Resolving The Learning Crisis

President Ferdinand Marcos has approved and signed the 2025 budget into law, with a 10% increase in government spending, and a total budget to the tune of a whopping 6.33 trillion pesos. Getting the largest allocation is the education sector with a budget of 1.053 trillion pesos.

Hopefully, this allocation is not misused, and prioritization of expenditures is done judiciously. With the initial report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education already published early this year, 28 priority areas have been identified, grouped under three main pillars that respond to critical concerns in the educational system: access, quality, governance and sustainability.

Even as the Education sector still continues to address learning losses due to the COVID 19 pandemic, EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee, points to a World Bank report in 2020 that said that our students specifically have a 5.5 years learning gap. This means when they graduate in Grade 12, their competencies are only that of a Grade 7 student. This is the reason behind the National Learning Recovery Program of the Department of Education. Dr. Yee, however, states that the Commission recommends a rethinking of how the program is being implemented and allow students still in need of functional literacy in higher grade levels to go back first to the basics for a certain period of time.

The Year One report of EDCOM 2 entitled “Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education” initially reports 12 priority areas, and among them are Teacher Quality, Curriculum Reforms and Learning Materials.

With the impact of severe tropical storm Kristine, the education sector suffered yet another setback and is still currently dealing with the extent of its damage, It is my hope that part of the huge budget allocation can address the financial requirements of DepEd’s post-Kristine rehabilitation efforts to help schools recover and regain stability.

TRIVIA:

Advance birthday greetings to Rev. Fathers Elmer Pandes and Roy Guerina of the Immaculate Conception Parish. Likewise, belated birthday greetings to Rev Fathers Joseph Olin, Rey Rellora and Enrico Paglinawan. (from the 2025 Calendar of the Archdiocese of Caceres)

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

“THE ROOTS OF EDUCATION ARE BITTER, BUT THE FRUIT IS SWEET” - ARISTOTLE

FOR OUR WORD OF LIFE:

“FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH YOU; BE NOT DISMAYED, FOR I AM YOUR GOD; I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU, I WILL HELP YOU, I WILL UPHOLD YOU WITH MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND”. - ISAIAH 41:10