The Current State of Philippine Education

Written and delivered by Francisco “Ka Dodong” Nemenzo Former President University of the Philippines during the Action and Solidarity for the Empowerment of Teachers' 

(ASSERT) Conference 

Knowing my professional background, I suppose you expect a reaction to Department of Education (DepEd) discussion paper from the standpoint of a university. Since my experience is limited to tertiary education, I gauge the quality of basic education by the kind of students we get. I can do this with confidence, because, as the President of UP, I constantly monitored our student profile to check how those who entered as freshmen performed in later years.

Despite passing a tough and highly competitive entrance exam, many of them are not prepared for college work. Their mathematical and communication skills leave much to be desired, and they lack intellectual curiosity and the capacity for critical thinking. For this reason we require them to take courses they should have already taken in high school. This cuts down the period for specialization since most degree programs are designed for only four years.

We therefore have a vested interest in upgrading basic education, especially in the public sector. I favor the addition of two years to the secondary curriculum, for reasons cited in the DepEd discussion paper. But before this is fully implemented, some fundamental changes have been made. Two more years of bad education will not improve its quality. It will just saddle the parents with unnecessary financial burden. In this paper I shall discuss what changes ought to be instituted to prevent the proposed, “Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program” from going the way of previous reform efforts.

Recruiting teachers

The DepEd discussion paper gives incontrovertible proof and arguments that the present Grades 1-10 scheme is inadequate both as a preparation for work and a preparation for college. But this is not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is the lack of teachers who have mastered the subjects they are teaching, who are strongly motivated, innovative and enthusiastic. This shortage of good teachers should be tackled first before putting into effect the K+12 plan. If we are serious about improving basic education, this is where to start.

Natatandaan ko na nuong ako’y estudyante pa, mas magaling ang faculty ng public shools kay sa private schools. They attracted some of the best and the brightest. Although teaching was never a remunerative profession, it offered psychic rewards. Teachers enjoyed professional pride. Kaya ang pinakamagaling naming mga kaklase ay galling sa public high schools. Sa umpisa siga-siga ang galling sa elite high schools katulad ng Ateneo dahil mahusay silang magsalita ng English. Pero paglipas ng iilang semester, kulilat na sila. Ang mga student leaders, Collegian editors at honor graduate kadalasan produkto ng public high schools. Hindi na ganito ngayon.

Alam ko na mayroon pang magagaling na guro, pero tumatanda na sila dahil ang kabataang graduado ay umiiwas sa pagtuturo sa elementary at high schools. The remaining few are demoralized by dismally low salaries and the low public regard. Good teachers are insufficient to cope with the enormity of the basic education sector. Worse, their ranks are being depleted because of the Americans are actively recruiting the better ones for their schools in depressed areas where white teachers do not want to go. Hongkong is also pirating Filipino teachers on a massive scale. Many Filipino domestics in Hongkong are veteran teachers who were recruited on the basis of their English proficiency because Chinese families prefer maids who can double as English tutors for their children.

The DepEd discussion paper has ignored this trend. It has no plan for reversing this. Unless, we provide incentives for them to stay, the decline of basic education in the public sector will continue because the recruiters target the best we have. Seguradong papalpak na naman itong K+12  plan kung hindi mapigilan ang exodus ng mahuhusay na guro.

The first time I examined the UP student’s profile, I was delighted to note an increase in the number of students in the College of education. However, my enthusiasm diminished when I learned that when most of them entered as freshmen they opted for the most coveted degree programs; they shifted to education because they failed to maintain the required averages in engineering, economics, business administration, etc.

Since they are nonetheless doing well in the College of Education, I wanted to believe that they have, at last, found their true calling. But I soon discovered that very few of them go into teaching after graduation. They just want a UP diploma to pursue other careers, or go abroad.

How can we attract and retain good teachers in basic education? Besides raising their salaries and restoring their professional pride, we should also upgrade the normal schools and colleges of education: these are our primary fields of recruitment. Pero tila mababa rin ang kalidad ng mga ito. UP professors have complained that the knowledge levels of BSE degree holders who are taking graduate courses is pathetic. They seem to have mastered the techniques of teaching but not the subjects they are supposed to teach.

