MANILA, Philippines- Hinikayat ng grupo ng education workers ang national government na paigtingin ang pagsisikap sa pagtugon sa mga isyu sa edukasyon at pagpapabuti ng kondisyon ng mga guro upang mabigyan ang mga mag-aaral ng “more favorable” learning environment.
Binigyang-diin ng Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines na kailangang resolbahin ng gobyerno ang mga isyu sa basic education na nagreresulta sa mas malalaking problema gaya ng “mass promotion.”
“The worsening learning conditions in the country lead to more and more students who are unable to satisfactorily master the set competencies in various grade levels,” pahayag ni ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua.
Nitong linggo, iprinisenta ng Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) ang ulat sa estado ng Philippine education.
Nanawagan ang grupo sa pamahalaan na tugunan ang “unofficial policy of mass promotion” ng mga estudyante na nagiging ugat ng learning crisis sa bansa.
Para sa ACT, ang mga estudyante “merely progressing in grade levels but not really learning is the wretched result of the worsening education crisis.”
Iginiit ng ACT na sa kasalukuyang sistema, “underperforming learners is a problem that teachers are solely made to bear.”
“Despite all their efforts for intervention, teachers are grilled when they give failing grades,” ani Quetua.
Bagama’t ang “mass promotion” ay isang non-existing policy ayon sa Department of Education (DepEd), inihayag ni Quetua na ilang school heads at education officials “openly encourage mass promotion as failing marks do not do good to the image of the school.”
Maaari rin umano itong makaapekto sa ranking ng DepEd sa paggawad ng performance-based bonuses maging sa performance ng Pilipinas sa commitment sa United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“Moreover, school heads say that having repeaters would only worsen the problem of big class size,” ani Quetua.
Binigyang-diin din ni Quetua na imposibleng matiyak na lahat ng estudyante ay natututo sa “oversized classes studying in cramped and dilapidated classrooms and without sufficient learning materials.”
Anang ACT, ang isyu ng mass promotion ay “more a matter of genuinely improving education quality than of giving passing or failing marks.”
Dahil dito, hinikayat ng ACT ang pamahalaan na paigtingin ang pagsisikap na tugunan ang education shortages at pagbutihin ang kondisyon ng mga guro at mag-aaral.
“There should be a comprehensive evidence-based assessment of our learners to objectively determine the learning gaps and from where a program of remediation and curriculum revision can be drawn up,” sabi ni Quetua, at idinagdag na kung magkakaroon ng remediation camps tuwing school break, “teachers should be justly compensated.”
Bukod dito, nanawagan ang ACT sa DepEd sa pamumuno ni Vice President at Education Secretary Sara Duterte na makibahagi sa pagtugon sa mga problema ng edukasyon.
“We cannot agree more that the problem of plummeting education quality should not be solely the burden of teachers,” pahayag ni Quetua. “It needs the accountability and leadership of the national government, first and foremost,” patuloy niya. RNT/SA
