IN THE Philippines, education is often considered as the key to economic success and prosperity. And although it is not always true, possession of good education is often equated with good life and good family fortunes. This is the reason why finishing a College degree is an obsession of almost every Filipino family. For besides raising the family pride, a College diploma holds a promise of a better life.
The Philippine education, however, is experiencing a quality deterioration in recent years. Poor quality of education in the Philippines resulted in undesirable graduates with meager or no necessary skills and therefore, cannot be expected to deliver the promised better life for the family. This declining quality of education was generally brought about by the following identified causes:
1. Lack of government funding for education
2. Having no teacher or having a teacher with poor performances.
3. Having no classroom or having overcrowded classrooms
4. Lack of learning materials and other basic facilities
5. The exclusion of children with special needs
6. Distance from home to school
7. Poverty, hunger and poor nutrition
8. The prohibitive expense of education
The expected political solutions to these problems, if there were any, have long been overdue. In fact, the issue had already escalated into a crisis. But with a nation whose leaders are preoccupied by political and economic agenda, it is not surprising if solutions to these problems are once again left to the teachers’ ingenuity and creativity.
The Challenges for Teachers
Left on their own with little or no budget for personal growth and development, Filipino teachers must, at their own expense, invest to improve their effectiveness through attending frugal trainings and seminars. This should be a part of their vocation as teachers – to continuously update themselves with recent technologies and methodologies, without waiting for the government support. This teachers’ mindset may help improve the quality of education in the country despite lack of resources.
Teachers should craft and implement instructional innovations and reforms which will minimize or eliminate unnecessary expenses. Some schools and teachers conduct co-curricular activities, such as projects and field trips, which entail additional expenses on the part of the students. While this is desirable for those who can afford, this may drive poor students out of school. Schooling should, as much as possible, involve as minimal expenses as possible.
To address classroom shortages and overcrowding, teachers should be open to the implementation double shifting, night classes and other alternative delivery modes of lesson delivery. Some teachers resist these innovations as they believed it will shortchange the school time of the students. But education should be more of quality than quantity.
The quest for quality education in the Philippines is still a long long way to go and of course, we must involve our political leaders in the solution to these problems. Meanwhile, the education crisis continues to loom our country’s development and we only have our teachers to rely on as our best assets against the deteriorating quality education.
Alfredo G. De Guzman Jr.
Teacher I
Mabalacat Community High School
(Unsolicited contributions here are unedited, unabridged, as is. Errors in grammar, syntax, etc, solely the writer’s. — Editor)
