7 Key Issues And Problems Of Philippine Education

10 months, 2 weeks ago

Across the years our educational system has been rocked by controversies which have remained unabated up to this day. Amidst the
welter of issues, two of them have managed to stand out in importance: quality and relevance. The major difficulty in education in the
Philippines is the short-sighted policy of sacrificing the quality and quantity of education for reasons of economy.

The key issues and problems in Philippine education which need further debate and depth analysis as well as immediate resolution include
the following:

1. Deteriorating quality of education

It is uncommon to hear college teachers decry the quality of students that come to them. They lament the students’ inability to construct
a correct sentence, much less a paragraph. Private schools have been assailed as profit-making institutions turning out half-baked
graduates who later become part of the nation’s educated unemployed. All these are indications of the poor quality of education.

There are multiple factors which have led to low educational standards. Studies and fact-finding commissions have shown that the
deteriorating quality of education is due to the low government budget for education; poor quality of teachers; poor management of
schools; poor school facilities such as laboratory and library facilities; poor learning environment; the content of the curriculum;
inadequate books and science equipment; the poor method of instruction; shortages of classrooms; and others.

2. Colonial, feudal, imperial, commercial, and elitist orientation in Philippine education

A rather sweeping indictment is that the Philippine educational system has been and still is basically American in orientation and
objectives. Even now, despite years of independence, our educational system has not succeeded in eliminating the chronic colonial
mentality which abounds like a mental blight within or without the academe. At present, quality education is financial-capacity based,
making higher education more of a privilege rather than a right.

3. Shortage of school buildings, textbooks and equipment

Since 1960, elementary enrolment has been expanding at the rapid rate of 4% a year owing to increase in the number of children and in
the enrolment ratio.

The shortages of classrooms and textbooks are particularly severe. The nationwide classroom shortage is estimated to be 40,000 and the
DECS (now DepEd) operates two shifts in many schools. The textbook problem is even more serious. A survey done in preparation for a
World Bank education loan found that the pupil-textbook ration in the public elementary schools is 10:1 and 79% of the textbooks are
more than 5 years old. This situation has persisted for many years.

Other teaching tools, such as science materials, teaching devices and audio-visual aids, are also in short supply. Perennial graft and
corruption in the acquisition of books and in the construction of school buildings has often been reported. This situation handicaps the
teaching staff in their work.

4. Overworked and underpaid teaching staff

Teaching has often been referred to as the “most notable of all professions.” To many teachers, however, the noble image of t heir
profession has been transformed into an illusion. Over the last three decades, we have come to think of the Filipino teachers as
overworked and underpaid professionals.

The fact that teachers are paid subsistence wages is only half of their sad story. Their daily bout with dilapidated classrooms,
overcrowded classes, and lack of teaching materials, among others, make the teachers hardly rewarded work even more difficult.

Aside from classroom instructions, teachers perform a host of backbreaking and time-consuming jobs unrelated to the teaching function.
The National Research and Development Center for Teacher Education under the DECS listed 76 extracurricular activities performed by
public school teachers. Such activities include Operation Timbang, census taking, tax consciousness drive, Clean and Green Drive, Alay-
Tanim, Alay-Lakad, fund raising campaigns, lining the streets to welcome foreign dignitaries, etc. To do all these, teachers are forced to
work two or three hours overtime everyday. They also have to report during weekends and holidays and even during their yearly vacation
time.

5. Bilingual policy and the problem of a national language

The bilingual policy in education aims to develop a Filipino who is proficient in both English and Filipino. For the past 20 years, since the
DECS adopted the bilingual policy, Tagalog-based Pilipino has been used to teach over half of the subjects in the elementary and
secondary curriculum of both public and private schools. Mathematics and the natural sciences continue to be taught in English. Despite
the findings of the Ateneo Social Weather Survey that 92% of Filipinos already speak and understand Tagalog, many provinces north and

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south of Metro Manila still encounter problems with the language. This is unfortunate because Pilipino is used in nationally conducted
exams and tests. While the bilingual policy is a law which not even the Secretary of Education can change, it has become a growing
concern that many students are deficient in communication skills.

