Issues on the Quality of the Philippine Education

I.Introduction
Once one of the best in all of Asia, the education system of thePhilippines has deteriorated significantly in recent years, both in terms of quality and access. The

fundamental causes of this decline are slow economic growth, inadequate government revenues and rapid population growth. Corruption and flawed management exacerbate the problem. These factors contribute to poor quality teacher training, shortage of teachers, overcrowded and under-equipped classrooms, increasing drop-out rates andinsufficient access to education for the poor. These problems are particularly acute in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao, especially in the ARMM. About 21% of the barangays in the ARMMare without schools. Because of a major shortage of teachers, student-teacher ratios in the ARMM are 80-100 to 1. Though 93 % of the school-aged-population enrolls in grade one, 60% of the students drop out before theycomplete elementary school. These factors along with the conflict and lack of jobcreating investment in the ARMM have contributed to highunemployment in the region. More boys drop out than girls, and there iswidespread concern that, in the absence of employment, they may berecruited by criminal elements and secessionist groups.Re-electionist Senator Edgardo J. Angara (LDP) today revealed a 3-pointagenda to revive the quality of education, as well as to address the problemof Filipino competitiveness in the global manpower industry."Higher education has now become international. Today, we trainpeople not just for our manpower needs. We train them for the world. Andwhen people from other countries come here, they will come here to look forthe global-quality graduates," said Angara at the 20TH Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP)."To meet international benchmarks, we need to consciously andsystematical ly bring up our academic standards more than the ordinary. Wemust upgrade the skills and qualifications of students because they are atribute to their institution and to the country," Angara said.Angara also said that CHED was intended to be the vehicle to push thedevelopment of higher education rather than simply serve as a regulatory body.

"I noticed that several of CHED's programs are probably not priority atall, and should be relegated to the ordinary education support. Our originalconception of CHED was that it should be developmental and that it shouldhave a separate funding at its disposal to help develop priority programs," said Angara who wrote the law which created CHED in 1994.I n t h e a p p r o v e d 2 0 0 7 n a t i o n a l b u d g e t , A n g a r a a d d e d a P 6 5 m i l l i o n budget for more Science and Mathematics scholarships, especially for thetraining of teachers in these fields."Teachers are our primary nation-builders. We should strengthen thenumber of our teaching population in science and technology because theseare wealth-generating fields to combat poverty," he said.Angara also noted that the Philippines has slid down 29 places in thecompetitiveness ladder as announced by the World Bank's World EconomicForum."No country in the world has slipped that rapidly and swiftly within aperiod of less than 5 years," Angara explained.I n t h e p r e v i o u s C o n g r e s s , A n g a r a , t o g e t h e r w i t h S e n . R a m o n Magsaysay Jr., created the Competitiveness Commission to

urgently reviewt h e s c i e n c e a n d t e c h n o l o g y , e n g i n e e r i n g r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t programs of both private and public sectors.A n g a r a w a s t h e p r i m e m o v e r b e h i n d t h e t h r e e c o n g r e s s i o n a l commissions that studied and effected major reforms in Philippine education,the health sector and agriculture sector.Wednesday, March 12, 2008By Fidel Valdez Ramos , Former President Testimonial speech at the dinner and kick-off ceremony o f t h e University of the Philippines celebration in U.P.-Mindanao AdministrationBuilding, U.P.-Mindanao, Mintal, Davao City February 22, 2008. Quality education:Weapon of Mass Upliftment

As we all know, citizenship is neither a part-time job nor a hobby: it isan everyday obligation. Concerned citizens like you and me and our nationaland local leaders must, therefore, work harder that ever beforeto createm o r e p o w e r f u l W e a p o n s o f M a s s U p l i f t m e n t ( W M U s ) a g a i nst our realenemies, foremost of which are poverty, disunity, g r e e d , s e l f i s h n e s s , corruption, laziness and complacency.Our WMUs begin with quality education, good governance, teamwork,creativity, innovation, information communications technology, proaction(just-in-time or JIT delivery), international cooperation, and other people-empowering reforms that will lead to our countrys greater competitivenessand sustainable development in the fast changing world of the 21st century,especially here in Mindanao.B a s i c a l l y , w e n e e d t o p r e p a r e o u r y o u n g p e o p l e t o c o m p l e t e a n d prevail in the Knowledge Society of the 21st century. The world is the midstof scientific and technological revolutions that are challenging conventionalwisdom and opening new frontiers of humankind.F o r i n s t a n c e , t h e u n r a v e l i n g o f t h e h u m a n g e n o m e f o r e s h a d ows abiological revolution that could advance the present-day b o u n d a r i e s o f human life beyond normal expectations. Meanwhile, a parallel revolutioninI.C.T.is overcoming the age-old limits of time and space. Today, value is created by productivity and innovationboth of which are applications of knowledge put to work. Today, value is createdthrough intelligence, pro-action and inventiveness. The state of education

