Villanueva: Education reform should include curriculum review, upskilling teachers

Senator Joel Villanueva said Wednesday that the proposed education reform of the Marcos administration should incorporate both a review of the curriculum and the professionalization of Filipino teachers.

Villanueva, who previously served as chair of the Senate committee on higher, technical, and vocational education, acknowledged that a review of the curriculum is necessary to address the gap between job demands and skill sets, citing earlier research showing how poorly Filipino students perform in a range of subjects.

One of these, the lawmaker said, is the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment report of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which showed that Filipino students ranked lowest among 79 countries in math, science, and reading comprehension. 

Likewise, the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study found that students in the country are lagging behind in math and science. 

“Kailangan po talaga natin ng reporma sa sistema ng edukasyon ng ating bansa, mula sa curriculum at sa upskilling ng ating mga guro,” said Villanueva.

(We really need a reform of the country’s education system, from the curriculum to the upskilling of our teachers.)

“Maliban sa kailangang mag-improve ang performance natin sa STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects, pagtuunan din po natin ng pansin ang ‘soft skills’ na makakatulong sa pagtatrabaho gaya ng values education at ang panukala isama ang labor education sa curriculum,” he added.

(Apart from improving the performance of our students on STEM subjects, we should also look into the strengthening of their ‘soft skills’ that would help them in their work such as values education and the proposal to include labor education in the curriculum.)

On Tuesday, the Office of the Press Secretary said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. agreed to proposals to review the country’s education system to address job mismatch.

This developed after concerns about the workers’ skills, competencies, and the way the Philippine education system produces graduates were raised during the second Cabinet meeting.

The Department of Trade and Industry said it would work closely with the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to address the issue.

Villanueva said he had taken steps to reform the education system through legislation, citing the Tulong Trabaho Law and the Philippine Qualifications Framework Law.

The senator also vowed to push in the 19th Congress the creation of the Second Education Commission to provide a “comprehensive assessment of the country’s education system and help it address the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

“Handa po tayong makipag-ugnayan sa administrasyong Marcos para masiguro at mapabuti lalo ang implementasyon ng mga batas na ito, at makipagtulungan para sa mga dagdag na panukalang magrereporma ng ating sistema ng edukasyon,” he said.

(We are ready to cooperate with the Marcos administration to ensure and improve the implementation of these laws and to coordinate with them on the additional measures to reform the education system.) —VBL, GMA News