The classroom is a development arena

Title

Creator

Trinidad, Juanita G.

Language

English

Source

The Republic Volume I (Issue No.22) 1-31 December 1976

Subject

Educational innovations

Education -- Philippines

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

[This progress report shows the status and progress of education in the Philippines.]

Fulltext

THE REPUBLIC The Nation PROGRESS REPORT □ Juanita G. Trinidad The classroom is a development arena EDUCATION is an important and ur gent component of nation-building. In his Notes on the New Society, Presi dent Marcos observes that “the most im portant field for the Internal Revolu tion is that of education and culture. And here we must admit numerous and grave problems. Educational reforms will be the work of not one but of several generations working together.” Thus, the upgrading of the country’s educa tional system enjoys a high priority in the overall policies of the government. Efforts are being continuously under taken to integrate educational policies and goals with national development programs. Education for national develop ment was pinpointed for the first time in the 1969 report of the Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Educa tion, an agency created by the Presi dent in December 1969. The report stressed, among others, new directions and new patterns through new struc tures to systematize educational policymaking and administration; planned eval uation and innovations to maximize effectivity and efficiency. From the beginning, the New So ciety is committed to the principle that quality education is an investment in the future of the nation. The Depart ment of Education and Culture (DEC), in fact, gets the biggest slice from the overall national budget—Pl.6 billion last fiscal year. And right after martial law was proclaimed, the President issued PD 6-A, otherwise known as the Educa tional Development Decree of 1972, which subsequently led to the formula tion of the ten-year education develop ment plan. The plan restructured the country’s educational system so as to make it more responsive to Philippine needs and introduced reforms and chan ges that focus on the relevance of educa tion to national growth. Emphasis on Development Skills INNOVATIONS: As a means to bolster the administration’s new educational orientation, a number of innovative ap proaches have been adopted to upgrade the educational system. Being an agricultural country, educ ational reforms primarily put emphasis on producing technicians needed in agri culture and industry. In this regard, the Educational Development Project Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF), an office under the DEC Secretary, is coordinating with the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Resources Research (PCARR) in developing agricultural schools and in implementing the agri cultural education programs. This in cludes the strengthening and expansion of two agricultural universities and 13 agricultural high schools, 11 of which are members of the PCARR-coordinated na tional agricultural research network. Along the same vein, the Youth Educating the masses through the adult education program. Civic Action Program (YCAP) requires at least a semester of civic work before a student is allowed to graduate from college. As a result of this program, the youth are being involved in mean ingful community development activi ties such as reforestation, food produc tion, cleanliness, sanitation, beautifica tion and adult education work. Moral virtues and duties of citizenship are now more vigorously stressed; manual work is being dignified. Through priv ate and public school teachers, con cepts like the land reform program, cooperative education, drug abuse pre vention, population control and envir onmental pollution are being dissemina ted by YCAP volunteers to rural folks. Encouraging Vocational Education NCEE: To further improve the qual ity of education, the President is sued PD 146 in 1974 requiring all grad uating students from high school to pass an entrance examination for admission to any four-year college course. The decree limits entrance in college to the more capable students. At the same time, it helps channel students into such vo cational, technical and technological courses which are needed in economic development but which are not popular among the youth. For those unable to pass the Na tional Collegiate Entrance Examination (NCEE), a plan has been conceived by the DEC wherein studegts will still be allowed to enroll in college, provided they do not intend to get degrees. For those seeking degrees in this program, they will have to undergo another examination. With the implementation of--the NCEE, more students are now enroled in vocational and technical courses in both the state and private schools. Not ing the big shift from nontechnical cour ses to vocational-related subjects, DEC Secretary Juan L. Manuel said that the trend “is a sign that students now realize it is easier to get employment after finishing technical courses.” Currently, the National Education Testing Center which supervises the NCEE is developing a test that would eliminate the present practice of col leges and universities requiring stu dents to take entrance examinations even after passing the NCEE. Unlike the ones given in 1974 and 1975, this year’s examinations are neith er scholastic aptitude nor proficiency test but a test designed to measure the students’ potential needed for learning in college. It is expected that some 400,000 high school students will take the 1976 NCEE. A work-oriented curriculum is also being enforced. Aside from strengthen- ■ ing the implementation of regular curri culum requirements, new subjects are adopted in line with the New Society’s, development programs. Education now Sec. Manuel: Restructure Education is more realistic and the teaching of the New Constitution as a social subject is being required, including subjects like pollution, population control and land reform. The DEC proper itself is in volved in ambitious programs like popu lation education, applied nutrition, Masagana 99 rice production and Greet Revolution. The palpable expansion of our fu^d