6. Mismatch

The major problem of the tertiary level is the large proportion of the so called “mismatch” between training and actual jobs, as well as the
existence of a large group of educated unemployed or underemployed. The literature points out that this could be the result of a rational
response to a dual labor market where one sector is import-substituting and highly-protected with low wages. Graduates may choose to
“wait it out” until a job opportunity in the high paying sector comes.

To address this problem, it is suggested that leaders in business and industry should be actively involved in higher education.
Furthermore, a selective admission policy should be carried out; that is, mechanisms should be installed to reduce enrolment in
oversubscribed programs and promote enrolment in undersubscribed ones.

7. Globalization issue in education

It is in the educational sector where the concept of globalization is further refined and disseminated. It comes in varied forms as “global
competitiveness,” “the information highway,” “the Third Wave Theory,” “post modern society,” “the end of history,” and “borderless
economy.”

The so-called Philippines 2000 was launched by the Philippine government to promote “global competitiveness,” Philippine Education
2000 carried it to effect through training of more skilled workers and surplus Filipino human power for foreign corporations to reduce
their cost of production.

The Philippines, including its educational sector, is controlled by US monopoly capital through loan politics. This task is accomplished by
the IMF, the World Bank and a consortium of transnational banks, called the Paris Club, supervised by the WB. The structural adjustments
as basis for the grants of loans, basically require liberalization, deregulation and privatization in a recipient country.

As transplanted into the educational sector, deregulation is spelled reduced appropriation or reduced financial assistance to public
schools through so called fiscal autonomies; privatization and liberalization is spelled commercialized education or liberalization of
governments’ supervision of private schools and privatize state colleges and universities.

The WB-IMF and the Ford Foundation have earmarked $400M for Philippine education. These loans financed the Educational
Development Project (EDPITAF) in 1972; the Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE) in 1969; the Program for
Decentralized Educational Development (PRODED) in 1981-1989. As pointed out by many critics, “the massive penetration of WB-IMF
loans into the Philippine Educational System has opened it wide to official and systematic foreign control, the perpetuation of US and
other foreign economic interest, and to maximize the efficiency of exploiting Philippine natural resources and skilled labor.”

A number of studies and fact-finding commissions such as the Sibayan and Gonzales Evaluation (1988), the Presidential Commission to
Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE, 1969), and the Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM, 1991-1992) have pointed out that
the problems of Philippine education are the problems of quality and political will.

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TOP 5 PROBLEMS AND ISSUES IN THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM....

1 Comment

AS I STUDENT I NOTICED THAT THERE ARE TOO MANY PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE FACING TODAY IN THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM AND I AM CONCERN ABOUT THIS. AND BASED ON MY RESEARCH I CHOOSE MY OWN TOP 5 PROBLEMS THAT REALLY AFFECT
OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM SPECIALLY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

1. GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

HE CITED EVELYN CHUA'S BOOK ENTITLED "ROBBED" BY PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM (PCIJ) TELLING
HOW THE CORRUPTION IS GETTING WORSE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED). HE SAID THAT LEEWAYS FOR CORRUPTION
IN THE AGENCY ARE THROUGH BOOKS AND TEACHERS' SALARIES. THE BOOKS, HE POINTED OUT, ALSO HAS A LOT OF PROBLEMS SUCH
AS WRONG INFORMATION AND TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. "THE BACK PROBLEM IS CORRUPTION. EVEN THE SALARIES OF THE
TEACHERS ARE BEING CORRUPTED".

2. REALITY IN THE PHILIPPINE BUDGET

EDUCATION AS A SECOND PRIORITY IS THE TOP PROBLEM IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. EVEN THOUGH THE 1987 PHILIPPINE
CONSTITUTION ARTICLE XIV SECTION 5 (5) STATES THAT " THE STATE SHALL ASSIGN THE HIGHEST BUDGETARY PRIORITY TO

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EDUCATION AND ENSURE THAT TEACHING WILL ATTRACT AND RETAIN ITS RIGHTFUL SHARE OF BEST AVAILABLE TALENTS THROUGH
ADEQUATE REMUNERATION AND OTHER MEANS OF JOB SATISFACTION AND FULFILLMENT," IN REALITY, MOST OF THE BUDGET OF
THE GOVERNMENT GOES TO THE PAYMENT OF DEBT.

