From the lack of schools to underpaid teachers, getting quality education remains out of reach for many Filipinos. Will the major issues under the education sector be given enough attention in the next term?
As we count down to Election Day, we review the plans and promises laid out by presidential candidates. Who has the most comprehensive and promising vision for students, teachers, and the academe? To answer this, we researched platforms and classified them under accessibility for students, empowerment of teachers, pursuit of academic excellence, and resources for the education sector. Here’s a guide for your consideration.
Leody de Guzman
Accessibility for students
- Policy shift toward a constitutionally guaranteed right to education for every Filipino rather than sticking to the national scholarship program
- Implement the Universal Students’ Magna Carta – enact 13 absolute rights related to on-campus policies, including rights to academic freedom, accessible education, and safe spaces for women, LGBTQ+, and persons with disability
- Postpone tuition fee hikes until the pandemic ends
- Offer support for students of science and technology through incentives, according to ABS-CBN News
- Push for paid internships and paid student assistant services
- Advocate for consideration toward working students with regard to school fees and other matters
- Terminate discriminatory admission policies that restrict access to pregnant and unwed students, on the basis of sexuality, and people with disabilities
Pursuit of academic excellence
- Create reforms in the school curricula to make room for sexual and reproductive education, labor rights, and climate science
- Integrate martial law history in high school and college curricula to battle against historical revisionism
- Advocate for accessible State programs through skill-building programs of TESDA and other initiatives
Empowerment of teachers
- Prioritize increasing teachers’ salaries, as said in a Radyo Veritas Catholic E-Forum according to BusinessWorld
- Provide free tuition and resources for teachers in getting their Master’s or PhD
Resources for education sector
- Allocate budget for a safe return to in-person classes and implement subsidies for resources needed for distance learning, according to GMA News
- Increase funding for building schools, as said in a Radyo Veritas Catholic E-Forum according to BusinessWorld
- Push for sufficient funding for student councils, publications, and organizations without school administrations interfering
Ping Lacson
Accessibility for students
- Launch the Edukasyon Plus program to cut the dropout rate by providing free tuition, P5,000 monthly allowance, and a government internship program starting with senior high school students
- Push for national scholarship programs for science, technology, education, sports, and leadership skills, according to News5
- Establish schools in far-flung areas (under DepEd’s Last Mile Schools Program)
- Improve funding and implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, according to News5
Pursuit of academic excellence
- Create reforms by focusing on values formation, digital media literacy, financial literacy, and gender development (under the Edukasyon Plus Program), according to Manila Bulletin
- Put a focus on agricultural and other technical courses in state universities and colleges in agricultural areas, according to Rappler
Empowerment of teachers
- Adjust teachers’ salaries in state educational institutions by modifying the national budget to be on par with that of soldiers and police
Resources for education sector
- Focus on increasing the funding and implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, according to News5
Bongbong Marcos
Accessibility for students
- Increase free online courses in schools and improve them so not only certificates are offered, but also diplomas, according to GMA News
- Strengthen the Free College Tuition Fee Act and fund the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) scholarship program, according to the Daily Tribune
- Create the National Education Portal as a virtual platform for students and educators for communication and learning materials; add digital infrastructure to “Build, Build, Build” program, according to the Manila Standard
- Establish “specialized colleges and universities” for those who want to go to college for free without traveling far from their homes, according to GMA News
- Expand programs for out-of-school youth, according to GMA News
Empowerment of teachers
- Increase teachers’ salaries and provide scholarships for their children, according to GMA News
Isko Moreno
Accessibility for students
- Build more schools, according to GMA News
- Offer scholarships to 10,000 medical students per year to achieve one doctor per 1,000 Filipinos ratio
Pursuit of academic excellence
- Invest in STEM programs and add agriculture to its courses to make it “STEAM” to compete with developed nations
- Adopt more concise curricula for history and social studies
Empowerment of teachers
- Continue to upscale teachers’ competence
Resources for education sector
- Raise the budget-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio from 3.17 percent to 4.3
- Enhance IT infrastructure by upgrading internet connectivity and offer access to facilities and educational institutions
Manny Pacquiao
Accessibility for students
- Push for free education up to the tertiary level
- Launch the “one student, one gadget” program to create equal opportunities for financially challenged students in the “new normal”
- Strengthen college equivalency programs to open new opportunities for undergrads with work experience to merit advancement, providing accessibility to students in poverty
Empowerment of teachers
- Double government teachers’ salaries
- Provide gadgets to teachers
Leni Robredo
Accessibility for students
- Implement the “Kalayaan sa Kakulangan sa Edukasyon” platform, which aims to push for the resumption of in-person classes in low-risk areas, hand out gadgets and load to students in high-risk areas (“one student, one device policy”), and add more community learning hubs with available resources for both students and teachers
- Allot P68 billion budget for education assistance. Provide a monthly load and module allowance of P300 for each student (expected to help 22 million students)
- Partner with internet service and telecommunications providers to give students access to the internet and other educational resources
Pursuit of academic excellence
- Tap private sectors to produce paid training programs and to combat abusive unpaid internships, according to Reportr
- Increase students’ test scores in math, science, and reading
- Improve integration of STEM into school curricula
- Execute a national assessment program to diagnose mislearning of students and to create remediation programs to make up for these losses, according to ABS-CBN News
Empowerment of teachers
- Create a better compensation package for educators
- Provide free regular COVID-19 testing for teachers
- Train teachers to transition from face-to-face learning to distance learning
Resources for education sector
- Declare education crisis and raise budget for education from 3 to 6 percent of the GDP to provide accessible and quality education
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Compiled and written by Jelou Galang and Katrina Maisie Cabral
Art by Yel Sayo