Studies show 79.2 percent of Filipinos commonly share the aspiration to have “a comfortable life, free of hardship and worry” according to Ambisyon Natin 2040 of the National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) 25-year development planning guide recently adopted by the Duterte administration.
To fulfill this, the average Filipino family strives to send their children to school, and ultimately to see them finish college and land gainful employment.
“Lahat sila gusto nilang makatapos ang mga anak nila sa college. Nakikita rin natin ito sa statistics ng nag-eenroll, 60 percent gusto academic. . . but in this world of ours now, you can be a successful artist, designer, without having to finish college,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said in reference to the four tracks being offered in the Senior High School (SHS) program.
During the pre-Education Summit press conference, Briones underscored that higher formal education is no longer today’s measure of success or the capacity to provide and sustain a simple and comfortable life.
“These are choices which they can make when they are in high school. . . If you can spread the stories of people in sports, arts and culture being successful, respected and admired, we can invite more kids to go into these particular choices,” Briones pointed out.
The summit’s aim is to define the medium and long-term education vision and agenda for the trifocal education system – basic education, technical- vocational education, and tertiary education.
“We are serious about the motto of ‘education for all,’ we keep on saying no one is left behind but so many are left behind, sa totoo lang. We also have to make room for them, and this is where the three of us [DepEd, TESDA, and CHED] are working together,” Briones said.
For the Briones, since education is very dear to every Filipino family’s heart, a specific summit on education is a step in the right direction towards nurturing the Filipino dream of being able to have enough to live decently and prepare together for the future.
The Education Summit 2016 will be held at the SMX Convention Center until November 4.
