Education (and other) challenges

THE GOVERNMENT is proposing a budget of P5.768 trillion for 2024. It is good that there will be plenty of time to debate whether the budget is appropriate and, if so, how it can be allocated.

Education, as always, is likely to be the largest recipient. Its 2024 budget is likely to approach P1 trillion. But there is a problem. Surveys show that the level of achievement by our students is inferior to students from other countries. What is going wrong?

The World Bank, which is becoming increasingly assertive about our problems in education, is suggesting, without proof, that we should improve the quality of our teachers.

Is the problem that we have insufficient knowledge about what is happening in the classroom? If so, we should be able to find out. Large class sizes obviously create difficulties. Are some students in overcrowded classrooms able to “hide” in the sense that they are not being challenged to participate actively in class discussions?

If so, are some students not adequately able to understand properly the material being transmitted by the teacher, so they are physically present but mentally absent?

We look to the Department of Education to find out.

The World Bank study also found that most countries in the East Asian region need to expand their teacher workforce. Of course they do. The Philippines, due to population statistics, finds that in the short-term, there will be considerable growth in the number of students in our schools.

Another problem that we have here is that some private schools are closing due to financial pressures. Specifically, parents are experiencing increasing difficulty in meeting private school fee hikes.

Teacher salaries in public schools are often higher than in private schools. This means that when times are hard for many, as they are now, private school teachers are seeking higher-paid employment in our public schools.

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Overall, our economy is managing – just.

Our debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is currently at around 61 percent. This ratio, which measures the Nation’s ability to handle its indebtedness, has been rising steadily since the time of President Aquino when the ratio was 39.8 percent. So far, we can manage, but there will be an increasing difficulty for the country to handle its loans if we allow debts to increase substantially.

On July 24, President Marcos will give his second state-of-the-nation (SONA) address. We look to an articulate assessment of the Nation’s financial situation so that we gain realistic insights as to whether we can continue to improve our infrastructure without falling too deeply in debt./PN