THE same old challenges and problems await some 20 million learners across the country as school year 2024-2025 begins today, July 29, with a new education secretary taking over efforts to make the system more responsive.
Former senator Juan Edgardo Angara replaced Vice President Sara Duterte, who ended her tumultuous two-year reign as head of the Department of Education (DepEd) sparked by controversy over her confidential funds while pushing the new Matatag Basic Education Curriculum.
The DepEd said as of 9 a.m. Sunday, the number of enrollees for SY 2024-2025 was 19,268,747. The figure included the 16,794,173 enrollees for elementary school, junior high school (JHS) and senior high school (SHS) in public schools as well as the 2,244,867 enrollees for elementary school, JHS and SHS in private schools.
For public schools, the breakdown was as follows: 9,775,158 for elementary school; 5,115,248 for JHS; and 1,903,767 for SHS.
For private schools, the numbers were: 709,857 for elementary school; 723,500 for JHS; and 811,510 for SHS.
The figure also included the 23,875 enrollees for elementary school, JHS and SHS in state universities and colleges and local universities and colleges, and 205,832 for the Alternative Learning System.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) assured the public that proper security measures are in place for the school opening.
PNP spokesman Col. Jean Fajardo said around 33,000 policemen would be deployed to ensure the safety of students across the country as they begin their first day of classes.
Not all schools will open, however, with 979 in four regions and the National Capital Region delaying their class opening until August 5 at the earliest due to the damage caused by the southwest monsoon and Typhoon Carina.
Of the 979 schools, 452 were in Central Luzon, 225 were in Metro Manila, 231 were in the Ilocos Region, 67 were in Calabarzon, and four were in Soccsksargen.
Local government officials in Quezon City and northern Metro Manila said on Sunday that the school opening in their areas would push through, although some classrooms had to be fixed after they were flooded.
But Mayors Weslie Gatchalian (Valenzuela City) and Jeannie Sandoval (Malabon City) told The Manila Times in separate interviews that they would have to push back the start of classes from July 29 to August 5.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said most public elementary and high schools would be ready for school opening on Monday.
“But we have some 15 other public schools that have to defer their opening of classes due to the damage while some are still being used as evacuation centers,” Belmonte said.
Nevertheless, Angara said he was not inclined to cancel the school opening by a week more, noting that the country continues to suffer “learning loss.”
He is expected to visit several schools in Laguna, Cavite, Muntinlupa and Rizal to monitor the first day of classes.
However, the problems that Angara will see in the opening of classes are not new. These are long-standing, generational problems that have been a recurring theme every school opening: classroom shortages, poor teaching quality, and teachers being underpaid and overworked.
And that was before the monsoons and Typhoon Carina exacerbated the situation.
In separate interviews with The Manila Times, two representatives of teachers’ groups said that Angara would continue to face the same problems that every education secretary has had to grapple with since time immemorial.
For former Alliance of Concerned Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio, Angara has a “deep learning experience” when it comes to the educational system.
“As a politician, we see the importance of speaking to him, especially those involved in education. This is a very positive sign, and he is prepared for that, so we are positive about the new leadership,” Tinio said.
Meanwhile, Teachers Dignity Coalition National Chairman Benjo Basas said they were approaching Angara’s role with a hint of optimism that he would deliver on their agenda.
“He talks to us well, he’s very serious, and we can say that he has a track record and legacy of his family in the education sector,” Basas said.
Basas said that the education system in the country is experiencing what Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman described as a “universe of shortages”: shortages of teachers and support staff such as librarians, guidance counselors and other administrative staff, classrooms, learning materials, school buildings, water sanitation facilities, internet facilities, and even electricity.
He added that the DepEd focused normally on changing the curriculum if there were failings in the education system but stressed that tinkering with the curriculum will be for naught if the basic needs of public schools are not even met.
“It should be addressed jointly, but focused first on teachers, salaries, benefits that would ensure that they are fulfilled, satisfied and motivated to work and teach,” Basas said.
Tinio said that while there is still a standing demand for teachers to increase their entry-level salary to P50,000 per month, they are already satisfied with some key reforms that were implemented, such as the institutionalization of overtime pay and the implementation of an expanded career progression track for teachers.
There are other immediate concerns, noted Tinio, chief of which is the implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum, which he said reduced the contact time of teachers and students to just 45 minutes per subject but increased the teaching load.
“The effect of this is that the teaching load of teachers, from five to six classes a day, will now move to eight, which could end at 8:25 p.m. for the second shift, so we raised it to the undersecretaries concerned,” Tinio said.
Aside from the contact time, Basas lamented the lack of training for those who were supposed to train the teachers for the curriculum, especially in Grades 1, 4 and 7, who will be the first to implement it.
Basas said the government should not focus first on improving the country’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test results in 2025, as he believes that a good performance in the PISA and other examinations can be brought about naturally if the root causes of the education sector are addressed.
He hopes that Angara will persuade Congress to provide enough funding for the education sector to resolve its gaps.
Be the first to comment