3. LOW OF SALARY ON THE TEACHING WORKFORCE

THE LOW OF SALARY FOR THE TEACHERS "DEMORALIZES" THEM. "IF YOU WANT THE BEST MINDS TO TEACH, YOU MUST GIVE
GOOD SALARY TO THEM. " EVEN THOUGH PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO III SAID THAT THERE ARE NO BUDGET TO RAISE THE SALARIES
OF THE TEACHER, SALGADO SAID THERE ARE ADEQUATE FUNDS BUT THAT THERE IS MISAPPROPRIATION LIKE THE P10 BILLION
PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUND (PDAF) CONTROVERSY. "WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH MONEY IN THE WORLD, BUT IT COULD
BE DONE BY THE GOVERNMENT," HE SAID ABOUT RAISING THE SALARIES.

4. TUITION AND OTHER FEES INCREASE

HE POINTED OUT THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM ON THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF EDUCATION THROUGH THE CONTINUING
INCREASE OF TUITION AND EDUCATION BECOMING MORE EXPENSIVE. HE CONCEDES THAT PRIVATE SCHOOL RAISING THEIR FEES IS
JUSTIFIABLE BUT THE QUESTION LIES NOW ON THE JUSTIFICATION AND APPROPRIATION OF THE FEES COLLECTED.

5. BULLYING

STUDENT RIGHT VIOLATIONS, HOWEVER, DEPEND ON THE STRICTNESS OF A SCHOOLS DIVISION OF THE STUDENT AFFAIRS, HOW
TIGHT THEY ARE IN SCREENING AND COMPOSING A STUDENT ORGANIZATION. THE PROBLEM ON BULLYING, FOR HIM, ALSO LIES ON
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW IN SCHOOLS. "IF SCHOOLS CAN'T IMPLEMENT IT, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE
SCHOOLS, HE SAID". IT WOULD BE GOOD IF THE SCHOOL WILL INSTANCE CLOSE CIRCUIT TELEVISION (CCTV) CAMERAS IN THEIR AREAS
TO MONITOR THE ACTIVITY OF THE STUDENTS. TEACHERS MUST ALSO BE TRAINED TO HANDLE BULLYING. "THE LAW IS THERE, BUT
THE LAW IS GOOD AS THOSE WHO IMPLEMENT IT".

AS FAR AS I OBSERVED, THERE ARE A LOT OF PROBLEMS IN OUR PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND THIS IS VERY ALARMING. AND
BASED ON MY RESEARCH ALL OF THEM HAVE SIMILARITIES LIKE "LOW OF SALARIES OF THE TEACHERS". BUT MY BIG QUESTION IS,
WHY ALMOST OF ALL STUDENTS WANT TO BE A TEACHER IF THE SALARY OF TEACHER IS TOO LOW?. MAYBE BECAUSE THEY ARE LIKE
ME, ALL I WANT IS TO HELP THE STUDENTS OR THE LEARNERS TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING IN WHAT OUR COUNTRY IS FACING
TODAY. ALL WE NEED NOW IS TO HAVE A BETTER LEADERS THAT ARE NOT CORRUPT. CORRUPTION IN OUR COUNTRY IS WIDE-
RANGING AND AFFECT A GREAT VARIETY OF AREA OR DIFFERENT THINGS IN OUR COUNTRY. SO HOW OUR COUNTRY DEVELOP OR
IMPROVE IF OUR OWN LEADERS ARE THE ONE WHO COMMIT CORRUPTION. I THINK WE STAY THE SAME OR REMAIN THE SAME THAT
WE ARE INCLUDED IN THE POOR COUNTRY AROUND THE WORLD. SOMETIMES I THINK IT VERY DEEP FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT
IS HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY ESPECIALLY IN THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. BUT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IF WE HAVE
FAITH IN GOD, THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS THAT HAVE NO SOLUTION. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO FACE
EVERYTHING AND THE REALITY IN THIS WORLD. AND I'M DOING ALL OF THIS BECAUSE SOMEDAY I WILL HELP MY COUNTRY EVEN IF IN
A SMALL WAY.

