the system is visible.

It seems this is a trend that is taking root. The Times reports that "over the last five years, public schools have become an increasingly popular cause for corporations, society donors and foundations. In New York, since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took control of the schools, he and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein have raised $311 million in private funds. The benefits are clear – new schools, new playgrounds and refurbished libraries."

The danger in this approach, however, is the blurring of responsibilities. With more private money going into public education, public officials may forget that public education is really a government responsibility. People must not forget that this is just an emergency measure for now, because we need to respond quickly to the crisis in education, even if it takes one company upgrading one school at a time.

DepEd voucher system to help 100,000 poor students

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, The Manila Times Reporter

About 100,000 graduating public elementary students may now study in private high schools under the Department of Education’s education voucher system.

Fe Hidalgo, acting education secretary, said the system will be implemented starting June, when 4,000 elementary schools in the country will be allotted 25 voucher grants each.

Each beneficiary shall receive a yearly aid of P4,000 for tuition and other fees in a private school. The beneficiary will receive the grant every year until he or she graduates from high school.

Hidalgo said that a beneficiary should belong to the upper 50 percent of the graduating class, and should have a total family income that does not exceed poverty-level.

Each beneficiary has until June 30 to find a private school that will accept him as system grantee.

Hidalgo said the funds will be managed by the Fund for Assistance to Private Education, a private organization which has managed scholarship programs for the department since 1997.

The department provides scholarship for poor students through programs, such as the educational service contracting and the tuition fee supplement programs, created by Republic Act 6728, the Government Assistance To Students and Teachers in Private Education Act.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=34710

ABOVE ALL THINGS: Why graduates flunk government exams
By Ramon Jr. & Eloisa S. Mabutas Wednesday, April 05, 2006

The poor results of the bar examinations released last week are a clear indication of the worsening state of education in our country.

As academicians and mass media practitioners, we feel it is high time for the national leadership to exert extra efforts to improve our educational system before the quality of education deteriorates further.

To arrive at effective solutions, the causes of this growing educational crisis should be explored and analyzed. In our humble opinion, the following have something to do with the problem:

• The postwar educational policy of allowing local dialects as the medium of instruction in schools before grade four. We hear the use of local dialects in classrooms—even up to the collegiate level. Consequently, we have an increasing number of flunkers in government examinations in which English is the medium.

• Disappearance of the “total-education” scheme whereby students are trained/molded intellectually, physically and morally. Catechetical instruction was allowed in the primary grades in public schools. Similarly, the subject on “good manners and right conduct” was removed from the curriculum in favor of population control, thereby exposing the young minds to sex. As a result, we see youngsters engaging in sexual acts leading to premature marriages. Worse, they are ignorant of the eternal teachings of God.

• Infiltration of the education sector by politicians who get involved in the appointment and/or promotion of education officials and personnel, interfere with the educational programs in their respective areas of jurisdiction. As a result, we see irresponsible school officials who become evil models to the young students.

• The existence of uneducated individuals (no collegiate degrees or profession) in the pedestals of power. These people become bad models for the students who are lazy to study in the belief that they can become leaders without any degree or profession,

• Irresponsible parenthood. In the absence of any law preventing marriages between irresponsible individuals, i.e., persons who have no definite sources of income to support a family, we see the proliferation of irresponsible people (who cannot afford to go to school). Poverty has worsened the problem of “parental guidance” as parents desiring to generate higher incomes for their families find no time to guide their children to become responsible and enlightened citizens.

To remedy the situation, we should revert to the prewar educational setup in which English was the medium of instruction from grade one upward. Nationalism or patriotism is not shown by the language or dialect one speaks. Being used to English, a student can easily think and communicate his or her ideas in English.

With the restoration of total education, we shall also witness the emergence of responsible and enlightened citizenry.

We should isolate the educational sector from politics. Politicians should be banned from influencing education officials. The appropriation for education should be increased. Furthermore, education should be made compulsory—parents who fail to enroll their children should be penalized. It will be an ideal situation to adopt the policy in Canada where the government gives financial assistance to minors until they reach the age of 18.

The government should give free education. If the citizens know what the government is doing for them, they will readily comply with what is asked of them. In short, national unity can be attained through citizens’ education.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/apr/06/yehey/metro/20060406met6.html

THE Department of Education has realized that poor teaching in Mathematics and Science has contributed largely to the deterioration of the quality of education among Filipino schoolchildren.

In last year’s achievement tests, for example, public gradeschoolers and high-school students fared poorly in Math and Science with average scores below the passing mark.

To remedy this situation, about 7,500 teachers who are not majors in Math and Science will go through a six-week course to hone their skills and to improve their knowledge of content, strategies and tools in teaching the two subjects.

The certificate program will be handled by the DepEd and the Science Education Institute of the Department of Science and Technology. It is a one-year 24-unit program leading to a minor in Science or Math.

A survey conducted by the DepEd shows that pupils in public elementary schools posted a 59.10-percent score in Math, 59.15 percent in English, 54.12 percent in Science, 61.75 percent in Filipino and 59.55 percent in Hekasi (Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika). These scores are way below the standard passing grade of 75 percent.

The grades of public high-school students who took the national aptitude test were also below the passing mark. Public high school students posted scores of 50.7 in Math, 51.33 in English, 39.49 in Science, 42.49 in Filipino and 50.01 in Hekasi, also way below the 75-percent passing grade.
The national aptitude test covered the five subject areas.
--Jonathan Hicap

^^ I hope this can help the quality of education in the Phil.

PGMA has recently ordered the DPWH to build an additional 1,000 new modular libraries to address the severe backlog of public libraries in the country’s public school system. Thousands of students also received financial assistance to defray their miscellaneous expenses, in line with her Education-for-All program.

P400M in educational vouchers to be released

The government will provide up to P400 million ($7.8 million) in vouchers to allow 100,000 students to enroll in private schools, officials said on Thursday.

The educational vouchers will give an "opportunity to the underprivileged elementary-school graduates from the (government-run) school to study in a private school of their choice," education executive director Carolina Torio said.

The vouchers, which will equal about P4,000 per student, will be given to attend approved, private high schools.

Families are expected to make up the difference if tuition costs more than P4,000, officials said.

The state education system in the Philippines faces a serious shortage of teachers, classrooms and other facilities.

Classrooms are overcrowded and standards -- especially in English, science and math -- have deteriorated in recent years.

Private-school fees can exceed P20,000 per semester.

Only students who are in the upper half of their graduating class and who are considered poor will be eligible for the vouchers, education undersecretary Ramon Bacani said. AFP

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=35067

"Classrooms are overcrowded and standards -- especially in English, science and math -- have deteriorated in recent years."

these are my weakest point, kaylangan ko na talagang mag-work hard sa Math, English at Physics sa 4rth yr... :)

Clark Polytechnic Institute to offer aircraft maintenance course


CLARK ZONE, Pampanga - Recognizing the high global demand for workforce in the aviation industry, a local university will be offering a two-year aircraft maintenance course starting next year.

Clark Polytechnic Institute will be the site of Clark International Aviation School. It will conduct extensive pilot training for Airbus airplanes.

The aviation school will also have its own flight simulators-the first of its kind in the country.

The two-year technical program could be upgraded to baccalaureate degree if the student wants to pursue BS Aircraft Maintenance course.

The upgrading of technical course to higher education is part of CHED's ladderized program which allows students of a technical cours or two-year degree program upgrade into a related four-year degree course.