Of all the ties that bring our people and nation together, it is our pridea s F i l i p i n o s t h a t i s t h e s t r o n g e s t . B u t a c l o s e s e c o n d n a t i o n a l b o n d i s o u r common aspiration for learning and education. Our thirst for knowledge wasf o r m e d e v e n b e f o r e w e b e c o m e t h e n a t i o n w e a r e t o d a y . A n d i t h a s transcended the barriers of language and ethnic origin across our regions.It is well established that education is a force for empowerment; it isthe most effective cutting-edge tool against the forces of poverty. It is sad tonote, however, that over the last six years, there has been a decline in thequality of Philippine education, especially at the elementary and secondarylevels. Yet, education has become the ultimate ladder of opportunityfor both individuals and for nations. This is why our country must face up to theburden of adequately educating all our young peoplebecause quality basice d u c a t i o n i s i m p e r a t i v e f o r o u r s u c c e s s f u l t r a n s i t i o n t o t h e k n o w l e d g e society.

And, at bottom line, our university graduates will have to be measurednot only by the standards of our Professional Regulatory Commission but alsoagainst their foreign counterparts in the intensely competitive job market of the global economy. II.Statement of the Problem 1. S low economic growth. 2. I nadequate government revenues. 3. R apid population growth. Corruption and flawed management exacerbate the problem. Thesef a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t e t o p o o r q u a l i t y t e a c h e r t r a i n i n g , s h o r t a g e o f t e a c h e r s , overcrowded and under-equipped classrooms, increasing drop-out rates andinsufficient access to education for the poor. I I I . B o d y According to surveys. W i t h a c t i v e a n d v i g o r o u s c o o p e r a t i o n o f F i l i p i n o p a r e n t s , t h e e n t i r e el ementary schooling enterprise (composed of the dominant public schoolsw i t h m o r e t h a n 9 0 % o f t o t a l e n r o l l m e n t a n d t h e m i n o r i t y - s h a r e p r i v a t e schools) is regularly able to enroll the vast majority of school-agechildren.For the latest school year with complete data, School Year 2002-2003,an impressive90.32% of the total population aged 6-11 years old, which arethe official ages for Grade 1 to 6pupils, are in the nation's classrooms at thebeginning of the school year. Yet the mere 9.68%

