- 2 years ago
Filipino learners lag behind their counterparts in other countries by three to five years based on an international assessment.
How can we improve our dismal ranking and quickly address learning issues?
Pinky Webb speaks with Senate Committee on Basic Education chairman Win Gatchalian.
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How can we improve our dismal ranking and quickly address learning issues?
Pinky Webb speaks with Senate Committee on Basic Education chairman Win Gatchalian.
Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to The Source where we combine the headlines with in-depth conversations with the newsmakers themselves.
00:07 I'm Pinky Webb. Today on the program, Filipino learners lag behind their counterparts.
00:12 In other countries, by three to five years based on an international assessment.
00:17 How can we improve our dismal ranking and quickly address learning issues?
00:22 Senate Committee on Basic Education Chairman, Wyn Gatchalian, joins us in the program.
00:28 And later, a Filipino-owned startup helps businesses meet the growing demands of consumers this holiday season.
00:35 Fulfilled co-founder and CEO, Joy Chua, tells us more later in the show.
00:42 A dismal ranking for Filipino students in the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment or PISA
00:57 among 81 countries and economies that participated, the Philippines ranked sixth from the bottom in math and reading
01:05 and third from the bottom in science.
01:10 The education department said Filipino learners lag behind their counterparts in other countries by three to five years.
01:16 It said it has taken steps to improve our students' proficiency in math, reading and science
01:21 such as revising the K-10 curriculum and setting aside one day a week for public students to hone their reading comprehension skills.
01:30 Let's go straight to the source of the story.
01:32 We have Senate Committee on Basic Education Chairman, Senator Wyn Gatchalian.
01:36 Senator, good morning. Good to see you again. Welcome to the source.
01:40 Good morning, Pinky. Thank you for inviting me.
01:42 Were you surprised with the result of the PISA?
01:47 Pleasantly surprised, to be honest about it. Pleasant in a... I'll explain that.
01:53 There are two things or two... In this result, there's some good news and of course there's some bad news.
02:03 The good news is we have to understand that the PISA was taken in 2022 right after the pandemic.
02:11 This is the year that we are just easing our restrictions and our lockdowns and our students, our learners, did not go to school for almost two years.
02:22 So despite the challenges that was brought about by the pandemic, we did not regress in terms of PISA scores.
02:30 I was expecting a lot of regression because of the challenges, for example, the digital divide, the self-learning modules, but we did not.
02:39 The bad news is we stagnated. We were stuck in that level of below minimum proficiency and that's not good for us.
02:50 But if you look at on the other side, we have already bottomed out in terms of scores.
02:55 So the expectation in the next few PISA scores will be a little bit better because we already bottomed out.
03:02 Just for context, Senator, when you say the good news that we did not regress, is because are you saying that compared to the last one, which I believe was in 2018, we improved a bit?
03:15 We improved a bit, Pinky, but we cannot claim it's an improvement because it's statistically insignificant.
03:22 So for conservative purposes, we'll just say it's just the same.
03:27 Statistically insignificant. We improved, but it was statistically insignificant.
03:32 Why, sir? Maybe just so we understand it better, was there a plus minus here, like maybe what we see during surveys?
03:40 Yes, the OECD runs statistical modeling and based on their modeling, the improvement, even though we improved in reading, we improved in math, we decreased one point in science,
03:56 this can be treated as statistically insignificant, the changes.
04:04 So for all intents and purposes, we'll just treat it as the same as the last 2018 PISA scores.
04:11 Okay, so basically the same. Good to note though what you mentioned a while ago, sir, that we increased in math, we increased about 1% only, I think, in reading.
04:25 And then I think it's in science that we went down from 2018.
04:30 I want to go back to what you said earlier.
04:33 We came out of the pandemic, obviously not just the Philippines, but the rest of the world, during this 2022.
04:40 The students and teachers were forced to do something we were not very used to, blended learning.
04:48 So there was always this talk of what they called learning losses.
04:55 But is this learning loss, sir, you think, it cannot just be isolated to the country, right?
05:03 Yeah, it's not isolated to the country.
05:07 Different countries will have different degrees of learning loss depending on how long the schools were closed, what type of distance learning was employed.
05:20 For example, in advanced countries, they can switch to online learning very, very quickly, almost instantaneously because they have internet connection.
05:30 All the homes in advanced countries have computers.
05:35 Internet connection is very strong.
05:37 In the Philippines, that's not the case.
05:39 In fact, when World Bank conducted the survey, we found out that the bottom 25% of our learners, meaning the poorest of the poor,
05:51 majority of them, almost 60% to 70%, don't have any form of access to the internet or gadgets.
05:58 So meaning even though we switch to online learning and we force students to go online learning,
06:04 they cannot do it because they don't have the means to do online learning.
06:08 So what DepEd implemented is what we call the self-learning modules.
06:15 Almost 90% of our students learn through self-learning modules.
06:20 But then again, we have constraints in that also.
06:23 The self-learning modules demands that the parents also teach their students.