Clark Development Corporation (CDC) President Antonio R. Ng said the agreement with CPI was signed with Feati University, Commission on High Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

The extension program of Feati is in consonance with the expected development of Diosdado Macapagal International Airport into the country's premier international airport in the country and the expected surge of aviation related investment projects in Clark.

Feati is a private institution which offers technical and technological education.

DepEd to distribute educational vouchers to elementary students


MANILA -* The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said it will implement the educational voucher system this coming schoolyear.

In a press briefing in Malacanang, DepEd Undersecretary Ramon Bacani said a total of 100,000 educational vouchers worth P4,000 each will be distributed all over the country to deserving elementary students in public schools for them to have the opportunity to continue their studies in the secondary levels in a private school of their choice.

He said that priority will be given to students belonging to families of low-income earners and those in the poverty level.

Bacani said the program would ensure students in the primary levels who are enrolled now in public schools all over the country of better education to prepare them for a better life in the future.

Education is one of the 10-point agenda of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The President earlier said she wished for her 59th birthday today --more and better jobs, better education and health services for all Filipinos.

Aboitiz-owned firm helps finance Alternative Learning System


DAVAO CITY - A project on Alternative Learning System (ALS) being piloted by the Department of Education (DepEd) at the Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School (DRANHS) here will be given a big boost next school year.

This developed as the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC), the Aboitiz-owned electric distribution utility, committed itself to help finance the production of a five-module teaching aids for the project.

DepEd regional director Dr. Diamar Kadon earlier confirmed to DLPC that the ALS is an innovative approach in providing easy education to adults and out-of-school youths who would want to pursue elementary and secondary education amidst constraints brought about by economic problems as well as advancing age.

As of school year 2005-2006, a total of 1,100 adult and out-of-school young learners were enrolled in the program at DRANHS. More are expected to enrol next school year.

Thus, the teacher-in-charge of the ALS is apprehensive there will be a major lack of the modular teaching materials if no new copies of the module are produced.

Anticipating the problem to crop up, DRANHS approached Davao City councilor Pilar Braga for assistance who, however, begged off, saying funds for the purpose are not yet available.

Braga, former chairperson of the Education Committee, instead forwarded the request to DLPC president Alfonso Aboitiz. The latter did not hesitate to make his commitment of support after verifying the validity of the DRANHS request.

Printing new copies of the modular learning aids will cost Davao Light about P50,000. Community relations manager Vic Sumalinog said the completion of the production is targeted in time for the school opening in June.

Bill that seeks to create student loan program filed


MANILA — One does not have to be rich to help poor but deserving students get their college diplomas.

ALAGAD party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta said wage earners can help young people who lack the financial resources pursue their college education.

Marcoleta has filed House Bill 5279 that seeks to create a National Student Loan Program for the Poor.

Under the bill, any income earner can become a member of the National Student Loan Fund through voluntary contribution to the Fund.

“By becoming a member, you become a part of a solution to make college education accessible to those who belong to the lower income bracket of society,” he said.

Marcoleta said many talented young people are unable to pursue their tertiary education or drop from school because their parents could not afford the high tuition.

“Statistics show that of the college age population, less than 50 percent are enrolled in tertiary educational institutions and about 70 percent are living below the poverty line,” he said.

Marcoleta said a member of the National Student Loan Fund could designate a qualified beneficiary or “scholar” who can avail of a loan from the Fund to support his tertiary education.

He said these loans apply to the school of choice of the “scholar” and to any undergraduate degree course.

The measure provides that the loan amount shall be equivalent to the prevailing cost per academic unit at the University of the Philippines multiplied by 18 academic units and shall carry an annual interest rate of 15 percent payable over five years commencing on the first year after graduation of the scholar.

“The one-year period is to give the “scholar” enough time to look for a job and settle his loan obligations with the National Student Loan Fund,” Marcoleta said.

The bill also proposed all contributions made to the Fund and all repayments of graduate beneficiaries shall be deductible from the taxable personal income.

--By Fel V. Maragay
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics01_april07_2006

THE government will grant tuition subsidy to 100,000 scholars in private high schools this coming school year.

The educational benefit will be covered by the Education Voucher System (EVS) initiated by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with a funding support of P500 million.

A fixed amount of P4,000 shall be awarded to each qualified recipient to cover in whole or in part his tuition and other school fees in one school year in the secondary institution of his choice.

Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani said this will give underprivileged elementary school graduates a chance to study in a private high schools.
On whether the P4,000 subsidy is adequate or not to cover the cost of education, Bacani said this will depend on the high school where the students will enrol.

“There are some schools who charge P4,000 or less for tuition fee, but there are some which charge higher. So if the student chooses a school which charges more than P4,000, then the student will have to shoulder the difference,” he told a press briefing at the Palace.

The unique scheme was adopted not only to help bright students from poor families but also to assist private high schools, many of which are not financially viable.

This will also help in decongesting public high schools and discouraging the exodus of students and teachers from private institutions.
Educational voucher certificates will be distributed to 4,000 identified elementary schools at 22 voucher grants for school year 2006-2007.

To qualify for the educational grant, the applicant must be a public elementary graduate or must have passed the Philippine Education Placement Test and Alternative Learning Systems-Accreditation and Equivalency.
The beneficiary must come from a family whose annual earnings does not exceed the poverty level income as determined by the National Economic and Development Authority.

Data from the Department of Education showed that there are 1.87 million elementary and 1.40 million high school students who will graduate at the end of the current school year.

About 13.22 million elementary and 6.77 million high school students are expected to enroll in the coming school year in both public and private schools. About 93 percent of the enrollees for elementary level (12.38 million) and 81 percent for the secondary level (5.46 million) will come from public schools.

Bacani said the government will continue the Education Service Contracting Scheme for private schools

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office has earmarked P250 million for state scholars under the Department of Health’s educational program for medical workers.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the first batch of 100 scholars will enroll this June in 15 medical schools nationwide under the department’s “Pinoy MD Wanted Program.”

Full scholarships covering tuition and allowances for transportation and other school needs, will be given to poor but deserving medical students who are willing to serve in their home provinces after they graduate and pass the medical board examinations.

They will be required to work in the Philippines for two years for every year of their enrolment in the scholarship program.

Duque said the Pinoy MD Wanted Program is part of a Human Resource Masterplan for Health unveiled by the department in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health for a more comprehensive approach to address the Health Human Resources crisis.

The program aims to build a stronger workforce for health and ensure the sustainability of national and local health systems over the next 25 years.
The health secretary also acknowledged the shortage of Filipino doctors as a serious threat to the Philippine health care system.

The health department estimates that from 2000 to 2004, around 5,000 Filipino doctors have migrated abroad. And since 2003, government-run hospitals lost almost 500 Filipino doctors to foreign hospitals.

With the continuing exodus of doctors and other medical professionals to foreign lands, health authorities fear that health care services in the Philippines will suffer tremendously.

Duque hopes the Pinoy MD Wanted Program will boost the health department’s mandate to promote “Health for All”.
The DoH has implemented programs which tried to even out the inequitable distribution of health workers by enticing medical personnel to serve in remote provinces.

The earliest of these deployment programs is the Doctors to the Barrios program, which assigns volunteer doctors two years in far-flung areas.
The DTTB has already deployed 457 doctors in different parts of the country.

On Tuesday, the health department will take part in a historic forum and videoconference with some WHO experts in Geneva and other stakeholders where the country’s problems on human resources shall be tackled.

The DoH is already working out bilateral agreements with importing countries together with the DFA and POEA.

These trade agreements aim to promote the rights of our workers by having the recipient countries invest in their training and education as well in providing different forms of incentives.

