BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
ANALYSIS
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 27, August 12-18, 2007

Recent reports indicated that the Philippines is losing its competitive edge in employment, its being one of the top English speaking countries in Southeast Asia. Another report stated that only a fraction of the demand for call center agents is being filled up as only three to five percent of college graduates are able to pass the requirements, mainly the ability to speak English with the proper accent such as “‘ap-el” and not “epol.” The Arroyo government’s response to this problem is to set-up training centers under the TESDA or the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

But the problem is deeper than the deterioration in the ability of the ordinary Filipino to speak English. And the problem is much worse than our inability to fill in the demand for call center agents. The problem is rooted in the continuing deterioration of the country’s educational system, which is made worse by the deregulation and privatization policies of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) came up with a very good paper issued last July 20, 2007 – which unfortunately has gone unnoticed by the Arroyo government and even the media – entitled “The Arroyo years: towards a lost decade for education?” The paper was issued through its secretary-general Ms. France Castro, a true-blooded public school teacher who rose from the ranks starting as a substitute teacher and now a Master Teacher 2.

ACT came up with indicators, based on data from the Department of Education (DepEd), to show that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration has failed miserably in its obligation to provide access to universal quality education. It stated that the Arroyo years have been characterized by declining enrolments, reduced completion rates, and dramatic increases in the number of drop-outs and out-of-school children.

Indicators

ACT data showed a slowing down in the growth in enrolment in basic education. From a rate of 1.98 percent from 1995-2002, the growth in enrolment slowed down to an average of 0.97 percent. As it is, the 1.98 percent growth is already lagging behind the 2.3 percent population growth. The further slowing down in enrolment growth rates means that more and more children are not able to attend school.

And not only that, the drop-out rate is also increasing. In 2003, 66 out of 100 Grade 1 students graduate from elementary. In 2006, only 56 are able to complete elementary school. In 2001, 70 out of every 100 first year high school students complete their four years in high school. In 2006, this dropped to 54 out of every 100.

A result of the slowing down in enrolment rates and the worsening drop-out rates is the increase in the number of out-of-school children. In 2001, there were approximately 1.87 million out-of-school children with ages from 6-15 years old. In a matter of four years, in 2005, the number of out-of-school children has reached a staggering 3.1 million.

And the quality of education is still way below standard. Achievement rates of elementary and high school students in National Achievement Tests remain far below the passing rate of 75 percent.

The achievement rates for elementary students has slightly improved from school year (SY) 2000-2001 to SY 2005-2006 but are still far below the passing rate: 53.66 percent in Math, 46.77 in Science, 54.05 in English, 58.12 in Hekasi (Social Sciences), and 60.68 in Filipino.

The achievement rates for secondary students are worse and have even worsened during the same period. The current rates are 47.82 percent in Math, 37.98 in Science, 47.73 percent in English, 40.51 percent in Filipino, and 47.62 percent in Araling Panlipunan (Social Sciences).

It is then not surprising that the Philippines ranked 41st in Science and 42nd in Mathematics from among 45 countries by the Trends in International Math and Science Survey.

Shortages

Notwithstanding the tirade by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo against the officer-in-charge of the Department of Education in June, 2006, the shortages in classrooms, seats, textbooks, and teachers have worsened. The shortage of 8,443 classrooms during SY 2001-2002 worsened to 57,930 during SY 2005-2006. The lack in 2,108,173 seats during SY 2001-2002 increased to 3.48 million during SY 2005-2006. The shortage of 24.22 million textbooks during SY 2003-2004 went up to 34.7 million the next school year. And the 37,932 shortage in teachers during SY 2001-2002 worsened to 49,699 during SY 2005-2006.

The result is overcrowded classrooms exceeding 60 students per class; a severe shortage in learning materials; shorter hours for classes and teacher-student interaction; heavy teaching loads for harassed and underpaid teachers; and an environment not at all conducive to learning, not to mention the sore lack in teacher training.

Entry-level (Teacher 1) pay for teachers is at P10, 933 ($239 at an exchange rate of $1=P45.74), way below the P17, 366 ($379) monthly living wage set by the National Wages and Productivity Commission. Worse, public school teachers are deprived of their benefits because it is based on savings by the DepEd. And with the decreasing budget for education, savings are hard to come by.

Decreasing budget

The shortages and deterioration in the quality of education can be attributed to the decrease in the budget for education being allocated by the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. The government has been religiously implementing the “limited or zero growth” in government spending recommended by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to tame the government deficit and ensure debt payments in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. This was made worse by the fiscal crisis which hit the Arroyo government in 2002. Since then, the government has drastically cut its spending.

According to the Congressional Budget and Planning Office, “the average annual growth rate of the DepEd’s budget in real terms from 2001-2006 has been negative 3.5 percent.” It also pointed out that “in terms of share of the national budget, (the 2007) DepEd budget represents one of the lowest at 11.96 percent since 1995.”

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