________________________________________________

What's wrong with the education system of the Philippines?

Adding to Steven's response, since his answers are more inclined in a "private-school system", A public school system (Primary &
Secondary Education) can't practically promote the desire of teachers to produce "Thinking Students".

I'll give you a scenario which perfectly depicts the current situation.

In a public school, not only the students are graded on how they perform, but the teachers as well. They are graded/inspected based on
how many students fail your subject that you are teaching. (And of course other stuff i.e. if there's a student that really excel to your
subject) It tells the supervisor that if many students failed your subjects, you are not being a good teacher, thus will have a negative effect
on your teaching career.

Thus instead of the teachers giving out the student's grade they deserve, (i.e. failing mark), they'll give a lowest passing mark possible.
Thus you can see freshmen students in some college/universities here that can't solve a really easy algebra questions, or even not
knowing what countries are in the Axis Alliance during the WW2.

But to shed some light in our education system, in tertiary levels, professors do give appropriate grades to the students. Thus most of
these students fail.

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The Crisis of Public Education in the Philippines

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According to the human capital theory, the economic development of a nation is a function of the quality of its education. In other words:
the more and better educated a people, the greater the chances of economic development.

The modern world in which we live is often termed a "knowledge society"; education and information have become production factors
potentially more valuable than labor and capital. Thus, in a globalized setting, investment in human capital has become a condition for
international competitiveness.

In the Philippines, I often hear harsh criticism against the politics of globalization. At the same time, regarding the labor markets, I can
hardly think of another nation that is so much a part of a globalized economy than the Philippines with nearly ten per cent of the overall
population working beyond the shores of the native land.

Brain drain. Apart from the much debated political, social and psychological aspects, this ongoing mass emigration constitutes an
unparalleled brain drain with serious economic implications.

Arguably, the phenomenon also has an educational dimension, as the Philippine society is footing the bill for the education of millions of
people, who then spend the better part of their productive years abroad. In effect, the poor Philippine educational system is indirectly
subsidizing the affluent economies hosting the OFWs.

With 95 per cent of all elementary students attending public schools, the educational crisis in the Philippines is basically a crisis of public
education. The wealthy can easily send their offspring to private schools, many of which offer first-class education to the privileged class
of pupils.

Social divide. Still, the distinct social cleavage regarding educational opportunities remains problematic for more than one reason.
Historically, in most modern societies, education has had an equalizing effect. In Germany, for instance, the educational system has
helped overcome the gender gap, and later also the social divide. Today, the major challenge confronting the educational system in the
country I come from is the integration of millions of mostly non-European, in most cases Muslim, immigrants. Importantly, this leveling
out in the context of schooling has not occurred in this part of the world. On the contrary, as one Filipino columnist wrote a while ago,
"Education has become part of the institutional mechanism that divides the poor and the rich."

Let me add an ideological note to the educational debate: Liberals are often accused of standing in the way of reforms that help
overcome social inequalities. While, indeed, liberals value personal freedom higher than social equality, they actively promote equality of
opportunities in two distinct policy areas: education and basic heath care.

For this reason, educational reform tends to have a high ranking on the agenda of most liberal political parties in many parts of the world.

This said, it is probably no coincidence that the National Institute for Policy Studies (NIPS), liberal think-tank of the Philippines, invited me
the other day to a public forum on the "Challenges on Educational Reform." With the school year having just started and the media filled
with reports on the all but happy state of public education in the country, this was a very timely and welcome event. I was impressed by
the inputs from Representative Edmundo O. Reyes, Jr, the Chairman of the Committee on Education of the House of Representatives, and
DepEd Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz. Both gave imposing presentations on the state of Philippine education.

