The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Thursday said the report that only one public school in Metro Manila got a passing mark in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) should serve as a wake-up call for the government.
In a statement, ACT chairperson Vladimer Quetua said the result reflected the underfunded public education system in the country, including the problem of teachers struggling with underpaid and overworked conditions.
“The fact that only one public school [in Metro Manila] managed to meet the minimum proficiency level in the PISA assessment should serve as a wake-up call to the Marcos Jr. administration and the DepEd,” Quetua said.
“It is a stark reminder of the dire consequences of their neglect in addressing massive shortages in teachers, classrooms, teaching and learning materials, and even education support personnel, leaving our teachers grappling with limited resources, overcrowded classrooms, oversized classes, and inconducive learning environment while trying to make ends meet,” he added.
During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, DepEd National Capital Region (NCR) director Jocelyn Andaya said only Benigno S. Aquino High School in Makati City made the cut out of all Metro Manila public schools in the study.
Aside from Benigno S. Aquino High School, five more schools passed the assessment but they were all private schools, Andaya said.
With this, Quetua reiterated ACT’s appeal to increase the allocated budget for the education sector.
“Dapat na doblehin ang inilalaang pondo sa edukasyon at magkaroon ng konkretong hakbang para tugunan ang malaking kakulangan at maresolba ang krisis sa pagkatuto. Hindi sapat ang pag-uulat lamang ng mga hindi signipikanteng datos taun-taon sa Basic Education Report. Dapat na itugma ito sa tunay na pangangailangan,” Queta said.
(The budget for education should be doubled and concrete steps should be taken to address the learning crisis. It’s not enough to simply report insignificant data in the Basic Education Report. It should be matched with what’s really needed.)
“Malaking bagay din kung itataas sa nakabubuhay at disenteng antas ang suweldo ng mga guro at alisin ang mga trabahong walang kinalaman sa pagtuturo,” he said.
(It would also be a big help if the salaries of teachers are raised and their administrative tasks are removed.)
GMA News Online has requested comment from DepEd regarding ACT’s statements.
Based on the 2022 PISA results, the Philippines ranked as the sixth lowest among the 81 countries and economies that participated in the study, with Filipino learners continuing to lag behind in reading, math, and science.
DepEd senior education program specialist and PISA focal person Alex Sucalit Jr. earlier said that the recent PISA results might have shown that the Philippines is about five to six years behind as compared to other countries with higher scores.
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte had also lamented the Philippines’ poor performance on the 2022 PISA, saying that a collective effort must be made to address the problem. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