“The race towards Health for All is winnable with the help of able, motivated and wiling drivers. We cannot do this without an efficient workforce who will deliver available health technology and services now sitting largely useless on the shelf.”



-By Macon Araneta
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics03_april17_2006

GMA allocates P581 M for DepEd training



By SHIANEE MAMANGLU

TEACHERS CAMP, Baguio City – President Arroyo yesterday inaugurated the newly renovated National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) building during the soft launch of the Department of Education’s summer training programs at Teachers Camp in this city.



During the inauguration, President Arroyo also announced the allocation of R581 million for the training of teachers in mathematics, English and science.

President Arroyo was joined by Department of Education (DepEd) Officer- in-Charge Dr. Fe Hidalgo, Secretary Silvestre Afable, and Presidential Assistant for Cordillera Tom Killip, Baguio City Mayor Braulio Yaranon and Representative Mauricio Domogan at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

"It is an honor to have our President personally visit our new training facility. We are also very thankful for the amount she recently provided for the training of our English, math and science teachers," said Hidalgo.

Hidalgo, founding director of NEAP, said the new facility will speed up the implementation of needed training and development programs to upgrade the competency of teachers in the Philippine basic education system.

At present, there are 340,231 elementary and 20,903 high school teachers who are non-majors in English, Science or Math.

This summer, 16,376 elementary and 20,903 high school teachers are expected to undergo various training programs prepared by NEAP, including a 10-day retraining for English, Math and Science non- majors and a six- month Computer-Aided Program for Improving English Proficiency of Teachers of Math, Science and Reading.

The DepEd OIC has turned over to the President some training modules and materials to be used in the different training programs of the NEAP.

The Academy offers on a regular basis various major development programs for teachers and school heads, such as the Basic Management and Instructional Leadership Course (BSMILC), Basic School Management Course (BSMC), Seminar-Workshop on Interactive Strategies in the Teaching of Science Concepts in the Secondary Level, Training on Reading-based Integrated Program for Multi-Grade Teachers, and Strategic Management and Instructional Leadership Course for School Administrators.

NEAP’s original structure was damaged during the July 1990 earthquake that hit Baguio City and the rest of Luzon. It has suffered from leaks and compromised structural integrity since then. Rehabilitation of the building was made possible through a R6.7 million grant from the Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP), which commenced in June 2005 and was completed in March 2006.

NEAP was established in 1992 to replace the National Educators Learning Center (NELC) as DepEd’s training arm.


http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2006041861672.html

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news07_april18_2006

THE government wants more five-year-old children in depressed areas to be included in the government’s preschool program, an official said yesterday.
“While the government is not yet capable of putting preschool education in the educational ladder, we would like to expand its coverage to reach more five-year-old kids particularly in the depressed areas in the country,” said Merlita Nolido, curriculum division chief of the Bureau of Elementary Education.

Education Secretary Fe Hidalgo said preschool education would be the focus of the First National Congress on Preschool at the Teachers Camp in Baguio City on May 18 to 20, when preschool teachers, education administrators, and supervisors gather to discuss the problems and opportunities in preschool education.

The elementary education bureau has proposed a P250 million budget this year to expand the coverage of public preschool education.

Hidalgo said the bureau expected new trends and best practices in preschool education and the sharing of teaching strategies at the congress.

“We also hope to identify programs and services related to early childhood education, determine unified curriculum standards for preschool education, and strengthen the partnership among preschool stakeholders on the institutionalization of preschool education for the whole country,” she said. Florante S. Solmerin

Standard Math, Science curricula planned



By MADEL R. SABATER

There is hope for Science and Math education in the country.



A framework for Science and Mathematics education in the country is now being developed in a bid to come up with a standard curriculum for teaching the said major subjects in both public and private schools.

In an interview with the Manila Bulletin, Science Education Institute (SEI — Department of Science and Technology) senior science research specialist Ruby Cristobal said the development of a framework in Science and Math education has been commissioned to the University of the Philippines — National Institute of Science and Mathematics Education (UP — NISMED) so the country would finally be able to "come up with a basis in creating a curriculum" for the said subject areas.

"The curriculum (for Science and Math) is revised every five years (but there is) no solid foundation for Science and Math, surprisingly," she said.

The framework talks about philosophies, principles and perceived outcomes in Science and Math education. It also includes statements which "will tell you the direction of the curriculum," Cristobal said.

"You address both (student and teacher curriculum) by developing Science and Math framework," she added.

According to Cristobal, the development of a framework in Science involves the country’s top academicians in the said field, including Dr. Tina Padolina and Dr. Lolita Andrada of the UP — NISMED, among others.

For Mathematics, meanwhile, the development of the framework is headed by Dr. Catherine Vistro Yu of the Ateneo de Manila University.

"Both groups (are expected) to produce an output by December 2006," Cristobal said, adding that the output would have to include policies, documents as well as the form of the framework.

The SEI senior science research specialist added that it’s about time the country develops its own framework since other countries, including Australia and Japan, and even the state of California have its own framework in Science and Math education.

"Without the framework, everytime you change the curriculum, you don’t know where to go," she said, adding that the said framework would then be recommended to the Department of Education (DepEd).

"It is up to DepEd and Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to use it (framework) as a guide in developing the curriculum," Cristobal said.

Earlier, SEI executive director Dr. Ester Ogena cited the lack of teachers specializing in Mathematics and Science as the primary reason for the students’ negative attitude in Science and Math.

"It simply indicates that when teachers are not fully prepared to teach the subject areas, we cannot really have a very good pool of students knowing Mathematics and Science very well," she said.

The SEI executive director also stressed the need for Science and Math teachers to have a good command of the English language.

"In Science, you need proper understanding of the (English) language because there are problem situations given and if you have not understood the context of the problem, then you will not have a good processing of the information," she said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/MTNN2006041961760.html

IQ, based on the mean of a variety of IQ tests

Hong Kong = 107 (Highest in the world)
South Korea = 106 (Ranked #2 in the world)
Japan = 105 (#3)
Taiwan = 104 (#4)
Singapore = 103 (#5)
.
.
.
Germany = 102 (#7)
.
.
.
China = 100
UK = 100
.
.
.
Australia = 98
France = 98
USA = 98
Canada = 97
Russia = 96
Vietnam = 96 (as noted in the source material, based on insufficient, incomplete and somewhat outdated data).
.
.
Israel = 94
.
.
.
Malaysia = 92
.
.
.
Turkey = 90

[90 is estimated to be the "cutting point". Any nations below this 90-point line will not be able to *fully* developed into an advanced technology-based society due to the limitation of the general population's intelligence and their inability to learn nor manage the complexity of a high-tech society]

Indonesia = 89
.
.
.
Iraq = 87
Mexico = 87
Philippines = 86
.
.
.
India = 81
[Surprisingly; as explained in the source material, this is due to the caste system in India and the lack of intermarriages among different castes. India has a *FEW* elite castes and ethnic groups, from the priest and merchant castes, which are exceptionally intelligent. However, the bulk of the population and most of the castes actually have low IQs, therefore, lowering the overall mean IQ of the entire population in sampling. That means that India, as a whole, will not be able to become a fully developed country in the long run unless it can resolve the uneven IQ spread.]
.
.
.
Equatorial Guinea = 59


Source: IQ and the Wealth of Nations, by Dr. Richard Lynn and Dr. Tatu Vanhanen

Solon lauds remedial classes for teachers, pushes for more educational reforms
By Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE) April 21, 2006

MANILA, Philippines – A party-list solon lauded the program launched by the Department of Education (DepEd) where 37,000 public school teachers will be honed in Mathematics, English and Science in response to the call of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to address the deteriorating quality of Philippine education, but was quick to add that this is still not enough to solve the problem.

Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE) Party-list Representative Eulogio “Amang” R. Magsaysay said “the DepEd program is definitely a step in the right direction in our efforts to address the growing problem on education.”

“We are pleased with this re-training program and appreciate the fact that the initiative came from no less than the highest official in our country,” he stated, adding that “this is a manifestation that the President is being consistent with her 10-point agenda, where ‘education for all’ is stressed.” According to him, “as molders of the young, inquisitive minds, our teachers should be well-equipped in their craft and this includes undergoing re-training at least every year to enhance their skills.”

Magsaysay, a staunch advocate of education as the effective means of alleviating poverty in the country, believes that the Php581-million allocation for the said training is a good start. However, he stressed that the need for more programs that will ease the constraints faced by our teachers is still glaring. He cited the recent Social Weather Survey (SWS) report that the ‘self-assessed proficiency in the English language’ of Filipinos, especially on the ability to speak it, has ‘dropped over the past twelve years.’ This and the fact that only 6.59 percent of senior high school students have mastery of English based on the recent tests conducted by DepEd, only show the alarming state of English-teaching in our country today.

Although acknowledging the government’s budgetary constraints, Magsaysay is determined to reverse the declining quality of education with his House Bills 1189 and 1190 that seek to upgrade the salary grade level of public school teachers in elementary and secondary levels from grade 10 to grade 19 and provide further non-monetary benefits, respectively.

“Aside from constant retraining, our teachers are in dire need of receiving higher wage,” the lawmaker contends. “With only Php9,939 as their basic salaries, our teachers cannot help but seek greener pastures abroad where they could get higher remuneration. If only we can provide them the amount commensurate to their hard work and sacrifice, we will not lose them to foreign countries and suffer brain drain,” he said, adding that “most of the good teachers are already teaching abroad and that most of those who are left here are either fresh graduates or do not have the three basic foundation subjects as their major field of studies.”

Based on the 2003 Labstat Updates of the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, from 112 in 1992, the number of teachers who left the country every year rose five times in 2002, with 586 of them opting to teach abroad.

http://www.inq7.net/archive/2006/apr/22/zoom.jpg

That is one of the best souvenir that she'll have during her education years.

:okay:

^^ Wait till she becomes a politician someday.

- delete- (wrong context)

ang ganda pa naman nya... tsk tsk...

That is why I'm saving her picture. She might be the future President of The Philippines. :D

wow... I mean why? hahaha, nakakahiya naman yun. well, in my opinion, if you hate the president, just be quiet na lang, try to control it to prevent bad things to happen, nakakahiya naman kasi yung ginawa niya eh, hahahaha, there should be respect to your enemies at some time where you should not do that....

hay, nakakatawa naman toh! hahahaha...

wow... I mean why? hahaha, nakakahiya naman yun. well, in my opinion, if you hate the president, just be quiet na lang, try to control it to prevent bad things to happen, nakakahiya naman kasi yung ginawa niya eh, hahahaha, there should be respect to your enemies at some time where you should not do that....

hay, nakakatawa naman toh! hahahaha...

It is not proper, but due to the right timing of getting attention to express what this new graduate want to relate, that was her 15 minutes of fame.

There is one thing for sure, she had the guts. :)

O well, that's Philippine Education now!

parang eksena sa isang teleserye.... :jk:

though you really have to admire her guts (she still went on the stage to take her diploma and shook hands with GMA). If i were GMA i would put her in my Malacañang.

Para ngang ang kapal niya. Umakyat pa sa entablado para makipag-handshake kay Gloria. Hypocrisy yata yun. Kung gagawin lang din niya yun, wala ng handshake-handshake pa.

http://images.inq7.net/news/nation/images/2006/apr/22/nat_3.jpg

She learned political diplomacy right away. :D

Ganyan din dito, sa US congress and Senate, halos magsabunutan mga tao sa congress but after the session me photo ops and beso beso pa sila.

^^ nagpapansin lang yan para makakuha agad ng trabaho.. gusto siguro niya ma hire ng oposisyon

PGMA orders release of P50-M for modernization of science and engineering courses of Cavite State University



INDANG - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered on Friday the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to release P50 million for the modernization of the science and engineering courses and laboratories of the Cavite State University (CvSU) in Indang, Cavite.

The President issued the directive during her speech at the 79th commencement exercises of CvSU, the oldest school in Cavite, one of the key provinces comprising the fast-growing CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region.

Established in 1906, Cavite State University is celebrating its centennial this year.

In her speech, the President instructed CHED Chairman Carlito Puno to provide P50 million to CvSU in order to upgrade its facilities in science and engineering laboratories to further improve the skills and capabilities of the graduates of the state university.

The President learned that graduates of engineering and sciences courses are in demand in all factories within the highly-industrializing CALABARZON.

She noted that the engineering course graduates have better chances of getting jobs immediately because big factories in the CALABARZON need more engineers specifically for their operations related to communication, industrial, and infrastructure.

"Ang aking best wishes para sa CvSU, sa inyong 100th anniversary, ay sana sooner or later, the sooner the better, na ang batch 2006 ay 100 percent din ang hiring ng ating mga graduates," the President said.

Aside from the P50 million fund, the President also tasked Puno to provide scholarships to all students who will undergo specialization in science and engineering courses.

She also ordered the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to coordinate with the management of CvSU to establish a call center finishing school in the state university.

The Chief Executive likewise instructed CvSU officials to provide discounts to teachers from various schools in Cavite who want to take enhancement courses in Math, English and Science this summer.

The President also wants the university to strengthen its research on agricultural technology, especially on how to fully develop the potentials of the coffee industry of Cavite as well as improving further the quality of the virgin coconut oil.

"Itong tulong sa research sa kape ay tulong na rin ng Department of Agriculture sa inyong unibersidad," she said.

According to her, the government’s education programs are being funded by the revenues being generated from the fiscal measures adopted by her administration last year.

After her speech, the President distributed the diplomas and certificates to the 1,159 new graduates of the university from different courses.

Among those who joined the President in the graduation rites were Cavite Governor Erineo Maliksi, Vice Governor Jonvic Remulla, CHED Chairman Puno, and the mayors from the different municipalities and cities of the province.

Flavier bats for more education budget to reverse decline in English proficiency


MANILA – Senate President Pro Tempore Juan Flavier on Wednesday proposed for additional budget in the education sector to reverse the decline of English proficiency among Filipinos.

Flavier, chairman of the Senate committee in education, arts and culture, said that the said decline, however, is expected.

”It is not quite surprising since it is going on for years,” Flavier said implying the steady decline of the mastery of English language of Filipinos.

He, however, predicted that this trend will go on due to the population explosion where the government cannot meet the demand of the number of students.

A survey from the Social Weather Station (SWS) conducted from March 8 to 14 showed that 65 percent of Filipinos can understand spoken English as compared to 77 percent in year 2000.

In the latest survey 55 percent of Filipinos can read in English, 48 percent can write in English, 32 percent spoke the language, 27 percent can think in English while 14 percent are not competent in the language.

In the survey, in year 2000, 76 percent can read the language, 61 percent can write in English, 54 percent in can speak the language, 44 percent can think in English while only seven percent lack competence on the language.

The March 8-14 survey also found a slight decline in the personal usage of English. Five percent made full use of the language, 35 percent made fair use, 27 percent made partial use, 19 percent made almost no use while 14 percent were not competent in the language.