of the whole population aged 6-11 years old (estimated at 11,999,627 in 2002)t h a t a r e n o t i n s c h o o l s s t i l l c o n s t i t u t e n e a r l y 1 . 2 m i l l i o n d i s a d v a ntagedc h i l d r e n . T h e s e s c h o o l a g e c h i l d r e n n o t i n g s c h o o l a r e m o s t l i k e l y t o eventually join the ranks of adult illiterates or functional illiterates,a n d e v e n i f t h e y b e c o m e l i t e r a t e , t h e y w i l l c e r t a i n l y h a v e m u c h l e s s opportunity to acquire the full set of basic education competencies in Filipinoor English. Historical data indicate that since the 1970's up to the presen t a steady percentage of nearly 10% of every annual cohort of school age children have been excluded from the opportunities of formal schooling. Education disadvantage is not limited only to those who never getinto a school. Based on cohort survival data (SY 2002-2003) and the latest achievement test results (SY 2003-2004) the outlines of the main story aboutthe more than 90% of school age Filipinos who get into schools are along thefollowing lines: For every typical 1,000 entrants to Grade 1, a total of 312 will leave schoolbefore finishing Grade6 most of them in the first two grades; 249 will finishthe six-year grade school in an average of9.6 years each by repeating somegrade levels two to three times; and only 439 will graduate elementary in sixyears. But only 7 elementary school graduates will have at least a 75% scorein English language achievement tests for English, Math and Science. Thus,f o r e v e r y 1 , 0 0 0 e n t r a n t s t o G r a d e 1 , t h e n a t i o n ' s public schoolsproduce only 7 graduates in Grade 6 w i t h s u f f i c i e n t m a s t e r y o f English, Math and Science competencies after exerting effort for anaverage of 7.31 school years per graduate. With a total yearly intake of 2.7 million new (nonrepeater) entrants to Grade 1, this means a total yield of only about 18,900 grade school graduates with the required competencies inEnglish, Science and Math necessary to eventually succeed in high school. For every typical 1,000 entrants to First Year high school, 389 will leaveschool without completing four years; 353 will graduate after repeating twoto three times taking average of6.7 years; and only 248 will graduate withinthe required four years. Taking the two levels together, a typical group of 1,000 Grade 1 entrantswill eventually yield only395 who finish high school, with only 162 of themfinishing elementary and high school in ten years while 233 eventually finishe l e m e n t a r y a n d h i g h s c h o o l a f t e r e a c h t a k i n g u p t o s i x t e e n y e a r s t o complete the ten-year basic education schooling cycle. It is highly probablethat a very small number of these high school graduates will have acquiredthe necessary competencies expected from ten years of schooling. P h i l i p p i n e s c h o o l s , a s a w h o l e s y s t e m , h a v e f a i l e d t o d e l i v e r o v e r a l l excellence (high average achievement by all students) as well as failed toa s s u r e g e n e r a l f a i r n e s s ( l o w v a r i a t i o n i n l e v e l s o f a c h i e v e m e n t a m o n g individual students) to the 90% of total school-age children that they takeinto Grade 1 each year, and this failure has continued year in and year outfor at least the past four decades through different economic circumstancesand different political administrations.F r o m t h e s e n u m b e r s , i t i s

e v i d e n t t h a t m o s t s t u d e n t s e i t h e r d o n o t complete the full ten years of basic education (thereby precluding their beingable to acquire the necessary competencies expected from schooling), oro b t a i n t h e i r g r a d e s c h o o l o r h i g h s c h o o l c r e d e n t i a l s w i t h o u t n e c e s s a r i l y acquiring sufficient mastery of the required competencies, particularly i nEnglish. One must note that achievement tests are really very simple and

crude tools for assessing the level of actual education attained. One mighteven say that passing these tests indicates relatively little about what thestudent can really do, although not passing these tests tells a lot more aboutw h a t t h e s t u d e n t c l e a r l y c a n n o t d o . B e t w e e n t h e s c h o o l l e a v e r s a n d nonachievers, the schooling system is largely faili n g t o e d u c a t e F i l i p i n o children.L e s t t h e r e a d e r m i g h t i n c i d e n t a l l y c o n c l u d e a t t h i s s t a g e t h a t t h e bilingual policy in public education contributed to the dismal results in termsof English, Math and Science competencies, it should be noted that how welldifferent schools perform matters greatly in these outcomes. In the scientificevaluation of the bilingual policy implementation from 1974 to 1985, thefindings indicate that length of exposure to the bilingual policy did not have asignificant effect on student achievement. The most important predictor of student achievement for all subjects was the socio-economic status of thes t u d e n t ' s f a m i l y , a f i n d i n g i n d i c a t i v e o f t h e g e n e r a l f a i l u r e o f s c h o o l s t o substantially compensate for a student's low socio-economic status.In Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, the proficiency of teachersi n t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e s u b j e c t s w a s t h e s e c o n d m o s t i m p o r t a n t p r e d i c t o r o f student achievement (after socio-economic status). In fact, the evaluationconcluded that "schools which are excellent do a good job of teaching bothF i l i p i n o a n d E n g l i s h " , a n d t h e b i l i n g u a l p o l i c y c a n b e s u c c e s s f u l l y implemented provided that schools have the necessary qualities to teachwell. In other words, better teachers and schools, not a different policy onlanguage media of instruction, is the key to improving student proficienciesin English, Filipino, math, science and others, regardless of the student'ssocioeconomic status. Unfortunately, students from better-off families tendto get greater access to the better teachers and better schools not just in theprivate system but also in the public system.In sum, how educated are all Filipinos? Most acquire the bare tools of literacy and functional literacy, although a large number (up to 3.8 millionare not literate and up to 9.2million are not functionally literate) do not evenh a v e s u c h r u d i m e n t a r y t o o l s . M u c h l a r g e r s e g m e n t s t h a n t h e s e c o r e illiterates do not attain various aspects of the EDCOM ideal of