06:28 And we all know that not all parents themselves graduated from school.
06:33 How can this be improved?
06:36 I mean, let's look at 2023, this year, no, sir, to 2024.
06:41 And I want to just go back a little bit to this confidential funds.
06:45 This is important to talk about, sir, because I remember initially in the IJUBA, the DepEd asked for confidential funds,
06:52 150 million pesos, to which the vice president and DepEd secretary eventually withdrew or dropped.
06:58 It's important to note here that that 150 million pesos was realigned by the small committee,
07:04 the House of Representatives, dito po sa tinatawag na students and teachers private education programs,
07:09 which basically is the voucher program from my understanding.
07:12 And I do recall during the Senate hearing, the DepEd, when it withdrew its 150 million CONFII,
07:19 sabi po nila, can we just realign this to the National Learning Recovery Program?
07:24 Hindi ho ba itong National Learning Recovery Program will complement the proficiency and hopefully improve our standing dito po sa PISA?
07:35 Okay.
07:36 Well, Vinky, that's precisely what I suggested.
07:42 Basic education is a long-term activity.
07:46 We have to view this long-term because we all know that our basic education system is a 13-year system, K plus 12.
07:55 So in other words, we have to look at this on a long-term basis.
08:00 What we implement now in kindergarten can only be seen 13 years from now.
08:06 So having said that, the reforms take time.
08:09 But there are short-term reforms or short-term interventions that we can do in order to improve learner outcomes.
08:17 We have to bear in mind that PISA is also every three years.
08:21 So the question there is what can we do now in the next three years to improve our PISA scores?
08:27 And one of the things that I recommended is to intensify our learning recovery or academic recovery.
08:33 The DepEd has 2.9 billion pesos in its academic recovery budget for 2024.
08:39 But we estimated, our office estimated that we will need approximately 10 billion to intensify because what we need now is not only learning recovery but an intensified learning recovery from kindergarten all the way to grade 10 in order to help students catch up.
08:56 A lot of our students are still struggling to keep up with the grade levels they're in.
09:02 Let's talk about the numbers again, Senator.
09:04 How much is allotted in the DepEd for this academic recovery?
09:09 Did you say 2.7 billion?
09:10 About 2.9 billion pesos is allotted for 2024.
09:16 And you said 10 billion is needed?
09:19 In our estimate, based on the, there was a rapid assessment that was conducted before the school opening.
09:28 So we took that number and we estimated the amounts needed based on the number of students and we came up with a number more or less around 10 billion pesos.
09:37 So here's the question, sir.
09:39 At 2.9 billion and the estimate is we need about 10 billion, can you, can the Senate, can the lawmakers still get funds from other agencies, say for example the contingent funds which I know you had mentioned in the past,
09:53 can you move some money to add to the 2.9 billion for this?
09:58 That's why, Pinky, we're trying, I'm trying my best because the budget is already almost at the final stage because we're at the buy camp.
10:09 We'll try our best to realign.
10:12 But if that will not happen because we're at the final stage, then we have to do this through a whole of government approach.
10:21 We have contingency funds in different departments.
10:26 We have contingency funds, we have other sources of funds scattered all over the different departments.
10:32 If we can convince other offices to allocate funds for the remaining 7 billion that is needed for an intensified learning recovery, that will be the best case.
10:45 We have to treat this like a pandemic.
10:48 Remember during the pandemic everyone contributed funds, the GOCCs, the departments, because we want to get out of the pandemic as quick as possible and the government spent 114 billion on the vaccines, on buying vaccines.
11:04 This is, in my opinion, is an education crisis.
11:08 And to get us out of this education crisis, we need to spend big in order to get us out as fast as we can.
11:15 Or else, if we don't spend big, then it will take time to get us out of this education crisis.
11:21 We need to take a short break. This is The Source on CNN Philippines. Please stay tuned.
11:25 You're watching The Source on CNN Philippines.
11:32 I'm Pinky Webb, our source today, Senate Committee on Basic Education Chairperson, Senator Wynne Gachalion.
11:38 Senator, you already said it, you're treating it like an education crisis, we should treat this like a pandemic, it should be a whole government approach.
11:47 I think it was yesterday, sir, when you said that the President has about 12 billion in contingent funds.
11:54 Will you appeal personally, sir, to the President, "Nagamitin po" and "Magkano ho kaya ang pwedeng itap?"
12:02 Because if there's a deficit right now of about, let's just put it at around 7 billion, how much, if you appeal, how much do you think you can ask from the President's contingent funds, sir?
12:13 I would appeal to the DBM first, because the DBM also has the capability and capacity to draw up funds in order to fulfill that 7 billion.
12:24 One of the sources can be the Office of the President's contingency fund. I think that's to attune about 12 billion, more or less.
12:33 So my point there is, if we can tap the contingency funds of different departments, raise that 7 billion, intensify learning recovery,
12:45 then I am very optimistic that we can see some improvement coming in the next three years when we take the next PISA examination.
