VP Sara: PISA score an ‘uncomfortable truth’ in PH education

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Wednesday lamented the Philippines’ poor performance based on the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, saying that a collective effort must be made to address such a problem. 

In a video message, Duterte said that the results of the PISA showed the strengths and weaknesses of the country’s education system. 

“The PISA results may bear uncomfortable truth. It has shown that a significant majority of our boys and girls fall below the proficiency level required for full participation in society and contributing to nation-building,” she said. 

Based on the results, Filipino learners continue to lag behind in mathematics, science, and reading. The overall result placed the Philippines as the sixth lowest among the 81 countries and economies participating in the study.

In math tests, the Philippines scored 355 points, an improvement from its previous score of 353 in 2018. The country also gained a score of 347 in reading tests, marking a seven-point increase from its 2018 score of 340.

There was, however, a slight decline in Filipino learners’ scores in Science tests, as scores dropped to 356 from the previous result of 357. 

According to Alex Sucalit Jr., Department of Education’s (DepEd) senior education program specialist and PISA focal person, the recent PISA results might have shown that the Philippines is about five to six years behind as compared to other countries with higher scores. 

“If we do the computations basing on the OECD countries, again, these are shall say, countries with socio-economically advantaged students, we see that around five to six years— if we follow their computation, again, with reservation and with caveats because we have different pace of learning per country and economy,” he said in an ambush interview.

DepEd spokesperson Undersecretary Michael Poa attributed the Philippines’ "stagnant" performance on the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Definitely, ‘yung pandemic actually had an impact that’s why medyo stagnant tayo because imagine, for two years, hindi pumasok karamihan ng ating mga bata. Yes, we are happy na kahit papaano, hindi nag-worsen ang situation,” he said in a press conference. 

(Definitely, the pandemic had an impact on why we are a bit stagnant because imagine, for two years, most of our children did not go to school. Yes, we are happy that somehow, the situation didn't get worse.) 

Poa also emphasized that reforms to improve the country’s performance would take time, given that the pilot implementation of the recalibrated Kindergarten to Grade 10 (K-10) curriculum of basic education has only started this year. 

“Reforms really take time…. Hindi natin pwedeng madaliin ang reforms, although hindi rin kami nagpapahinga sa pagsasagawa ng mga programa that we think will eventually improve our performance,” he added. 

(We cannot rush the reforms, although we continuously implement programs that we think will eventually improve our performance.) 

DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching Gina Gonong said that the Philippines will still participate in the next PISA that will be conducted in 2025, but the DepEd is not expecting so much as the new K-10 curriculum is not yet fully implemented by then. 

The Philippines may also start being at par with other Southeast Asian countries by 2029 onwards, she admitted. 

“We aim to be a top performer, but when it happens ‘yun ang tanong kasi 2025 is so short a time from now na maging top performer tayo. Usually ang impact niyan ay hindi naman ganon kabilis… Siguro makapantay tayo doon sa ibang Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, at Malaysia, I think that’s more realistic in the coming years maybe 2029 onwards,” Gonong said. 

(We aim to be a top performer, but when it happens is the question because 2025 is such a short time from now for us to be a top performer. Usually the impact of that is not that fast... Maybe it’s more realistic to say that we can match that with other Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia in the coming years, maybe 2029 onwards.) 

For her part, Duterte said that the PISA results did not merely reflect the country’s education system, but reflected the DepEd’s collective efforts, investments, and commitment to education and the future it envisions for the learners. 

She said that the DepEd has started to take “significant strides” to address the issue by introducing the MATATAG Curriculum, implementing the national reading, math, and science programs, and initiating “Catch-up Fridays,” among others. 

‘Don’t blame Duterte’

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate basic education committee, said that Duterte should not be blamed for the results of the 2022 PISA as the study was not conducted during her leadership. 

“Hindi tama ‘yung pagsisisi nila kay VP Sara dahil ‘yung pandemic, hindi naman natin kontrolado ‘yan. At ‘yung nakikita natin ngayon hindi naman time pa time ni VP Sara. Time pa ito ng dating administration,” he said in an ambush interview. 

(It's not right to blame VP Sara because the pandemic was not under our control, and what we are seeing now did not happen during her time. This was conducted during the time of the previous administration.) 

Gatchalian also appealed to the public to support the reforms being initiated by DepEd for learning recovery. 

“Para sa’kin, hindi importante ang sisihan, importante ngayon suportahan natin ang DepEd dahil nagumpisa na ang reporma eh. Suportahan natin ang budget, suportahan natin ang batas, suportahan natin ang policy,” he added. 

(For me, blaming is not important, instead we should DepEd because the reform has already started. Let's support the budget, let's support the law, let's support the policy.) 

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, meanwhile, expressed concerns about the PISA results and stressed the need to adjust the curriculum for students to develop an interest in math, reading, and science.

"Our curriculum must evolve to meet the demands of the 21st century and address the root cause of this lackluster performance in the PISA assessment,” he said in a statement.

"The Department of Education should realize the generational impact of these dismal results if not addressed immediately," he added.

Commission on Higher Education chairman Prospero de Vera III said they will work more closely with DepEd to improve the Filipino learners’ performance in international large-scale assessments, and to realize the national education vision laid out in the Philippine Development Plan (2023-2028). —LDF, GMA Integrated News