the educatedFilipino.Most Filipinos are unable to communicate adequately in English, whichi s s t i l l t h e p r e v a i l i n g l a n g u a g e o f c o m m e r c e , l a w , g o v e r n m e n t a n d international interactions as well as the main language for Filipinos to accessg l o b a l k n o w l e d g e . O n e o f t h e m a j o r s o u r c e s o f t h i s l a r g e a n d c o n t i n u e d education disadvantage in the population is the failure of schools to assurem a s t e r y o f b a s i c e d u c a t i o n c o m p e t e n c i e s i n E n g l i s h . T h e n o t i o n o f t h e educated Filipino still requires a modicum of competen c y i n E n g l i s h f o r certain important domains of use or alternatively the full development of F i l i p i n o a s t h e p r e v a l e n t m e d i u m o f i n t e l l e c t u a l e x c h a n g e , a s t h e s e alternative conditions are indicative of every Filipino's real ability to engager a t i o n a l l y w i t h m a n y v i t a l s o c i a l , p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c i s s u e s . In either these two alternative notions, the whole population is still very far fr o m attaining the ideal of an educated nation.Good education is expensive but lack of education costs many timesmore. The first costs of lack of education are borne by the uneducated.I t i s e a s y t o u n d e r s t a n d h o w s o m e o n e c a n b e disadvantaged by lack o f education which prevents that person from acquiring certain esse ntialcapabilities to interact with other individuals, with the existing b o d y o f human knowledge, and with important social institutions. Lack of educationt o o n e d e g r e e o r a n o t h e r e x c l u d e s t h e u n e d u c a t e d f r o m t h e m a n y opportunities and beneficial options in s o c i e t y . T h i s e x c l u s i o n p r i m a r i l y punishes the uneducated. But the costs of lack of education are not bornes o l e l y b y t h e u n e d u c a t e d . T h e w h o l e s o c i e t y , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e b e t t e r educated, bear heavy costs for the existence of a large pool of uneducated.I m a g i n e a s o c i e t y w i t h a f e w m i l l i o n s u n a b l e t o r e a d , w r i t e a n d compute in their mother tongue or in Filipino or i n E n g l i s h ; a f e w m o r e millions unable to communicate in the English that is routinely used by mostother educated persons including leaders, employers and civil servants; andmany millions more unable to use their better proficiency in Filipino languaget o a c c e s s w o r l d w i d e k n o w l e d g e o r t o e n g a g e m o r e i n f l u e n t i a l p e o p l e i n public discourse on important issues affecting all of them. Such a society willb e f e r t i l e g r o u n d s f o r r a m p a n t s u p e r s t i t i o n , i n g r a i n e d p r e j u d i c e , p o p u l i s t demagoguery, perversions of morality, cheapening of culture or commercialf r a u d . S u c h a s o c i e t y w i l l b e u n a b l e t o c o l l e c t i v e l y c o n s i d e r g o o d i d e a s rationally, widely recognize factual information as basis for public decisions,a n d s c i e n t i f i c a l l y o r s y s t e m a t i c a l l y l e a r n a s a c o m m u n i t y f r o m i t s o w n collective trials and errors.Certainly not while it remains a free democracy subject to the rule of the majority, which may very well be the rule of the least educated majority. The costs imposed on society by the large group of people who go

throughe l e m e n t a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l i n g w i t h o u t a c q u i r i n g t h e e s s e n t i a l competencies expected from such schooling are particularly heavy.F i r s t , t h e s e c h i l d r e n w a s t e t h e i r y e a r s o f e f f o r t a n d e x p e n s e i n schooling that fails to benefit them with the b a s i c k n o w l e d g e , s k i l l s a n d attitudes desired and expected by their own society. Appendices What is the percentage of elementary graduates that enter intosecondary level? What are the evidences why most students either do not complete thefull ten years of basic education? What kind of society it will be if few millions are unable to read, writeand compute in their mother tongue or in Filipino or in English; a fewmore millions unable to communicate in the English that is routinelyused by most other educated persons including leaders, employers andcivil servants; and many millions more unable to use their betterproficiency in Filipino language to access worldwide knowledge or toengage more influential people in public discourse on important issuesaffecting all of them. What are the differences of educated and uneducated? Analysis of why some better educated fails. What is the greatest cost of widespread lack of education?Ratio of the Out of School of Youths

