PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday directed the Department of Education (DepEd) to exert more efforts to improve the “low ranking and below the minimum level performance” of Filipino students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
Education Undersecretary Gina Gonong, in a briefing in Malacanang after a sectoral meeting with the President, said Marcos did not express disappointment about the country’s performance but emphasized the need to focus on improving teacher support and quality and addressing issues such as bullying and students’ nutrition which are contributing to the performance of the students.
“Actually, hindi naman disappointment kundi iyong push na we need to keep working hard so that we improve our performance in PISA (Actually, it’s not disappointment but a push that we need to keep working hard so that we improve our performance in PISA),” she said when asked if the President was disappointed with the country’s performance.
Presidential press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez said the latest PISA test showed that more than 75 percent of 15-year-old students in the country “scored below the minimum level of proficiency in Mathematics, Reading and Science.”
A total of 7,193 Filipino students aged 15 from 188 schools, 106 divisions, and 16 regions, representing 83 percent of the total population of 15-year-old students in the country, completed the computer-based test held from March 2022 to May 2022. The results were released on December 5, 2023.
Goong said the Philippines has continued to show low-performance levels in PISA in 2018 and 2022. She said the Philippines recorded a two-point increase in Reading and a seven-point increase in Math, and a one-point drop in Science in the 2022 assessment compared to 2018.
The next PISA assessment is in 2025.
The PISA, developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is designed to assess the extent to which students have acquired key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in social and economic life. It is a triennial international comparative study that tests a 15-year-old’s ability in mathematics, reading, and science in real-world situations.
Education Undersecretary Michael Poa, in the same briefing, said factors that contributed to the Filipino students’ low performance in PISA included the use of digital devices, language used at home, lack or need for teacher’s specialization, and bullying, among others.
Gonong said there are many teachers, especially at the elementary level, who are licensed but are “generalists.”
She said they lack the specialization of a master’s degree which Poa said would improve their quality of teaching. The DepEd is currently working with different universities to provide specialization training for teachers.
Poa said the President also instructed the DepEd to update teachers’ know-how about technology.
He said the DepEd is set to launch the Digi-ed, a digital portal where teachers and students can access learning materials.
He said that this month, DepEd will also start implementing the “Catch-up Fridays” program which will allot time to improve the reading and writing skills of basic education learners.
Gonong said DepEd also expects to improve the learners’ performance under the MATATAG Education Agenda which includes the implementation of the National Learning Recovery Program; pilot implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum; and enhancement of teacher well-being by strengthening the professional development of teachers and school leaders, and removing from them the non-teaching tasks by hiring more administrative officers.
The DepEd is also pushing for the creation of the Learner Rights Protection Office and an increase in funds for the School Feeding Program, and providing strategic direction to Early Childhood Care and Development, the Literacy Coordinating Council, and the Teacher Education Council.
Poa said the DepEd has also vowed to continue to strengthen its current programs being undertaken with the Department of Health to address bullying and to sustain its school-based feeding program in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The government allotted P5.6 billion last year for the school-based feeding program and augmented it to P11.7 billion this year.
