AN EXCELLENT article by Isy Faingold, the chief of education of the United Nations gives much food for thought. He admits to there being a learning crisis in the Philippines, but an upbeat approach gives us hope.
He suggests reducing the excessive number of learning competencies being required and explicitly prioritizes numeracy and literacy only.
Secondly, he supports early childhood education for young children (3-4 years old) and emphasizes evidence that children who attend preschool have better learning outcomes.
A third aspect which is not given enough comment is that DepEd should take care of our teachers. I agree but, regrettably I do not believe that DepEd is doing enough to improve the career development and training of those to whom we entrust our children. But an expert from Unicef has said it, so it should be taken seriously.
Fourthly, Faingold recommends that parents should be supported in their children’s education. Yikes! We do our best, but there are difficulties. Last weekend I tried to help an incoming Grade 11 grandchild with Math but the difficulties in handling the relationship between the center and radius of a circle with its equation was difficult to say the least.
Fifthly, Faingold asserts that levels of bullying in schools in the Philippines are higher than many other countries. This is disappointing and, frankly, I am surprised.
Sixthly, it is recognized that progress has been made to strengthen the Alternative Learning System (ALS) for out-of-school adults. Agreed. An ALS graduate in our family, hitherto unemployable, has recently been offered a reasonable job. Well done!
Faingold recommends that we should pay more attention to climate change. He says there needs to be additional climate-friendly and resilient schools and classrooms.
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Finally, there is confirmation that Unicef will continue to work with stakeholders in education. Successful implementation will uphold the right to quality education for children in the Philippines./PN