Ratio of the Out of School of Youths 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 8 o u t o f 1 0 6 o u t o f 1 0

0 2 0 3 1

4 0 7 o 0 o 4 f u t o 1 u 0 o t 6

2 0 2 f o o 1 f u

0 6 0 0 t

Second, the educational system wastes its efforts and resourc esaccommodating them in schools without enabling them to ac quire thecompetencies necessary for them to become selfr e l i a n t a n d t o e v e n contribute in society. Third, the larger society further wastes its efforts remedying whateverwas missing from their school education and selecting which among thesenominal graduates really have the required competencies.Imagine a society where the most widely available academic credentials,which are those of graduating from grade school or high school, no longerm e a n c l e a r l y d e f i n e d s e t s o f c o m p e t e n c i e s s i n c e o n l y a f e w g r a d u a t e s a t either level have the actual competencies required for any level.Given the meaninglessness of basic education credentials under theseconditions, the rest of society will be engaged in both unending remediale d u c a t i o n f o r t h e m i s s i n g c o m p e t e n c i e s a s w e l l a s e n d l ess testing ands c r e e n i n g t o d e t e r m i n e t h e a c t u a l c o m p e t e n c i e s o f t h e s e n o m i n a l elementary or high school gra duates. Much of these added efforts at

remedial education are already occurring at tertiary, technical and n o n - formal education levels. And the plethora of testing and screening activitieswith their attendant expenses already occur at workplaces and job recruitinga g e n c i e s . J u s t a s g o o d e d u c a t i o n i s a g i f t t h a t k e e p s o n giving, lack of e d u c a t i o n i s a d e f i c i e n c y t h a t c o n t i n u o u s l y s p e w s i t s o w n p o i s o n o f undesirable consequences. It is not as if the uneducated will just sit quietly,passive and inert in their homes and communities. The uneducated, no less than the educated, will form and express theiropinions, exercise their rights, stake their claims in society, seek to survive,advance or prosper. Some of the uneducated might even acquire the nominalc r e d e n t i a l s t o p a s s t h e m s e l v e s o f f a s t e a c h e r s , t u t o r s , n u r s e s , m i d w i v e s , doctors, lawyers, engineers, mechanics, and many others whom we wouldhave expected to have greater than average competence. T h e u n e d u c a t e d w i l l d o t h e s a m e t h i n g s t h a t t h e e d u c a t e d w i l l d o , except that he or she will have much lesser capacities to do so through purem e r i t a n d c o m p e t e n t p e r f o r m a n c e . T h u s t h e l e a s t e d u c a t e d c o u l d morereadily resort to nepotism, patronage, fraud, crime, bribery, cor r u p t i o n , conflict and the many social ills one observes as occurring with increasingfrequency in Philippine society. Of course, the educated are also liable to dothe same wrong things. But the uneducated may be the true constituency of t h e s e t y p e s o f a d v e r s e b e h a v i o r s b e c a u s e t h e i r b a s i c e d u c a t i o n disadvantage may be shutting them out from the already limited paths of success through earned merit and proven performance.All the great and eloquent appeals for social improvement, in state-of-t h e nation addresses made each year by presidents or in lan d m a r k legislation passed by congress or in important declarati o n s o f p u r p o s e contained in various reform initiatives, require a common bond of