It was also found that personal usage of English is practiced among the younger groups and among those with higher education.

The survey did not elaborate on the factors that led to the decline in English mastery but the Department of Education said the contributory factors are inadequate resources and training of teachers and the rise of “Taglish” or Tagalog-English, especially among the youth.

Tarlac classrooms goes hi-tech


TARLAC CITY - In line with its vision for the empowerment of the youth of Tarlac and to equip them for the challenges of an emerging economic hub, the Tarlac provincial government has chosen to incorporate Inter-media educational television as a progressive teaching tool in its public elementary and high schools.

With the emerging requirements of the province for an able-bodied and academically-ready labor force in anticipation of an industrial and commercial boom within two to five years, Tarlac province would have to intensify its efforts to improve the quality of its human resources.

The project aims to provide a contemporary way of education to students and at the same time combine conventional and modern ways of teaching.

The basic idea is to provide each classroom with the appropriate technology for interactive and educational shows. Private institutions are also working closely with the local government especially in the area of funding.

The actual set-up will include a computer (main server) to be situated at the administration building of the school, six separate computers for each grade level accompanied by a television which will broadcast the lesson for the day.

Each computer can be independently controlled depending on how fast the students in each class can learn. These computers of the different grade levels are backed up by the main server which also serves as the “library” of all the lessons to be taught.

The Department of Education will be in charge of the materials to be used for the program. A successful test run was already conducted at the Special Projects Office under the direction of the Mr. Victor A. Yap, Executive Assistant IV, office of the Governor. (

Philippine International Schools: In a Class of their own
By Dr. Dante A. Ang Thursday, April 27, 2006

Some 50 delegates representing 39 Philippine schools overseas gathered last week from April 21 to 24 in Xiamen, China, for a three-day conference. This year’s topic was “Effective and Efficient School Management.” The conference was a singular success.

I take my hat off to the school owners, principals and teachers (all Filipinos, by the way, save one), who flew from as far away as the Middle East, for demonstrating their dedication and commitment to raising the bar of excellence of Philippine education for Filipinos overseas. I congratulate the employees of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and the Manila-Xiamen International School, without whose help the conference could not have been professionally conducted.

I also congratulate Engr. Roman and Dr. Mildred Go, owners of the Manila-Xiamen International School, who graciously served as conference hosts. The husband and wife team made our stay pleasant and fruitful. They made all the arrangements for transportation to and from the airport, extended immigration assistance to guests and participants and organized a wonderful island-tour, including shopping at the SM, of course. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Go.

The CFO chairs the Inter-Agency Committee, comprising the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Education and Culture, and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration. The committee supervises the conduct of Philippine schools abroad.

A sense of urgency

At a time when more and more Filipinos find employment outside the country, the need for Philippine schools in overseas workplaces attains a sense of urgency. The provision of such schools is one service the Philippine government can be proud of.

This explains why the CFO, through the Inter-Agency Committee, encourages Filipino expatriates to set up Philippine schools, the better to provide their children with quality, affordable education. By so doing, the government also helps preserve our identity and culture among second-generation Filipinos abroad by making them more conscious and appreciative of their history as a people and as a nation.

Save for one or two, all Philippine international schools are doing well. The two schools, to be sure, are not hobbled by financial problems owing to low enrollment. They actually have more than enough enrollees they could accommodate. Their difficulties have more to do with questions of personalities or issues that are far removed from their viability as educational institutions.

The quality of education

That aside, I am very proud of the Philippine schools overseas. Records show that they have 100-percent passing average for high-school graduates who are entering college. Quite a number were accepted in renowned colleges and universities in Europe and in the United States—a testament to the quality of their education.

I have visited the facilities of the Manila-Xiamen International School twice in my four-day stay on the island. I was deeply impressed. The school is world-class. Its Filipino and Chinese teachers, the quality of education and excellence of facilities are superior in every respect. The school does the Philippines proud. It stands head and shoulders with the world’s best.

International accreditation

Only last month, the school had secured accreditation from the Switzerland-based International Baccalaureate Organization. In other words, the school is now accredited internationally. Its graduates are recognized and may be accepted by educational institutions in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

The Manila-Xiamen International School has demonstrated that education can be another rich source of Philippine export. Instead of exporting teachers, the Gos have decided to export education instead. And they have succeeded eminently.

Their pioneering initiatives didn’t go unnoticed. The Xiamen authorities have conferred on Roman Go the distinction of being an Honorary Citizen of Xiamen, and the Chinese government has conferred on Dr. Mildred Go the Friendship Award.

The Filipino expatriates (I prefer to call them expatriates rather than overseas Filipino workers) have shown us why they are called “Bagong Bayani [the new heroes].”

In establishing Filipino schools overseas, they did not seek financial help from the government. Instead, they used their modest resources, dipped into their pockets and raised funds for their activities to make quality education available to Filipino children living in foreign climes.

Creative expatriates

The hard-working, creative expatriates rose in concert to respond to one of the great challenges of our time—reaching out to Filipino youths around the world and spreading the blessings of education. Their initiative in setting up Philippine schools overseas is a gauge of their nationalism and patriotism, a source of national pride for the more than 7 million Filipinos working and living overseas. Our Filipino schools overseas are in a class of their own. They deserve our recognition, support and affection.

RP university starts cyber learning for students in Korea


MANILA - The University of Makati (UMAK) will serve as an on-line educational institution for students in Korea, stretching the country's information technology services around the globe.

UMAK inked a memorandum of agreement with the Pacific Yale University (PYU)-Korea Campus for an on-line educational program.

Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay said based on the agreement, UMAK will serve as a distance learning cyber university providing venue for on-line classes for Korean students in Korea.

"It is another first for our city-owned university. Not only will our university serve as an on-line campus but also our UMAK professors will be given the privilege to teach through the power of Internet," Binay said.

UMAK president Tomas Lopez, Jr. said 12 UMAK professors and three staffers are now undergoing information technology (IT) training in preparation for their computer-based on-line teaching.

The PYU is a leading on-line university offering on-line courses, with complete degree programs from Associate to Doctoral degrees as well as Undergraduate and Post Doctoral Certificates.

PYU-Korea Campus is an affiliate of the PYU based in California, USA.

Lopez said aside from providing the on-line class venue and professors, UMAK will also provide a curriculum of the courses to be offered.

Such curriculum is aligned with the regular curricular offering of UMAK with special provision for on-line teaching.

PYU-Korea Campus, on the other hand, will be responsible for all the information technology required to produce the courses on-line.

They will provide the equipment and Internet access, technical staff and maintenance of equipment.

^ The government should take the education system seriously. It should be valued because this brings out Filipinos towards their full potential in being globally competetive.

Dapat nilang pagtutunan ng pansin ang budget. Pinakamaliit ang share ng education.

^^ What are you talking about it has the lion's share. The problem is that we need more money.

RP university starts cyber learning for students in Korea


MANILA - The University of Makati (UMAK) will serve as an on-line educational institution for students in Korea, stretching the country's information technology services around the globe.

UMAK inked a memorandum of agreement with the Pacific Yale University (PYU)-Korea Campus for an on-line educational program.

Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay said based on the agreement, UMAK will serve as a distance learning cyber university providing venue for on-line classes for Korean students in Korea.

"It is another first for our city-owned university. Not only will our university serve as an on-line campus but also our UMAK professors will be given the privilege to teach through the power of Internet," Binay said.

