Despite decades of reforms to the education system, the country’s learning crisis has persisted, with the gap between graduates and employment widening, and students’ performance and teaching quality continuing to decline, according to an assessment by the nonprofit Philippine Business for Education (PBEd).
According to PBEd Executive Director Hanibal Camua, these factors have caused a growing disconnect between education and employment, as graduates struggle to find jobs after graduation.
Samantha Uichico, PBEd senior program manager, points out that the Department of Education (DepEd) is still facing a shortage of more than 150,000 teachers and a backlog of 90,000 classrooms. In addition, 55% of public schools operate without an assigned principal or school head.
Thousands of senior high school graduates under DepEd’s technical-vocational track remain uncertified because the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) lacks the manpower to assess them. Uichico said 47,000 assessors were needed just to address the backlog.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
