PCCI rallies private sector to help plug gaps in education system

Alarmed by the dismal ranking of the Philippines in global education surveys, the country’s largest business group decided to convene its own education task force, which will come up with policy recommendations to address the gaps in the country’s educational system that widened because of the pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the challenges, gaps, and deficiencies of our educational system. Now is the best time that we sit down and seriously discuss these gaps and provide solutions that would make the system at par with other countries,” said Benedicto Yujuico, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), which noted that the Philippines ranked 61st in education among 63 countries based on the latest World Competitiveness Survey.

PCCI also took note of a survey conducted by the Program for International Students Assessment that showed that the Philippines ranked last in Mathematics and second to the last in Science against 79 other countries. Plus, the Philippines is only allocating 3.4 percent of its gross domestic product for education, far below the United Nations standard of at least 6 percent.

Policy paper

To help bring up the country’s rankings, PCCI gathered a task force composed of 12 experts representing institutions engaged in basic education, technical and vocational courses, higher education, and teachers’ training.

These experts belong to various organizations, including PCCI’s Human Resources Development Cluster, the Association of Local Colleges and Universities, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations and the San Beda Alabang-College of Law.

The group will come up with a policy paper, which will describe the state of education in the country and raise recommendations on four major areas of development, PCCI said, namely: Philippine qualification and learning outcomes; curriculum and instructions; competencies of teachers and educational leaders; and institutional and policy reforms.

Alberto Fenix Jr., chair of PCCI’s Human Resources Development Cluster, said it was important to have a multistakeholder perspective in developing policy recommendations.

“PCCI understands that the current situation has been very challenging to the country’s educational system, learning institutions, teachers, learners and even their families,” Fenix said.

“Therefore, we in the PCCI have sought the formulation of the ETF in order to help the country move forward by identifying gaps in the system that was made prevalent by the pandemic,” he added. INQ