UMAK president Tomas Lopez, Jr. said 12 UMAK professors and three staffers are now undergoing information technology (IT) training in preparation for their computer-based on-line teaching.

The PYU is a leading on-line university offering on-line courses, with complete degree programs from Associate to Doctoral degrees as well as Undergraduate and Post Doctoral Certificates.

PYU-Korea Campus is an affiliate of the PYU based in California, USA.

Lopez said aside from providing the on-line class venue and professors, UMAK will also provide a curriculum of the courses to be offered.

Such curriculum is aligned with the regular curricular offering of UMAK with special provision for on-line teaching.

PYU-Korea Campus, on the other hand, will be responsible for all the information technology required to produce the courses on-line.

They will provide the equipment and Internet access, technical staff and maintenance of equipment.

Frankly, I'm deeply bothered.

Why the hell are we focusing are attention on teaching Koreans when we know for a fact that our education system is alarmingly deteriorating?

First, that's besides the point of the article. I think were trying to be optimistic with certain programs that would improve the educational system(like the English is Fun program) and focus on that rather than complain all the time and be pessimistic...
Second, Hello and welcome to SSC!!! Mapansin kong newbie ka palang. Will you please make a short visit here and make an introduce yourself : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=8189148#post8189148

he University of Makati (UMAK) will serve as an on-line educational institution for students in Korea


What are you talking about it has the lion's share. The problem is that we need more money.


It doesn't have, dear. Lion's share is yung sa pambayad ng interes ng mga utang natin. PHP1,000 lang ang allocated na budget per student sa public schools. Kung titignan mo ang public schools nakakalula ang ratio ng students sa isang classroom at ang ration ng students sa book sets

^^ I mean the lion's share whrein we spend for the budget for society. We already know that we are paying a heafty amount to debt.Second, please read post 231 and make an introduction on the linked thread. :)

Maybe, including yung mga gastos sa mga congress at senate sessions.

An incredible amount of money are spent for those "useless" debate sessions in congress; buti sana kung may mapupuntahan pero kadalasan, issues is not settled. Basta-basta namamatay yung issue.

It's really amazing kung paano sila nakakalabas ng pera para sa mga sessions nila pero nagkukuripot pagdating sa education, infrastructures, health programs

Frankly, I'm deeply bothered.

Why the hell are we focusing are attention on teaching Koreans when we know for a fact that our education system is alarmingly deteriorating?

i think UMAK is just forging a partnership with korean universities.. so no big deal..

DTI assures steady prices of school supplies


MANILA – As the opening of classes come close, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila assures the buying public of strict monitoring to ensure that prices of school supplies in the market remain stable.

Favila met recently with school supplies manufacturers and retailers, the Department of Education and an association of private schools to discuss the latest price and supply situation of notebooks, pencils, crayons, writing pads and other school materials amid the expected increase in demand for these commodities.

"Our manufacturers have assured us of enough supply, and they have already placed their products in the market as early as February so their production and distribution costs were hardly affected by the current oil price hikes," Favila said.

Favila also told the industry players that DTI will continue to monitor prices of school supplies in bookstores, department stores and supermarkets to ensure that retailers are keeping their prices within reasonable levels.

Undersecretary for Consumer Welfare Zenaida Cuison Maglaya has also encouraged consumers to start buying their needed school supplies to avoid the huge crowd in malls as the school opening draws near. Also, to save on expenses, she suggested that parents go to the store with a ready shopping list to prevent impulse buying.

Furthermore, Director Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba of DTI-Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection urged parents and students to refrain from buying notebooks with obscene front covers as means of putting a stop to the proliferation of these products.

"We have already requested the manufacturers to look into the production of lewd notebooks. We have also called the attention of the teachers and school administrators to assist in banning the use of these items by their students," Dimagiba said.

DTI urges consumers to report any knowledge of excessive pricing on school supplies and sale of lewd notebooks by calling the DTI Consumer Assistance Hotline at 751-3330 or sending DTImessage to 2920.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/may02/metro4.htm

THE Department of Education (DepEd) will provide more than 14,000 scholarship grants to high school teachers to close the gap between the needs of students and the knowledge and skill level of teachers particularly in mathematics, science and English.

DepEd officer-in-charge Fe Hidalgo said the scholarship program is part of their efforts to upgrade the skills of teachers, especially in the three critical subject areas where the country has constantly lagged behind in international surveys.

Some 7,311 high school teachers who did not major in English, mathematics and science will be given the scholarship at state colleges and universities (SCU) while another 6,843 who did not major in the three subjects either and who cannot be absorbed by the SCUs this summer will undergo intensive region-based training in the three subject areas.

This is on top of the 37,000 elementary and high school teachers who are undergoing refresher courses this summer to prepare them for the school opening in June.

Hidalgo however said the P500 million set aside for the whole program is not enough to train 500,000 teachers nationwide.

Education officials blame the lack of adequate training of the teachers themselves as a major factor for the low level of achievement of public school students in the three subjects. DepEd records showed that only 25 percent of mentors teaching mathematics, science and English nationwide were actually trained in these disciplines.

Records showed that Grade 6 students scored 59 percent in English, 59.10 percentin Mathematics and 54.12 percent in Science. High school students scored 51.33 percent in English, 50.70 percent in Mathematics and 39.49 percent in Science.

A survey done by the Social Weather Stations last March showed that the mastery of the English language has been on a steady decline over the past 12 years. The survey also revealed that the decline was not limited to a single area but in all aspects of English proficiency, most notably on the ability to speak the language

How would you compare the Philippines' tertiary schools to the likes of India, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and S'Pore?

Can the best students from DLSU, Ateneo, or UP match up to India's IIT, HKU, or Beijing University? How are our professors, curricula, and study habits?

^^ - I've always believed that it's not the school, but the student. I mean, maybe in terms of facilities, professors, etc. we may still lag behind other schools. But if a student perseveres, there is no reason for he/she not to be at par with other students of the world.

IMO, the best students of the Philippines can match-up with the best of the world. :)

IMO, the best students of the Philippines can match-up with the best of the world. :)
agree!

Well, yea. I'm a believer that any country can produce top level talent... but you can't run on natural talent alone.

For example, a math genius will excel no matter what school he goes to. But only elite schools like MIT with its top notch professors and deep pockets for research grants could unleash said genius's true potential. The facilities, faculty, and endowments do matter. Its ability to provide the students with the tools is invaluable in the learning process.


I read an article the other day about how Chinese and Indian university programmers absolutely obliterated all the other universities of the world in some kind of programming competition. Only one school from the U.S. even placed in the ~top 15. Since these cultures push the sciences and mathematics harder than their U.S. counterparts, its understandable that their academic programs would be stronger in those areas.


I guess what i was trying to say was, given the SAME individual, how much would he benefit if he were to go to one school as opposed to another (the schools mentioned in my previous post).

^^ - Good point. :) I guess what I was just trying to say in my earlier post is that, for example, a student wants to learn topic A, but the university they belong to doesn't teach topic A... then the student makes the effort to learn topic A through different means.. internet, journals, etc. :)

Just want to share this...In the ACM International Programming Competition, I think the Russians placed first this year. During the early years, the Philippines didn't qualify to go to the World Championships. It was only last year that the Philippines (ADMU) was able to qualify for the World Championships by placing 2nd in an Asian Region Qualifying Event. This year, the Philippines (still ADMU) qualified again for the World Championships. Though they didn't place high in the World Championships, the fact that the Philippines have qualified is a sign that institutions (methodologies, or maybe facilities) and/or students are improving. :)

WHILE militant labor groups insist that unemployment in the country is now of crisis proportion, the Department of Labor and Employment asserts that there has been a sharp increase in employment in the first five month of the year.

