8-point Education Reform Agenda

The crisis of Philippine education is worsening. Quality of learning is deteriorating; school facilities are inadequate and obsolete; cost of education is rising; and campus repression is reaching an alarming level. Education is failing in its mission to equip young Filipinos with relevant life skills and knowledge to enable them to confront the challenges of nation-building.  

Education reforms initiated by the private and public sectors do not address the roots of the crisis. Corruption defeats the efforts to improve delivery of education. State policies exacerbate the colonial, commercialized, elitist and fascist features of Philippine education.

It is true that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inherited a flawed education system. But Arroyo is also responsible for aggravating the crisis of education. A relevant, robust and efficient education system is not one of Arroyo's legacies in the past seven years. Arroyo's education program has further diminished the capability of schools and decreased the opportunities for learning in the country.  
A deficient education system heightens social discontent and poverty. Thus, education policies should be overhauled immediately. New programs must address the basic problems of education. Failure to implement key reform measures will intensify the education crisis.

Different stakeholders of education have drafted an 8-point education agenda which highlights the crucial role of the government in reversing the decline of Philippine education.

1. Increase the budget of education. National spending on education should be equivalent to 6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. The education sector should receive at least 20 percent of the national budget. Increased government revenues should be used to fill the various gaps in the education sector like the shortages in classrooms, books, computers and other learning tools.
 
Public education, both formal and alternative systems, should be strengthened. More schools should be established in the country. Scholarship funds should be increased. The government should revamp its policy of reducing the budget of state universities and colleges. Dwindling funds lead to wholesale and subtle forms of insidious commercialization in public schools.       

The government has enough resources to allocate higher funding for education. Lawmakers can give up a portion of their pork barrel in favor of education investments. Payment for anomalous debt contracts should be cancelled outright. A significant fraction of debt servicing and intelligence funds of Malacanang should be realigned to education services.
 
2. Use Filipino as medium of instruction. Language is an important factor in the cognitive development of children. Students learn better and faster if the national language is used in schools. Over the years, Arroyo has made the English language as the only medium of instruction in the country. Congress is supportive of this policy. Education agencies have prioritized programs that would improve English language proficiency. Arroyo's language policy, aside from reinforcing the colonial character of Philippine education, restricts the learning ability of students. Policymakers need to understand the pedagogic value of using the Filipino language in schools.     
 
3. Improve teachers' welfare. Teachers are the most important human resource in Philippine education. Yet they continue to suffer from work overload while receiving low wages. Many times their salaries are even delayed. Congress should pass the bill that would raise the salaries of public school teachers and other government employees by P3,000. The Magna Carta of Private School Teachers should be enacted. Training and re-training of teachers should be given priority. Opportunities for graduate education or research activities by teachers should be enhanced.

4. Moratorium on tuition and other fee increases. Rising school fees are forcing hundreds of thousands of students to drop out from schools. Millions of young Filipinos could not afford the high cost of education today. Education officials are not seriously performing their duty to regulate school fees. At a time when prices of commodities are rising, and when household incomes continue to fall, a moratorium on tuition increases in both private and public schools can bring immediate relief to poor families. Congress can pass a law that will clarify and strengthen the mandate of the government to regulate school fees.
 
5. Develop a nationalist and relevant curriculum. School courses or subjects should prioritize the country's needs over the manpower requirements of other countries and multinational corporations. Vocational/Technica l education should match the actual needs of the local economy. Science education should be pursued to promote national industrialization and develop a productive agricultural system. Medical and nursing education should be reformed to meet community health needs. School courses should inculcate patriotism and inspire students to serve the people. Learning history and other social sciences, humanities and the arts should continue to be taught in schools.
 
6. Invest in science, research and technology development. The country's rich natural resources can be developed through sufficient investments in research and development, along the line of national industrialization and advancement of the agricultural sector. National spending on research and development should be equivalent to 1 percent of the GDP.  Government should grant generous incentives to scientists, promote R&D in schools and use science and technology to solve hunger and poverty in the country. R&D should also be directed towards the protection of natural resources against exploitation by big companies.
 
7. Promote transparency in education programs. There are various initiatives to improve Philippine education. However, many of these programs are tainted with corruption. Taxpayers' money is wasted when corrupt bureaucrats take the lead in sponsoring programs with minimal or even dubious benefit to the public. The Cyber Education Program is an example of an overpriced, redundant and scandal-ridden project. There should be transparency in implementing education reforms. 
Stakeholders should be consulted first before approving major education programs. Other ongoing projects like the Call Center Training Academy of the Commission on Higher Education should be reviewed by the public.

8. Uphold democratic rights in schools. Teachers and students are among the victims of extrajudicial killings, forced abductions and other forms of political repression. The perpetrators of these crimes should be brought to justice. 
Democratic rights should be respected inside campuses. The vilification and psy-war operations conducted by the military and police in schools and universities against progressive student and teacher organizations under the guise of socio-civic activities should be ended immediately. Soldiers and police forces deployed or operating inside schools should be pulled out at once.

Academic freedom and the right to organize should be respected in schools. Congress should probe school authorities that implement rules and guidelines that violate basic rights provided by law.   

The government should refrain from undermining the independence of the student movement. The establishment of government-sponsore d national student organizations is highly condemnable since this compromises student welfare and autonomy of student politics.

- National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), KABATAAN Party, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) -