The language issue

The DepEd discussion paper laments the miserable performance of Filipino students in the TIMMS surveys. TIMMS is (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is a US-based research organization that conducts international countries of elementary and secondary students’ competencies in mathematics and science. In 2003 the 4^th grade Filipino pupils ranked 23^rd out of the 25 participating countries in both science and mathematics; in other words, we are 3^rd from the bottom. Our 2^nd year high school students fared no better. 43^rd out of 46 in science and 34^th out of 38 in mathematics.

Some experts attribute this to the use of the English language as medium of instruction. They seem to forget that English has always been the medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science. They also overlook the fact that, in the TIMMS surveys, the countries where English is the medium of instruction lag behind the Asian countries that use their own languages for teaching.

I put forward the hypothesis that the use of English for teaching Science and Mathematics has been counter-productive. It might even have contributed to our poor performance in the TIMMS survey. We should also reexamine the assumption that the Philippine languages are inappropriate for teaching science and mathematics because they lack the equivalents to English terms.

In my view, the important thing is not the terms used but how they are explained. Just as biology borrows Latin terms, we can use English terms but explain them in language the students are most familiar. This is how the Japanese do it. My son, a professor of Mathematics at U.P who did his Ph. D in Tokyo, told me that in his field (i.e., number theory) they use Japanized German terms because it was the Germans who introduced number theory to Japan in the early 20^th century. They did not bother to translate the German terms, but in the classrooms and textbooks they explain the concepts in Nihonggo.

The exponents of English constantly point out that the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Thais, etc. are now learning English, suggesting that English is the language of progress. It is true the progressive Asian countries encourage their students to learn English as second language. The Japanese even require English in their Senior high school curricula. But none of these countries have shifted to English as medium of instruction. They use their own languages for teaching.

I am not proposing that we drop English altogether. In several occasions I have articulated my stand on the language issue. Please allow me to reiterate it here: Filipino students ought to be bilingual or trilingual. They should master English as the international language, Tagalog as the national language and, if they are non-Tagalogs, they should also be proficient in their regional languages.

is this asking too much of our young people? Hindi ko mapaniwalaanna mas bobo ang Pinoy comparer sa mga Dutch at Scandinavians. As anyone who has been to Europe can attest, the Dutch at Scandinavians speak English, French and German besides their native languages. The Filipino talent for languages is demonstrated by the case with which the OFWs in the non-English speaking countries pick up the languages of the host countries.

The role of the mass media

The objective of education is not to pack young brains with facts, but to arouse their curiosity so they will be driven by thirst for knowledge. Teachers who can instill the habits of questioning, of reading and forming intelligent opinions of their own must themselves possess these habits. Judging by the freshmen we get in UP, these habits are getting rare.

Computers, videos and televisions are often cited explain why young people today do not read as much as those who grew up before the advent of these technologies. But rather than cry over the degradation of youth culture, the better course of wisdom is to learn how to use these new technologies for education. These technologies are not bad per se. They are good or bad depending on how they are used and for what purpose.

What we should deplore and fight against is their commercialization, the fact that the mass media (especially televisions) are operated for profit. They thrive on advertising revenues. Commercialized television is responsible for idiotizing or mis-educating our people. They cancel out the values taught in school. They nurture intellectual laziness; the unthinking acceptance of what they see on television and read in the newspaper.

But we should not overlook the positive side of audio-visual technologies. They are potentially a powerful instrument for education. Instead of banning them, DepEd should encourage the teacher training colleges to teach the future teachers how to use visual teaching. These technologies have opened up the prospect of realizing the ideal of a learning society where education occurs not only in school. They make possible life-long learning.

We have media professionals who have actually produced excellent educational programs. Unfortunately their works, if utilized at all, are broadcast in the most inconvenient times, or broadcast in cable channels that are accessible only to subscribers. The leading television networks, in their relentless drive for profit, reserve prime time for telenovelas and other inane shows.

