Saint Paul University Surigao

Surigao City

CURRENT TRENDS IN
EDUCATION
REACTION PAPER ON THE
FOLLOWING:

 MODULE VII – CURRENT TRENDS IN

HIGHER EDUCATION

 MODULE VIII – THE FUTURE

PHILIPPINE SOCIETY

Prepared by:

ABIGAIL G. MALATA
Master of Arts Major in
Educational Management
 MODULE VII – CURRENT TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Education in all disciplines is getting a big push through the products of the
technology and its accompanying technical know-how. This century poses increasingly
difficult challenges for all in various realm of life.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines cater to the educational

needs and requirements of a population relatively diverse in socio-economic status,
religion, and culture. Philippine HEIs deliver educational services that demand
responsiveness not only to national developmental thrusts but also to regional and
community needs, as well as to specific institutional philosophies as articulated in their
vision-mission. As mandated by the Philippine Constitution, higher education institutions
in the country, whether public or private, operate within an environment of laws and
policies that aim to guarantee and protect the right to education of all citizens by
ensuring that institutions of learning promote access, equity, quality, and relevance
even as they exercise their institutional academic freedom.

The governing body that covers both public and private higher education
institutions in the Philippines is the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and
created in view of the broad agenda for reforms that resulted from the Congressional
Commission on Education (EDCOM) report. The EDCOM report led to the tri-
focalization of the education sector in the country, separating the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), into three separate agencies: the Department of
Education (DepEd) for basic education, the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) for technical-vocational and middle level education,
and CHED for tertiary and graduate education.

Higher education issues can be categorized broadly into two persistent areas of
challenges: (a) quality, and (b) thrusts. Quality issues may involve unemployment and
underemployment due to the lack of desired competencies by the annual cohorts of
graduates from the industry standpoint; local colleges converted into state universities,
and their eventual expansion into satellite campuses, regardless of their compliance
with the criteria for university status; the opening and offering of programs, unmindful of
CHED policies and minimum standards; the lack of a robust faculty profile in terms of
academic preparation and training as well as advanced research capability; or the
evident need to improve access to quality education for the marginalized sector to
translate a higher education degree into real opportunities for social mobility.

As expected, globalization has added more challenges to higher education in the

Philippines as the country contends not only with local quality assurance measures but
with regional and international benchmarks. World and Asia university rankings,
international program accreditation and quality assessment, faculty and student
exchange, research publication and citation, and international networking and linkages
have become essential considerations that are inevitably transforming the academic
landscape.

In our discussion higher education in the Philippines has undertaken the

following reform programs in recent years like the Philippine K to 12 Program, TESDA,
and CHED which collaborated on the effective curricular alignment of the three tracks of
Senior High School (Grades 11 and 12) – academic, technical-vocational-livelihood, and
sports and arts – in order to rationalize the expected competencies at each level of the
Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) vis-à-vis the ASEAN Qualifications
Reference Framework (AQRF).

With all these, higher education in the Philippines is undoubtedly transitioning as

it is made to view itself through additional external and varied lenses. The changing
times, and together with it, changing demands and expectations, poses a transformative
reality that is shared by the Philippine higher education with its counterparts around the
world.
 MODULE VII – THE FUTURE PHILIPPINE SOCIETY

Throughout our history, the great turning points that have allowed us to achieve
national redemption and progress have been made possible by the collective efforts of
the Filipino people – at times, despite the worst efforts of our leaders. Some of you may
remember: Decades ago, our country was suffering from the cancer of tyranny and
oppression that characterized martial rule. Before that period, the Philippines were
always being compared to Japan – whether in terms of our economy, or even sports.

For the past four years, with the unwavering support of our people, we have
enacted reform after reform. We overhauled systems that were prone to abuse. We
reformed the way we do our budget – consulting as many stakeholders as possible,
crafting the budget from the grassroots up, and implementing zero-based budgeting,
which makes sure that all government spending will have corresponding and tangible
benefits for our people.

We pursued all those who committed wrongdoing – regardless of their power or

influence. As you may have guessed, tangling with these very wealthy individuals and
sectors with vested interests was not an easy task. But those in our administration were
not shaken. Dismantling the culture of corruption was a promise we made to the people.
If we truly wanted to improve the lives of our people, we could not possibly shirk away
from this challenge. We had to take on all those who had a misplaced sense of
entitlement – who believed that they had more rights than their fellow Filipinos. So, we
went after every individual who committed wrongdoing, and look at the results. My
predecessor is now under hospital arrest as she undergoes two serious charges, with
another being evaluated by the Ombudsman.

The Philippine Development Plan set by the government establishes 3 objectives

for achieving full potential growth; a three-type growth objective that any developing
country would like to achieve to earn its first world country status. The dream
of reducing poverty, unemployment, and stagnation in the economic activity of the
Philippine country has been and should be a vision by every president elected. An
establishment of a development plan signifies that there has been a hindrance in the
economic and financial system. The Philippine Development plan covers the important
grounds that we have been battling with since the times of our father/s father:
unemployment, poverty and corruption. The development plan has 5 strategies namely
massive investment in infrastructure, transparent, responsive governance, human
development and improves social services, competitiveness to generate employment
and access to financing means opportunities of credit and increased spending with debt
improving governance means battling corruption and social services means distributing
the wealth from its inequality

Ambisyon Natin 2040 represents the collective long-term vision and aspirations
of the Filipino people for themselves and for the country in the next 25 years. It
describes the kind of life that people want to live, and how the country will be by 2040.
As such, it is an anchor for development planning across at least four administrations. It
is a picture of the future, a set of life goals and goals for the country. It is different from a
plan, which defines the strategies to achieve the goals. It is like a destination that
answers the question “Where do we want to be?” A plan describes the way to get to
the destination; AmBisyon Natin 2040 is the vision that guides the future and is the
anchor of the country’s plans.

AmBisyon Natin 2040 is the result of a long-term visioning process that began
in 2015. More than 300 citizens participated in focus group discussions and close to
10,000 answered the national survey. Technical studies were prepared to identify
strategic options for realizing the vision articulated by citizens. The exercise benefitted
from the guidance of an Advisory Committee composed of government, private sector,
academe, and civil society. It has a vision that in 2040 the life of the Filipino will be
matatag, Filipino families live together; there is work-life balance so that there is time to
spend with family even for members who work. On weekends, families and friends
enjoy time together in parks and recreational centers. It is a high-trust society with a
strong sense of community. There are volunteer opportunities, and Filipinos spend time
to serve the community, help others who are in need, and contribute to various causes.
Maginhawa in a sense of no one is poor, no one is ever hungry. Filipino families live in
comfortable homes with the desired amenities and secure tenure. Families and friends
are within reach because transport is convenient and affordable, and they can take a
vacation together within the country and abroad. Children receive quality education so
that they realize their full potentials and become productive members of society. Decent
jobs that bring sustainable income are available, including opportunities for
entrepreneurship. Lastly, panatag na buhay were Filipinos feel secure over their entire
lifetime. They expect to live long and enjoy a comfortable life upon retirement. There are
resources to cover unexpected expenses, and there are savings. They feel safe in all
places in the country. Filipinos trust their government because it is free of corruption
and provides service to all its citizens equally.

Indeed, as we look at the different plans in our future we can clearly see that the
government started implementing programs to be realized by 2040 and all the programs
are aligned to the future vision. The destiny of this nation remains within reach. We
need empowerment on one hand that will look for the greater freedom in a society.