12:55 So my point is, what can we do in the short term to have maximum impact? And the resources will not take up so much.
13:04 And 7 billion, if you look at the entire 5 trillion budget of the government, is minuscule.
13:12 I hope that your sentiment will be shared by the others, sir, because matagal na po itong problema.
13:18 So apart from that, I want to talk about very quickly, sir, about the curriculum.
13:25 The plan is really, we have the matatag curriculum that was pilot implemented in about 35 schools, if I'm not mistaken, sir, this year.
13:34 Obviously, hindi po ito ginawa nationwide. And the plan is to do this in phases, hindi ho ba?
13:40 With a grade, I don't know if it's grade 10, sir, kasi by phases siya, by grade, and by year, hindi ho ba?
13:47 Tapos yung grade 10, parang 2027 ata to 2028 pa, my question is, should the DepEd fast-track, expedite the matatag curriculum?
13:59 Kasi this reduces the competencies by about 70 percent.
14:03 I would prefer to fast-track it. One of the low-hanging fruit, I would call, because we don't need so much budget to do that, is the reform of our curriculum.
14:17 And I thank DepEd, the past administration, and this administration for pushing very hard to revise our curriculum.
14:25 And then we, now we have the matatag curriculum which is being rolled out.
14:29 This school year, this present school year, we pilot-tested about 30-plus schools in order to learn how to implement the matatag curriculum.
14:38 And then in 2024, 2025 school year, and three years after, or two years after, we will be fully implementing the matatag curriculum.
14:49 The full implementation of the matatag curriculum takes about three years.
14:53 And the reason for that is, number one, teacher training. We need to make sure that our teachers understand and know how to teach the new curriculum.
15:03 And then number two, books. In the PISA results, books play a very important role in the absorption of subjects by our students.
15:14 So the procurement of books also takes time. So I would want it earlier, but I also know the logistical constraints in terms of rolling out a new curriculum, because this is massive.
15:26 We're talking about K-10. We're talking about close to about 21 million students in that grade level.
15:35 So we need to make sure that all the requirements are fulfilled before rolling it out.
15:41 So you're still, you're for expediting it, but basically you understand why its full implementation will still take the last year, which would be 2027 to 2028.
15:52 Correct. What we need to make sure is we have the money, we have the funds for the textbooks.
15:59 And this is a very important ingredient. Again, the PISA pointed out that textbooks play a very important role in the learning of our students.
16:08 All right. Senator Wynne, Congresswoman Franz Castro said, because of what came out, again, let's put into context that this PISA result was exam, or the PISA was taken March to May of 2022.
16:29 So, okay, last year, Congresswoman Castro was saying that maybe it's best that a secretary of the Deaf Ed should actually come from the education sector. Is this something you agree with?
16:44 With all due respect to Congresswoman Castro, I don't agree with that because the vice president is a former mayor and LGUs play a very important role in the execution of education at the local level.
17:07 In fact, if you look at the composition of the local school board, it's composed, it's co-chaired by the mayor and the superintendent.
17:14 So, in other words, local government units play a very important role in the education system of our country.
17:25 And in fact, I wanted to, I filed a bill to make it more pronounced. I want the mayors to be more accountable and more involved in the delivery of education.
17:33 So, my point of the matter there is the vice president is a very experienced local chief executive and that's also very important in our education system. That quality is very important in our education system.
17:47 And maybe just to follow up, are you satisfied so far with the vice president as Deaf Ed secretary?
17:53 But, Pinky, she has implemented a lot of reforms. Number one, the matatag curriculum is very important. Number two, they're already reducing, they started to reduce the number of tasks being given to our teachers.
18:10 And that's also one of the clamors of our teachers for a very long time. It's only this administration that they managed to do that.
18:18 The legislature also allocated close to about, I think, about 1.5 to 2 billion for teacher aids and that will help our teachers.
18:27 So, my point there is there are a lot of reforms implemented by this administration and we just have to be a little bit more patient to see the fruits of those reforms.
18:37 So, you are satisfied. It takes time, ika nga, Senator. All right.
18:42 Like I said, basic education is long term, but we have to plant the ingredients now in order to see results.
18:50 And I'll just address a bit, Pinky, because this is important to take note.
18:56 We have to thank our teachers for playing a very important role in ensuring that our students do not regress.
19:06 And in the PISA report also came out that 80% of our students said that our teachers made sure that they learn and made sure that they are learning during the time of pandemic.
19:19 And we have to credit our teachers for doing that. Even though the pandemic created a lot of health complications, but our teachers and principals continue to teach.
19:27 That's why we didn't regress. I agree with you there.
19:30 Senator Wingach-Alejand, sir, thank you so much for your time.
19:33 Maraming salamat.
19:35 And up ahead, a Filipino startup is changing the game to meet the growing demands of consumers.
19:40 Just in time for the holidays, we speak to Fofilco founder and chief executive officer Joy Chua live in the studio when we return.
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