Labor Undersecretary Manuel Imson said that total employment nationwide during the first months of the year rose by 750,000, a 2.4-percent growth, compared with the 0.3-percent growth, or some 87,000 employment, for the same period last year.

Complementing the domestic employment growth, Imson said, is the global deployment in 2005 of 988,383 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), or a growth rate of 5.87 percent (54,795) compared with 933,588 in 2004.

In local employment, the strongest growth was in the combined agriculture, fishery and forestry sector while jobs in the services sector also soared.
--William B. Depasupil

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/may/04/yehey/metro/20060504met4.html

The Department of Education (DepEd) has set up a price monitoring team tasked to keep a close watch on the prices of school supplies as part of its preparations for the school year 2006-2007.

DepEd officer-in-charge Fe Hidalgo said they have sought the assistance of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to ensure the prices of schools supplies and materials will be at the minimum level.

The monitoring team is expected to conduct surprise visits and inspections of various school supply retail outlets in different malls and supermarkets.

The DepEd also disclosed the holding of an inter-agency meeting on May 22 with the DTI together with officials of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), PNP, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Pag-asa, Department of Health (DoH), and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The inter-agency convergence meeting is part of the DepEd’s annual Balik-Eskwela Program in preparation for the school opening.

The Balik-Eskwela program is aimed at ensuring and protecting the welfare and interest not only of students and parents but of the general public as whole in connection with the coming school opening.

Aside from the DTI, the DepEd will be tapping the help of PNP in securing public safety, MMDA, for traffic, the DoH for health programs, Pag-asa for weather forecasts and condition, and the DSWD, for its social welfare and development programs. Jason Faustino


http://www.tribune.net.ph/metro/20060509met7.html

We still have stable prices on school supplies despite the coming school days. Even TV shows monitor the prices of school supplies nowadays. I was watching early shows that feature places where school supplies are cheaper. Indeed, their prices are still stable.
Despite the oil price increases and the season, it’s a good thing that we still have stable prices for school supplies and materials. Quite a help for the families out there who still have to manage to send their children to schools.

Solon urges screening of English finishing schools


MANILA - House Deputy Speaker Eduardo Gullas has urged regulators and business sectoral groups to work out a voluntary screening system for independent English language finishing schools that have proliferated owing to the country’s booming information technology- enabled service industries.

Gullas urged local governments to combine forces with the Commission on Higher Education, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) in establishing a reliable voluntary accreditation program for centers offering short courses in English proficiency.

Gullas was reacting to reports that English finishing centers have multiplied in recent months due to the growing number of fresh college graduates brushing up on their communication skills in order to qualify for good-paying jobs in call centers and other business process outsourcing (BPO) providers.

The demand for short courses in English and other foreign languages is also being driven in part by overseas-bound Filipino workers.

"We want to encourage these centers to voluntarily submit themselves to evaluation and possible accreditation," Gullas, an educator and author of a bill seeking to reinstate English as the medium of instructions in schools, said.

"This way, if the centers are found providing good- quality instruction, then perhaps the sectoral groups concerned such as BPAP or CCAP might even consider giving their stamps of approval," he added.

"Once accredited, the centers might even be in a position to help facilitate the possible recruitment of their trainees by BPAP or CCAP member-firms," Gullas pointed out.

In the process, the Cebu lawmaker said the "less than adequate" centers would also be put in check.

Gullas, meanwhile, stressed the need for Congress to provide the Department of Labor and Employment’s Technical Education Skills and Development Authority increased funding to enable the agency to invest more aggressively in the "English retooling" of workers.

The self-assessed English proficiency of Filipinos has slumped considerably in the last 12 years, according to a March 2006 survey by the Social Weather Stations.

The poll showed a decline in all aspects of English mastery, most notably in the ability to speak the language, as compared to the results of similar polls in December 1993 and September 2000.

This, even as an overwhelming majority of those polled acknowledged that English communication skills are essential to secure high-paying jobs, whether here or abroad.

Decline in English proficiency in RP threatens economy
Posted: 10:53 AM | May 22, 2006

Eunice Fernando and Sarah Azucena
Agence France-Presse

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Subscribe to Business News SMS Alerts on your mobile phone! Send ON EXTRA BUSINESS to 2207 for Globe, or EXTRA BUSINESS to 386 for Smart.

FOR DECADES the troubled Philippines economy has been able to bank on one key asset in attracting foreign investors -- proficiency in the English language.

In recent years it has helped win outsourcing contracts in the booming business process and call center sectors, one of the few areas of the nation's economy that is actually expanding.

But even that lifeline in this poor country appears a tenuous one as fears surface over a sharp decline in English compounded by falling school standards and a mass exodus of linguistically skilled professionals.

Business leaders are starting to question just how long the country can go on touting its English skills.

Some local and foreign business groups are so concerned they have started their own language centers to fill the gaps left by a deteriorating school system.

The European Chamber of Commerce warned recently that 75 percent of the country's annual 400,000 college graduates have "sub-standard English skills."

With an exodus of teachers, especially in English and math, to better paying jobs overseas the country's education system is fast deteriorating.

Senator Edgardo Angara recently described the deterioration of the country's school system as a "ticking bomb."

"We have practically squandered our intellectual capital," he said at a seminar.

He said that in all international achievement tests, the Philippines is rated near the bottom in all subjects.

"That is a reflected in the fast deterioration of our education standards both in public and private schools."

Official achievement tests given to graduating high school students in the 2004-2005 school year showed that only 6.59 percent could read, speak, and comprehend English well enough to enter college. Some 44.25 percent had no English skills at all.

Eduardo Gullas, who filed a bill in 2004 to make English the medium of instruction at all levels in schools, has warned that the rapid decline in English competency would "eventually erode the competitiveness of the country's human resources, both here and abroad, in an increasingly globalized village."

His bill is still sitting in the House of Representatives gathering dust.

"The employment of Filipinos overseas will soon be overtaken by China and India," Gullas said, warning that Filipino engineers in the Middle East risk being dislodged by Indian and Chinese engineers who not only speak better English, but analyze and write reports in English better.

Reversing the decline
Concerned with the decline in education, especially in English, the American and European chambers of commerce have begun ambitious training programs in an attempt to reverse the trend.

The European Chamber, along with local business groups, recently launched a program called "English is Cool!" intended to revive the popularity of English among the country's youth.

In a globalized economy, "English is a ticket to the future," the chamber said, adding that only three out of 100 applicants meet proficiency standards of the outsourcing industry.

For program director Rina Tanchoco the decline of English among Filipinos is "definitely repairable and reversible."

The Makati Business Club's Philippines-US Business Council and the American Chamber of Commerce are targeting their English proficiency program at teachers, students, and the workforce.

The program hopes to have 50 computerized English language centers operating in the Philippines with 250 teachers and 42,000 students trained and certified within the next three years.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the education department to make English the primary medium of instruction nationwide, although the decree does not have the force of law to compel schools to do.

Although some subjects will still be taught in the national language, Tagalog, the Filipinos must recognize that English makes it internationally competitive, Arroyo said in a policy speech earlier this year.

The decline of English sounds painful for Matthew Gray, an American who trains Filipinos to speak with American accents for jobs at call centers.

"Filipinos are pretty good but they still have lapses with their tenses, verb usage, subject-verb agreement -- the basics," the Call Center Academy accent trainer told AFP.

