Biz leaders back early education boost

MANILA, Philippines — Industry-led Philippine Business for Education (PBed) is supporting the institutionalization of early childhood education programs, seeing it as a step in the right direction to improve the overall state of education in the country.

PBed executive director Justine Raagas on Monday said they support the idea being pushed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian to implement early childhood education programs for three- and four-year-olds given the benefits.

“Early childhood care and development is important, making sure that our learners, even before they go to grade 1, already have access to education, to stimulated play so they really develop,” Raagas told reporters on the sidelines of PBed general membership meeting in Makati.

READ: Gatchalian urges passage of his bills improving early kids’ education

“Even in the (Program for International Student Assessment), we are seeing that the countries [that] really perform well actually have more year of pre-(kindergarten) education,” she added.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate committee on basic education, arts and culture, earlier said Vietnam is already legislating the implementation of such a program.

Education crisis

According to PBed chair Ramon del Rosario, there is still a lot of work to be done in addressing the country’s education crisis, which is hounded by a multitude of problems ranging from overcrowded classrooms to lack of resources and teacher support, as well as inconsistent assessments and quality checks.

READ: Education: Mirror of a deeper crisis

“They are pitfalls that continue to widen the educational gap and leave millions of students behind,” del Rosario said in his speech during the meeting.

“With over 26 million learners and close to a million teachers, even the best of us will struggle to manage a system of this size and scale. Thus, we need to look at radical and long-term reforms, not band-aid solutions,” he added.

The PBed official recommended letting local government units and communities play a more central role in education so they can act on the challenges and provide solutions more appropriately.

READ: Gatchalian pushes to strengthen LGU involvement in education sector

“The successes of decentralization in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Korea, Brazil, the United States and Poland, along with pioneering efforts in some cities such as Valenzuela and Naga, offer a road map for this journey toward educational transformation,” he said.

Del Rosario said the challenge now lies on how to adapt to this approach where local leaders and stakeholders are empowered and to ensure they effectively reach the most underserved communities.