educationc o m p e t e n c i e s i n l a n g u a g e , r e a s o n , a n d k n o w l e d g e t o t r u l y e n g a g e a l l Filipinos.All measures to protect and preserve the environment, promote thetolerance of diversity, achieve greater social harmony and peace, undertakeurgent measures to improve the economy, among other great goals, requirea modicum of commonly attained cognitive development of every Filipino if these are to have any hope of success. The greatest cost of widespread lacko f e d u c a t i o n is the hardening and perpetuation of social exclusion as t h e uneducated also become the poorest, those most vulnerable to shocks, thev o i c e l e s s i n c u l t u r e , t h e p o w e r l e s s i n p o l i t i c s a n d t h o s e d e n i e d access toh e a l t h a n d k n o w l e d g e . A W o r l d B a n k p a p e r d e s c r i b e s t h e p o t e n t i a l consequences of such exclusion. "The presence of exclusion within a society hinders and imped e s advancement in widespread economic and social development and can exist a s a d o r m a n t s o u r c e o f i n s t a b i l i t y a n d t u r m o i l . C o n f l i c t r e s u l t i n g f r o m exclusion, inequality and indignity does not in itself necessarily lead to theeruption of widespread hostilities. The tolerance and coping capacities of the p o o r a n d m a r g i n a l i z e d a r e l e g e n d a n d m a n i f o l d . H o w e v e r , c o n f l i c t o f t e n engenders large scale violence if various structural conditions are present,such as authoritarian rule and a lack of political rights; state weakness and l a c k o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l c a p a c i t y t o m a n a g e c o n f l i c t ; a n d s o c i o e c o n o m i c imbalances combined with inequity of opportunity and a weak civil society.The risk of an outbreak of violent conflict increases when these conditionse x i s t c o n c u r r e n t l y o r a r e e x a c e r b a t e d b y o t h e r p r o b l e ms, such as them a n i p u l a t i o n o f e t h n i c o r o t h e r d i f f e r e n c e s ( i n r e l i g i o n , c u l t u r e a n d language), which can further fragment society and intensify conflict." In summary, the costs of failure to attain universal education a r e incalculably large and could even be socially devastating. Lack of educationcondemns those uneducated to fewer options and less possibilities than theire d u c a t e d c o u n t r y m e n . T h e i n a b i l i t y o f a l a r g e u n e d u c a t e d s e g m e n t o f society to effectively function with others, access available knowledge andinteract with existing institutions imposes further costs on the whole societythat still has to function with their continued presence. Even as the societys t r u g g l e s t o a d v a n c e w i t h t h e s e h a n d i c a p s , t h e c o n t i n u e d e x c l usion of alarge group of uneducated becomes dry tinder for potential o u t b r e a k s o f large scale violent conflict when other conditions conspire. It is crucial thatt h o s e w h o a r e e d u c a t e d r e c o g n i z e t h a t t h e s o c i e t y ' s f a i l u r e t o e d u c a t e everyone hobbles them (the educated) just as it cripples the uneducated. Iv. Conclusion

A failure of such massive proportions and such historic duration cannotb e t h e w o r k of one man or even one cabal of people. The large pool o f illiterates has always been around. The relative size may have contracted asa portion of a growing population, but their numbers in the millions h a v e been a steady fact of national life. T h e w e a k n e s s e s o f t h e s c h o o l s y s t e m h a v e b e e n n o t e d i n a l l t h e commissions, committees and expert studies to assess the Philippine basice d u c a t i o n s y s t e m s i n c e t h e e a r l i e s t d a y s o f t h e R e p u b l i c u p t o t h e m o s t recent administration. The deteriorating competencies in English, math andscience have been noted in study after study since the 1960's which was thestart of the rapid growth of enrollment that continues to this day. T h e m a n y g o o d i n t e n t i o n s o f a l l S e c r e t a r i e s o f E d u c a t i o n , v a r i o u s Congresses and several Presidents all have failed to yield significant gains,except if one considers the successful prevention of even worse outcomes asa n a c h i e v e m e n t . W h y h a s t h e P h i l i p p i n e s f a i l e d t o a t t a i n u n i v e r s a l b a s i c education for all? This plan is primarily a proposal to do better than the past.So it is important to recognize why past efforts failed.I n s u m , p a s t e f f o r t s f a i l e d b e c a u s e t h o s e w h o a r e b e t t e r e d u c a t e d failed. The first failure must be those of national political leaders, in the executivea n d l e g i s l a t i v e , p r i m a r i l y f o r t h e i r c o l l e c t i v e i n a b i l i t y t o t a k e t h e t o u g h decisions in public finance (both in revenue raising as well as in spending authorization) to effectively and equitably allocate limited public resourcesthat can be efficiently used to adequately meet the needs of good qualitybasic education for all. T h e s e c o n d f a i l u r e m u s t b e t h o s e o f t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l e d u c a t o r s w h o manage and operate our schools for their collective avoidance of facing up tothe stark reality that the vast majority of our schools are failing to teach andas a result many students are failing to learn. The third failure must be those of the best educated and most articulatei n f l u e n t i a l s i n s o c i e t y , w h o a r e w o r k i n g i n m e d i a , g o v e r n m e n t , b u s i n e s s , academe and civil society, for their lack of consistent and unified attention togetting the whole society committed to breaking the back of growing massincompetence of Filipinos through adequate basic education for all. T h e f o u r t h f a i l u r e m u s t b e t h o s e o f c o m m u n i t y l e a d e r s ( g o v e r n m e n t officials, business leaders, and professionals active in their localities) fortheir lack of demand, support and action for the attainment of quality basiceducation for everyone in their communities, not just for their ownchildren. The fifth and last failure must be those of education reform advocates fortheir lack of constancy of purpose, muddled vision and mistaken strategies,all of which weakened or confused the direction and drive of the process toimprove basic education for all. Yet these are the failures of the virtuous andwell intentioned, not the triumph of the vile or corrupt. Many of the abovegroups used the best of their knowledge and skills to do what they

