DepEd pilot tests 'decongested' K-10 curriculum | The Final Word - video Dailymotion

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Millions of students welcome the new school year as the government initially rolls out the decongested K-10 curriculum.  Joining us now is UNICEF Philippines Deputy Representative Behzad Noubary.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 to tell us more about the educational system in the country.

00:03 Joining us is UNICEF Philippines Deputy Representative Besad Nubari.

00:07 Besad, great to have you with us.

00:09 We saw those series of reports on the opening of school today.

00:13 Lots of problems.

00:14 Less enrollees, not enough teachers, not enough classrooms, not enough school materials, students

00:19 going traveling a one hour to get to their classrooms.

00:24 What is the state of Philippine education at this point?

00:27 Thank you Rico for having UNICEF on the show.

00:30 You know Rico, last time we were together was two years ago during the pandemic, around

00:33 the same time we were talking about the fact that Filipino students will not be going to

00:37 school when millions of others around the world would be.

00:41 So I think it's important to recognize that we're in a much better place now.

00:44 Since last year, we've opened the schools for full in-person learning and again this

00:48 year.

00:50 In terms of your question about the state of Filipino education, I think from where

00:54 we sit at UNICEF, we see great improvements in terms of access to education.

00:59 More and more children are in school, especially at elementary level, we're at over 90% enrollment

01:03 rates and parity between boys and girls.

01:06 I think we've seen that in the photos, right?

01:10 In the videos, tens of thousands of boys and girls so enthusiastic to get back into full-time

01:17 schooling after the pandemic.

01:20 Absolutely.

01:21 It's always a pleasure to see how happy the parents are, the students are and how ready

01:25 the teachers are to receive them.

01:28 The issue that we see going forward is really about the quality of education.

01:32 So the kids are in school, but are they learning?

01:36 And there we have some reasons for concerns.

01:39 In 2019, UNICEF conducted what is called the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Matrix.

01:46 A number of countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.

01:49 We tested fifth graders on the basic competencies and we found that nine out of ten fifth graders

01:57 could not read at the level that was expected and not much better on the mathematics side.

02:03 That's why we welcome the new revised curriculum for K-10, which is decongesting the curriculum

02:08 and really focusing on the foundational learning.

02:11 UNICEF is ready to support and we're supporting developing the lesson models for that.

02:15 I really see that the direction is the right one to go to really focus on the foundation.

02:19 It will take time to really implement the K-10 curriculum.

02:23 So at this point with all of these issues, hounding Philippine education and even grade

02:28 five students cannot read, are we in a learning crisis?

02:33 I think that we are in a learning crisis, not only in the Philippines, but in many countries

02:36 around the world.

02:38 One area where we see room for improvement is on early childhood education, on ECE.

02:44 Here I'm talking about preschool for three and four year olds and of course kindergarten

02:48 for five year olds.

02:49 Here we see the Philippines lagging behind.

02:52 In preschool, so I'm talking about the three and four year olds, we're seeing only 28%

02:56 of three and four year olds in preschool.

02:59 And for kindergarten, which is mandated by law as you know, only about 78% are attending.

03:06 So if we can increase that, we would see immediate improvements in terms of success of students

03:12 in primary learning.

03:13 I can share with you a really interesting study.

03:17 UNICEF with the Department of Education, with support from the Australian government, we

03:22 followed a cohort of 3,000 students in the Philippines for over five years, from the

03:28 time they were in kindergarten until they got to grade four.

03:31 We tested them, the same cohort, every year.

03:35 What we saw is that the kids who were in preschool did better year after year, even up to grade

03:42 four.

03:43 So it really, really makes a big difference to invest in the early years, in preschool,

03:46 for the three year olds, for the four year olds, in order to make sure that they have

03:50 the best chance for success when they get to primary.

03:53 And Behzad, these numbers that you just mentioned are indeed very concerning, especially among

03:58 the most vulnerable and marginalized in the Philippines.

04:03 But you mentioned a very important word there, investment.

04:08 Is the government making that investment for early childhood education?

04:14 It is making an investment, but we think that it could do more.

04:17 As you know, in the Philippines, preschool, I'm talking about for three and four year

04:20 olds, is not under the mandate of the Department of Education.

04:22 It is the responsibility of the local governments.

04:26 And because of that, perhaps, we see that there is uneven investment.

04:29 There are some LGUs where what we call daycare centers, the preschools are not available.

04:34 So this is something that perhaps could use some standardization across the country.

04:39 As well as, while on the demand side, we see also that parents don't necessarily understand

04:45 the need to put their children in preschool.

04:49 So when you talk about standardization and kindergarten not included in the national

04:57 government's strategy program, so are you working with both the national government

05:01 and the local government units to be able to standardize the system?

05:07 Let me be clear.

05:08 Kindergarten is a part of the curriculum.

05:09 K-10 and K-12 is part of the undergrad.

05:12 I'm talking about preschool for three and four year olds, which is the responsibility

05:17 of the local governments and not under the ECCD Council.

05:22 So there, we are working, of course, with the local government in terms of improving

05:26 that.

05:28 One of the main issues that we see is in terms of what they call the child development workers,

05:39 the CDWs.

05:44 The studies that have been done show that their pay is quite low, on average less than

05:51 10,000 pesos per month.

05:53 That they have different levels of qualification.

05:54 Of course, that has an effect on the quality of preschool that is offered.

05:58 At the same time, as I mentioned, there's also a demand issue.

06:02 Parents don't necessarily see three and four year olds perhaps as being too young, but

06:06 that's not the case.

06:07 We know that they're ready for group settings, for socialized education.

06:13 And so also working on the demand side, educating parents on the need to start preschool is

06:18 also very important.

06:19 What about this new K-10 curriculum which you were talking about earlier?

06:23 When do you think it will have an impact on the Philippine educational system?

06:28 It will take time, as you said.

06:30 In order to do it right, we need to take the time.

06:34 As the Department of Education has indicated, they'll be rolling it out in a phased manner

06:39 this year.

06:40 It will be piloted and UNICEF will be supporting that because it will be important that we

06:44 get it right.

06:46 Curriculum reform is not something that happens overnight, but it's an investment that's worth

06:49 making.

06:50 Working with the Department of Education and with Secretary Duterte and the LGUs, are you

06:56 seeing the political will to support education on both national and local levels?

07:02 Absolutely.

07:03 We're seeing the political will.

07:04 I think the fact that the Vice President has taken on the role of Secretary of Education

07:08 is a testament to that.

07:12 And the steps that she has taken in terms of opening full in-person learning, in terms

07:17 of curriculum reform, we feel are a step in the right direction and we stand ready to

07:21 support that.

07:22 And the bottom line, Bayzad, is to ensure equitable access to education and improve

07:28 education outcomes for all Filipinos.

07:30 Absolutely.

07:31 And it's also really important to get parents engaged.

07:33 The study that I mentioned before also showed that the families that had, the kids that

07:38 were in families that had parents engaged in their children's education did much, much

07:42 better.

07:43 And so, taking the time, I know that a lot of your audience here are parents, I'm a parent

07:48 myself, taking the time to take interest in your child's education makes a huge difference.

07:53 Asking what happened that day, what was your favorite thing today, what are you learning,

07:58 opening that channel communication with the parents, making a tandem, really, really makes

08:02 a big difference for a holistic education for children.

08:05 Getting involved in their lives and in their education.

08:08 Bayzad Nobari, UNICEF's Deputy Representative, thank you so much for your insights.

DepEd pilot tests 'decongested' K-10 curriculum | The Final Word

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