Since the mass media have virtually dislodged the schools in shaping the hearts and minds of people, they have become in fact an integral part of the educational system. Just like the private schools, they should be regulated by the state; and turned into an extension of the classrooms.

Vocational courses in the Curriculum

I agree with DepEd discussion paper that the prevailing concept of secondary education as a preparation for college is too narrow and misdirected. Ideally, high school graduates should be adequately prepared to gainful employment or, if they have the capital, to embark on entrepreneurial ventures. I would even go further: let us persuade the prospective employers to drop the requirement of college degrees because, in fact, a wide range of jobs do not really need a four-year college education.

            In 1991 the EDCOM (Joint Congressional Commission on Education) put forward a bold proposal to convert the substandard and politics-ridden state universities into community colleges offering two-year intensive skills development cour4ses. I don’t know what happened to this proposal. I agree with EDCOM report that excellent community colleges are less expensive to establish and maintain than full-blown universities. With such institutions it is easier to adapt skills training to the requirement of the job market.

Social Studies in the High School Curriculum

            In striving to promote science and mathematics, we should not neglect the social studies. While preparing young people for jobs, they should also be prepared to understand and cope with the realities of Philippine Society, and the global village. To imbue them with the spirit of Nationalism, they should have an adequate grounding in history, economics, political science and sociology. A critical mind is absolute necessary for life in this age of Information Technology, and the social studies, if properly taught, are the most powerful catalysts for critical-thinking.

            Everyday we are bombarded with information and misinformation in media and the internet. Without critical minds, our people are prone to relegate to media the task of thinking. We have often heard, even among supposedly intelligent UP students, statements like “it must be true because I saw in television…or I read it in the newspapers.” This reduces one of our most precious chartered freedoms- the freedom of thought- into a mockery. For democracy to be meaningful, the citizenry should be equipped with the capacity to process information, i.e., to read between the lines and see beyond TV images. This is why the social studies are crucial in basic education.

           

            Intellectual lassitude lies at the roof of widespread apathy among the present crop of students. They do not seem to care about the country; and their adulation of affluent countries like the United States is disgusting. This is reflected in their choices of degree programs in the university. Nursing, physical therapy, hotel and restaurant administration, tourism etc. draw the largest enrolment because these are perceived as pathways to self-advancement.

            I do not condemn our compatriots who seek greener pastures abroad. Insofar as those who leave because they want to forget our country are concerned, I am only too glad to see them go. Floaters who have no sense of national identity tend to cause problems whenever they live. We can offer them as a gift to the United States. The Mexicans have a nice word for them: venganza bilogica”- the biological revenge of the Third World.

            But there are also many who leave and settle in foreign countries but retain their patriotic commitment. Their departure is not necessarily a brain drain but a brain gain. Some countries owe their development to their overseas nationals. India is one example.

            In the boom days of Silicon Valley several Indian Scientist and engineers immigrated to the United States. It turned out that they contributed to India’s fantastic leap from a backward nation to a super-power in the IT industry. When they left India for lack of opportunities at home, they brought with them a strong sense of nationalism, a strong commitment to lift their native land out of backwardness. Over the years they passed on to the Indian Institutes of Technology the most advanced knowledge and skills they learned in America. And when the Silicon bubble burst, they persuaded Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. to relocate their research and development facilities to Bangalore and Hyderabad where there is an abundance of world-class scientific and technological manpower.

                        That is the kind of overseas Filipinos we should be cultivating through the social studies component of our educational system. Fired by a strong sense of nationalism, they will not only keep our flagging economy afloat with their remittances; they also serves as channels for technology transfer.

Summing up    

To summarize the points I made earlier: If we truly want our youth to get the education they deserve, we should restore the dignity of the teaching profession. We should make teachers’ salaries competitive vis-à-vis the other professions. The curricula of teacher training colleges should lay greater emphasis on subject matter content. We should fix these essential flaws to prevent the Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program from going down the path of previous educational experiments. And we must act now before the General Agreement on Trades and Services consign our youth to the margin of our own labor force.