thoughtwere necessary and desirable. This plan is about learning from the past inorder to do much better in the future. V. Recommendations a. To help address the challenges in the Philippine education sector andto reduce the perpetuation of conflict by addressing the social, economicand political marginalization of disadvantaged groups in conflictproneareas, most notably Mindanao, USAID/Philippines developed an EducationStrategic Objective (SO11) as part of its FY 2005-2009 strategy. Its overalla i m i s i n c r e a s e d a c c e s s t o q u a l i t y e d u c a t i o n a n d l i v e l i h o o d s k i l l s i n selected areas, particularly those most affected by conflict and poverty.b. Angara, a former University of the Philippines President, highlightedthree areas of reformation: (1) upgrading academic standards in line withinternationalization of higher education, (2) revisiting the mission andp r i o r i t i e s o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n o n H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n ( C H E D ) , a n d ( 3 ) developing the quality of education in specific fields such as Science and Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering Research and Development.c . W e d o n o t n e e d t o t r a n s f o r m o u r c u l t u r e . A l l w e n e e d t o do isr e m o v e t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l b a r r i e r s t h a t h i n d e r o u r c o u n t r y s developmentby dismantling the monopolies that persist in varioussectors, particularly in utilities, and getting government action to cut

down the costs of doing business in our country.d. Corruption, we may never be able to prevent entirely. But wecan certainly reduce by greater transparency and accountability on the partof government officials as well as corporate managers.We may not rid ourselves of every oppressor and every would-be scalawag.B u t w e c a n s t o p t h e w h o l e o f g o v e r n m e n t f r o m b e i n g a n i n s t r u m e n t o f privilege and corruption.e. The price of freedom T h e P h i l i p p i n e S t a t e h a s h i s t o r i c a l l y r e q u i r e d e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y l i t t l e o f i t s citizens. And, as individuals, we Filipinos acknowledge few obligations to thenational community. Yet only with the civic commitment does sustained peaceand development become possible in a democratic society.Civic responsibility has always been the price of freedom. Each and every oneo f u s m u s t a c c e p t t h a t n a t i o n a l s o c i e t y i s m o r e , m u c h m o r e t h a n j u s t a n aggregate of personalities, or families, or clans or elites.A s r e s p o n s i b l e c i t i z e n s , F i l i p i n o s c a n n o t c o n t i n u e b e i n g s p e c t a t o r s t o t h e erratic alternation of political power in our Philippine-style democratic system.If things are to be set right, it can only be through the engagement of citizensand leadersto ensure our collective unity of purpose, solidarity in valuesand teamwork in nation-building. Filipinos should accept that we can realizeour dreams and win the future only if we ourselves pursued and sacrificed

forthem. In this task, the U.P. System, particularly U.P. Mindanao, plays a leadrole. VI. Bibliography http://philippines.usaid.gov/oed.phphttp://www.edangara.com/archives/newsreleases/2007/march/quality-of-philippineeducation.htmlhttp://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/EFA_Plans/Phil_EFA2015 _Final_Plan.pdf http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/EFA_Plans/Phil_EFA201 5_Final_Plan.pdf http://www.seameoinnotech.org/resources/seameo_country/educ_data/philippines/philippines_ibe.htm http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~cide/publications_story.php?id=6http://www.surveysampling.com/? q=en/respondents/bycountry/asiapacific/philippineshttp://www.wes.org/ewenr/04Nov/Practical.h tm http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/12/yehey/opinion/20080312opi6.html TERM PAPER S tatus of the Q uality of P hilippine E ducation------------In Partial Fulfillment