production has been the result of tue Green Revolution program which in cluded schools all over the country. Last schoolyear, the DEC netted P70.000 worth of harvest from backyard lots, livestock and fishery projects. ' Because of these breakthroughs, a leading educator commented that “we have made great advances in the imple mentation of a work-oriented curricu lum. We have succeeded in opening the minds of the students on the possibil ities of our natural resources and incul cated in them better work attitudes.” Pilipino in Schools Bilingual education: The use of English and Pilipino as media of instruction in all schools began last year. In grades one and two, the verna cular used in the locality or place where the school is located is the auxiliary me dium of instruction. The use of the ver nacular, however, is resorted to only to facilitate understanding of the concepts being taught through the prescribed medium for the subject, English, Pili pino or Arabic as the case may be. Bilingual education covers two phas es. The first phase started last school year through schoolyear 1977-78. It will be the transition period in the use of Pilipino as the medium of instruction for social studies, social science, work education, character education and health and physical education. English remains the medium of instruction for all other courses. Mass Education. Project Impact is a devised system of mass primary education calling for programmed teaching in levels one and two where teachers use specially prepared materi als and, in the higher elementary levels, community human resources as high school students, home tutors, parents, and skilled resource persons are enlisted to provide instructions. An interesting feature of this sys tem is the use of older students to as sist younger students. Learning is through modules or topics, each module covering the amount of instruction which normally takes one to two weeks to master. There are very few set class es. Students may drop out and reenter at any time. Here, the education that is being developed is non-formal, that is, without the conventional classrooms, teachers for every subject and school building or textbooks. A community learning center takes the place of the usual schooL No Grades. The Bureau of Elemen tary Education has a policy called Con tinuous Progression which is still elicit ing rem arks and criticisms as when it was formulated four years ago. In this pol icy, the pupils in elementary and high schools are studying and are being taught according to their pace of learn ing. In this non-grading scheme, the students- are individually observed by the teachers concerned and their poten tials encouraged and developed. Likewise, the bureau is of late bat ting for the adoption of a new kind of curriculum. Called Curriculum Continu um, its most significant features include: □ Schooling extends throughout the whole year wherein a child is ad mitted anytime he is old enough to be in school, say, three or four years old. □ Vacation period may be sched uled at anytime agreed upon by the learner and teacher since the former is involved in planning his activities. To achieve this, schoolchildren will be as signed to a team of teachers rather than to a grade under one mentor. □ There would be no failure since every child would be pursuing his own particular goals at his own rate of learn ing. Performance is judged in terms of his own progress, not based on a group standard set. □ The practice of dropping out is eliminated. The child can resume where he left off when he returns to school. □ Annual promotion is done away with. It is replaced by a continuous di rection toward success and growth. As a result, rating cards are eliminated. □ Sources of the curriculum con tent are from anywhere, anytime. The venue of learning is everywhere, not just in school. Restructuring the College Program HIGHER EDUCATION: Higher edu cation is also being restructured. At present, the DEC is drawing up a tenyear development plan to maximize the role of higher education system in the country’s development. The plan, which will'be completed Th Maul* BMP, ■■ iii~ be incorporated into the overall devel opment program being prepared by the National Economic and Development Authority. The plan will give emphasis on the private education system in the country in accordance with a Presidential direc tive to look for a more innovative and lasting solution to the financial prob lems of private schools. Once completed, the plan will become the basis for pol icies on higher education by the Na tional Board of Education such as the dispersal of schools in Metro Manila and the improvement of opportunities for higher education in the rural areas. In upgrading Philippine education, the teaching population has not been overlooked. In recognition of the vital role they play in nation-building and as an incentive to raise their morale, PD 1006 was issued by the President recent ly to professionalize the teaching pro fession in the country. As a whole, education nowadays is no longer solely’ for improvement of the mind but of the spirit and muscle as well. With the innovations, changes and incentives, what then is projected in edu cation over the next 25 years? An education official puts it this way: “Even as the formal system continues to grow, educators foresee an expan sion of the nonformal system. Voca tional, technical and scientific courses will be top priority. College education will be extremely selective. Methods of instruction and curricula content will be locally-oriented. Private industry will share a larger burden of the costs of education. Bilingualism is expected to be fully accepted. Many of our educa tional programs will be created around regional needs and priorities.” In terms of highly-skilled profes sions, it is foreseen that professionaliz ation of management in the Philippine setting will be firmly entrenched. As a matter of fact, it is predicted that Filipino talents will be among our most vital exports. Computerization will be pervasive. Planning and coordination between the government, the public and the private sectors will be close and continuous. □

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