DURING last week’s meeting of maritime stakeholders with Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara to discuss the importance of basic education, specifically the senior high school level, in enhancing the qualification of those who aim to pursue a maritime career, it was encouraging to hear the good secretary tie up the meeting agenda with the blue economy. The current administration has taken on board a blue economy framework to harness the opportunities and endowments the sea offers.
Industry stakeholders representing shipowners and manning agencies operating in domestic and international waters, maritime training and education institutions, and media practitioners acknowledged the crucial role the Department of Education (DepEd) plays in growing the country’s maritime human resources. The archipelagic character of the Philippines bids it to adopt a governance that gives attention to capitalizing fully on the benefits to be derived from its waters.
The stakeholders were candid in presenting the learning deficit of senior high school finishers, which prevents them from pursuing further skills development, much less landing a job. Of particular concern to the maritime stakeholders was the limited number of high schools that offer the maritime track, such that shipowners and manning agencies have taken the initiative to support some national secondary schools offering senior high school. These industry programs are limited and will not satisfy the demand for developing the maritime workforce.
The burning issue of the Philippines’ dismal performance in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an assessment measure of 15-year-old students’ reading, mathematics and science literacy, was also raised, although no reference was made to the PISA results for the Philippines in deference to Secretary Angara, who everyone present at the meeting anticipates is on top of the government’s efforts at addressing this particular issue. In a globalized labor market, measuring up to international qualification criteria is a must. This challenge is laid at DepEd’s door at the first level and interlinked with the works of other government agencies, the private sector and the community.
Priming the youth for them to realize their maritime heritage and recognize the opportunities in the maritime industry is part of DepEd’s direction. It was confirmed that the topic of the country as an archipelago is now part of the Grade IV curriculum; topics related to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) were mentioned as part of the said new curriculum, presumably in a very simple form. If such is the case, the usual “anyong tubig” and “anyong lupa” in the basic education textbook must have been expanded.
Then again, the issue of the ability of basic education teachers to deliver instructions on the subject must be given attention. As a new topic in the curriculum, teachers must be given the necessary guidance and advice on the importance of instilling an awareness of their students being citizens of an archipelago; this makes sense, considering that more than half of the 119 million Filipinos live in coastal provinces and islands.
There is every reason to be optimistic the government will work forward to harness the benefits of a blue economy. Advocates of Maritime Philippines have been drumming up support for the adoption of a national maritime agenda; with the blue economy initiatives of the government this could be realized soon.
With his impressive performance as a legislator, Secretary Angara can become the champion for Maritime Philippines. For a start, Mr. Secretary, how about adopting in the basic education annual activity a program that will celebrate the Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (Manamo) celebrated every September. A government-wide events program is adopted every year to celebrate Manamo. It is an event that will surely interest young Filipino students.
Be the first to comment