MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is pushing for technology adoption in schools and the specialization of teachers to improve the quality of learning among Filipino students.
In a sectoral meeting at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday morning, Marcos instructed the Department of Education (DepEd) to help teachers and learners who are still adjusting to new technologies, Education Undersecretary Gina Gonong said in a Palace briefing.
Marcos said the use of technology in education and the promotion of teachers’ professional development are crucial in improving students’ learning skills.
Marcos stressed the importance of taking the necessary steps to improve the Filipino learners’ performance and address the country’s poor performance in the 2022 Programme for Internarional Student Assessment (PISA), according to Gonong.
‘So, it’s more about what we can do moving forward so we can improve the performance of our students,’ Gonong said.
‘Ang sinasabi sa PISA, kapag ‘yung gadget ay ginamit sa pag-a
aral, nag-i-increase ang performance ng bata. May tendency mag-increase ang performance ng bata (According to PISA, when the gadget is used in learning, the performance of the child increases. The child’s performance tends to increase),’ she added.
The 2022 PISA results released in December 2023 ranked the Philippines third from the bottom in Science with an average score of 356, and sixth from the bottom in Mathematics and Reading with average scores of 355 and 347, respectively.
Gonong noted that the country’s scores in Reading and Mathematics increased by two points and seven points, respectively, but dropped by a point in Science.
She, however, acknowledged that the increase or decrease in the country’s scores ‘has nothing to do with the performance level’ of the learners.
‘Talagang nananatili tayo sa low proficiency level. So 2018 at saka 2022, low performance levels tayo sa PISA (We really remain at a low proficiency level. So in 2018 and 2022, we have low performance levels in PISA),’ Gonong said.
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Siyempre ang immediate target natin, kung hindi man tumaas na tayo kaagad in terms of proficiency level, tumaas pa ‘yung scores natin hanggang maabot natin ‘yung minimum level of proficiency (Of course, our immediate target is, if we don’t increase immediately in terms of proficiency level, let us increase our scores until we reach the minimum level of proficiency),’ she added.
Gonong said the DepEd will continue undertaking initiative reforms to reach its goal, considering that ‘it takes years to develop the students.’
Improving teaching quality
Undersecretary Michael Poa said DepEd would also focus on improving teaching quality and competency, as well as aiding teachers on specializations.
Marcos believes there would be an ‘around 60-percent improvement’ in the education system, if teachers get the necessary support from the government.
‘We will really train all of our teachers kasi nga marami na nagbago na technology, even in a span of a year ‘no, maraming nagbabago. Like ngayon, sabi nga natin, mayro
on na tayong AI, hindi ba (because technology has changed a lot. Even in a span of one year, alot has changed. Like now, we say, we have Artificial Intelligence) so that’s something we are looking at. At (And) we will use, of course, the training facility of DepEd to do that,’ he said.
Poa cited several initiatives of the DepEd to improve learners’ performance, including the implementation of the National Learning Recovery Program and rhe pilot implementation of the MATATAG curriculum.
MATATAG stands for ‘Make the curriculum relevant to produce job-ready, Active and responsible citizens; TAke steps to accelerate the delivery of basic education services and provision facilities; TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusiveness learning, and positive learning environment; and, Give support for teachers to teach better.’
Poa added that ‘Catch-up Fridays’ will be launched on Jan. 12 to improve the reading and writing skills of basic education learners.
The PISA, developed by the Organ
ization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is designed to assess the extent to which students have acquired key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in social and economic life.
It is a triennial international comparative study that tests a 15-year-old’s ability in Mathematics, Reading, and Science in real-world situations.
A total of 81 countries and economies participated in PISA 2022, with some 690,000 students representing about 29 million 15-year-olds.
The assessment was administered from March 2022 to May 2022 and results were released on Dec. 5, 2023.
Source: Philippines News Agency