Peter Wallace, president of The Wallace Business Forum which regularly surveys foreign businesses in this country, said that only six percent of people interviewed for jobs in call centers had the required skills in English.

"So it's hard to see how the Philippines can compete with elsewhere," Wallace said.

There is plenty of blame to go around, with Gray faulting cellphone text messaging and the popularity of foreign soap operas dubbed into the Filipino language.

"There has been a steady decline from the time when the Philippines took pride in itself as one of the best English-speaking nations," Neil Perez an English and Literature lecturer at Manila's University of Santo Tomas acknowledged.

Perez blames the decline on the influence of pop culture and domestic media, where the dominant language is "taglish," a combination of Tagalog and English.

"The common language of everybody is this hybrid language taglish," he said. "It has become the standard rather than the exception.

"The kind of things that we see on television promotes the bastardization of the English language. We accept what the media feeds us," Perez added.

Copyright 2006 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Decline in English proficiency in RP threatens economy
Posted: 10:53 AM | May 22, 2006

Eunice Fernando and Sarah Azucena
Agence France-Presse

printable version

email a story

write the editor

feedback


Subscribe to Business News SMS Alerts on your mobile phone! Send ON EXTRA BUSINESS to 2207 for Globe, or EXTRA BUSINESS to 386 for Smart.

FOR DECADES the troubled Philippines economy has been able to bank on one key asset in attracting foreign investors -- proficiency in the English language.

In recent years it has helped win outsourcing contracts in the booming business process and call center sectors, one of the few areas of the nation's economy that is actually expanding.

But even that lifeline in this poor country appears a tenuous one as fears surface over a sharp decline in English compounded by falling school standards and a mass exodus of linguistically skilled professionals.

Business leaders are starting to question just how long the country can go on touting its English skills.

Some local and foreign business groups are so concerned they have started their own language centers to fill the gaps left by a deteriorating school system.

The European Chamber of Commerce warned recently that 75 percent of the country's annual 400,000 college graduates have "sub-standard English skills."

With an exodus of teachers, especially in English and math, to better paying jobs overseas the country's education system is fast deteriorating.

Senator Edgardo Angara recently described the deterioration of the country's school system as a "ticking bomb."

"We have practically squandered our intellectual capital," he said at a seminar.

He said that in all international achievement tests, the Philippines is rated near the bottom in all subjects.

"That is a reflected in the fast deterioration of our education standards both in public and private schools."

Official achievement tests given to graduating high school students in the 2004-2005 school year showed that only 6.59 percent could read, speak, and comprehend English well enough to enter college. Some 44.25 percent had no English skills at all.

Eduardo Gullas, who filed a bill in 2004 to make English the medium of instruction at all levels in schools, has warned that the rapid decline in English competency would "eventually erode the competitiveness of the country's human resources, both here and abroad, in an increasingly globalized village."

His bill is still sitting in the House of Representatives gathering dust.

"The employment of Filipinos overseas will soon be overtaken by China and India," Gullas said, warning that Filipino engineers in the Middle East risk being dislodged by Indian and Chinese engineers who not only speak better English, but analyze and write reports in English better.

Reversing the decline
Concerned with the decline in education, especially in English, the American and European chambers of commerce have begun ambitious training programs in an attempt to reverse the trend.

The European Chamber, along with local business groups, recently launched a program called "English is Cool!" intended to revive the popularity of English among the country's youth.

In a globalized economy, "English is a ticket to the future," the chamber said, adding that only three out of 100 applicants meet proficiency standards of the outsourcing industry.

For program director Rina Tanchoco the decline of English among Filipinos is "definitely repairable and reversible."

The Makati Business Club's Philippines-US Business Council and the American Chamber of Commerce are targeting their English proficiency program at teachers, students, and the workforce.

The program hopes to have 50 computerized English language centers operating in the Philippines with 250 teachers and 42,000 students trained and certified within the next three years.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the education department to make English the primary medium of instruction nationwide, although the decree does not have the force of law to compel schools to do.

Although some subjects will still be taught in the national language, Tagalog, the Filipinos must recognize that English makes it internationally competitive, Arroyo said in a policy speech earlier this year.

The decline of English sounds painful for Matthew Gray, an American who trains Filipinos to speak with American accents for jobs at call centers.

"Filipinos are pretty good but they still have lapses with their tenses, verb usage, subject-verb agreement -- the basics," the Call Center Academy accent trainer told AFP.

Peter Wallace, president of The Wallace Business Forum which regularly surveys foreign businesses in this country, said that only six percent of people interviewed for jobs in call centers had the required skills in English.

"So it's hard to see how the Philippines can compete with elsewhere," Wallace said.

There is plenty of blame to go around, with Gray faulting cellphone text messaging and the popularity of foreign soap operas dubbed into the Filipino language.

"There has been a steady decline from the time when the Philippines took pride in itself as one of the best English-speaking nations," Neil Perez an English and Literature lecturer at Manila's University of Santo Tomas acknowledged.

Perez blames the decline on the influence of pop culture and domestic media, where the dominant language is "taglish," a combination of Tagalog and English.

"The common language of everybody is this hybrid language taglish," he said. "It has become the standard rather than the exception.

"The kind of things that we see on television promotes the bastardization of the English language. We accept what the media feeds us," Perez added.

Copyright 2006 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed


One third of the national budget is allocated to debt servicing. Far higher than the budget for education. Or for improving "da economy." I think this about says it all.


josepepe

Now that school days are coming, the Department of Education warns those public school officials not to collect school fees as requirement for enrolment. This is just a reminder to those school officials because we know that the government is offering free primary and secondary education to the public. Those who wanted to be educated are not required to pay school fees upon enrolment.

This would greatly help those families who send many of their children to school. The prices of school supplies are also being monitored by the DTI to assure the public that the prices will just be stable and there would be no considerable increase on the prices of school materials.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/metro/20060523met7.html

It is all systems go as far as the opening of the coming school year is concerned as the Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday said the yearly problems hounding students during first day classes has been addressed.

During yesterday’s inter-agency meeting held at the Bulwagan Karunungan room of the DepEd central office in Pasig City, DepEd officer-in-charge Undersecretary Fe Hidalgo thanked all the government agency representatives who helped address the possible problems students may face during enrollment and class opening.

“I asked for a few minutes to thank all those who are present here to come and to converge with us to help in ‘Oplan Balik Eskwela.’ We are very grateful that you are here except for two (agencies). But this is good enough for us to begin with, in looking at a smooth enrollment for all of our children particularly in the elementary and primary (levels),” Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo pointed out the water districts would also inform the public if the water system in the schools are in good order.

“The drinking water facilities can be a problem sometimes,” she said.

Hidalgo also thanked the Philippine National Police (PNP) for providing adequate security during enrollment and the upcoming opening of classes this June.

For her part, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya has assured that monitoring teams have been set up to ensure that ample school supplies are available to students.

She added the DTI has met with manufacturers last April, and was assured that there will be no problem as far as school supplies are concerned. She said if there would be any problem involving school supplies, it would be the prices.

Maglaya, however, said there would be no price increase in school supplies despite the oil price hike, saying bookstores and Divisoria retail outlets assured the DTI that increases in the prices of petroleum products will not affect the prices of school supplies as stocks are already in place.

She revealed the DTI has increased the number of its monitoring teams from six to 19 tasked to monitor the prices of school supplies in the coming days.
Maglaya urged the public to report to the DepEd or DTI suppliers or retailers with whom they have complaints.

The PNP, for its part, said they will tap school security guards to man and assist students and parents crossing pedestrian lanes to avoid any accidents. Jason Faustino