Although I have been in this country for over a year now, I am still astonished again and again by the frankness and directness with which
people here address problems in public debates. "The quality of Philippine education has been declining continuously for roughly 25
years," said the Undersecretary -- and no one in the audience disagreed. This, I may add, is a devastating report card for the politicians
who governed this nation in the said period. From a liberal and democratic angle, it is particularly depressing as this has been the period
that coincides with democratic rule that was so triumphantly and impressively reinstalled after the dark years of dictatorship in 1986!
Describing the quality of Philippine school education today, the senior DepEd official stated the following: "Our schools are failing to
teach the competence the average citizen needs to become responsible, productive and self-fulfilling. We are graduating people who are
learning less and less."

While at the said forum, more than one speaker observed that the educational problems are structural in nature, I missed propositions for
reform that are so far-reaching to merit the attribute structural.

Gargantuan problems. While the Undersecretary very patiently and impressively charted out the four policy directions of the political
leadership of his ministry (taking teachers out of elections, establishing a nationwide testing system, preserving private schools, raising
subsidies for a voucher system), to me -- as a foreign observer -- these remedies sound technocratic considering, what one writer in this
paper has recently termed, "the gargantuan magnitude of the problems besetting Philippine basic education."

Let me highlight two figures: Reportedly, at last count more than 17 million students are enrolled in this country's public schools.

At an annual population growth rate of 2.3 per cent, some 1.7 million babies are born every year. In a short time, these individuals will
claim their share of the limited educational provisions.

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"We can't build classrooms fast enough to accommodate" all these people, said the DepEd Undersecretary, who also recalled the much
lamented lack of teachers, furniture and teaching materials.

In short, there are too little resources for too many students.

Two alternatives. In this situation, logically, there exist only two strategic alternatives: either, one increases the resources, which is easier
said than done considering the dramatic state of public finances, or one reduces the number of students.

This second alternative presupposes a systematic population policy, aimed at reducing the number of births considerably.

But this, too, is easier said than done, considering the politics in this country -- or to quote Congressman Reyes: "Given the very aggressive
and active intervention of the Church addressing the population problem is very hard to tackle."

Dr. Ronald Meinardus was the former Resident Representative of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation in the Philippines and a
commentator on Asian affairs. E-mail comments to

________________________________

The Philippine educational system pursues the achievement of excellent undergraduates in the elementary and secondary level. The
Department of Education implemented the K-12 Curriculum in which according to them will benefit not only the Filipino youth but all the
Filipinos in the Philippines. The administration asserts that with the implementation of such program, the problem of unemployment in
the country will be resolved. In as much as employment in the Philippines is concerned, the K12 education also responds to the fact that
most countries in the world already have the same plan in their educational institutions. With this, the standards of these countries go a
notch higher than what the country has, thus, creating an expansion in the global competency.

However, the reaction of the public regarding this issue is divided, where some are in favor and some are not. There are many
speculations spoken by different people regarding the implementation of the K-12 Curriculum. There are many questions still hanging on
like: Is it really the solution to our poverty, underemployment and unemployment? Will K-12 curriculum basically enhance our students
knowledge? Will this curriculum help eliminate and lessen poverty in our country?

Our DepEd Secretary, Bro. Armin A. Luistro said that he is trying to change the traditional way of teaching, trying to resolve different
problems, control and motivates the teachers, students, parents and government officials to cooperate in order to help our students to
be globally competitive. In his Declaration of State of Philippine Education, he emphasized the trend and issues in Philippine Educational
system which is according to him is under: Chronic Illness; Regression in Access; Bureaucratic Melee; Appropriations allotted In Education;
on the need of Reform; The Join Forces of 3 Agencies in Government: The DOLE, TESDA, and CHED; The Idea of EFA 2015 and Millennium
Development Goals.

In his speech, he said that our countrys educational system is not in a crisis but rather under the chronic illness. Chronic in a sense that, the
problems that beset the system now have been in existence for close to a century. He cited the observation written by George Counts, a
Yale Professor and a member of the Monroe Commissions in 1925. In his article When Reforms Dont Transform, he cited issues on
different reform programs undergone by Philippine Educational System. One of the problems cited by Counts is the issue about teaching
English in the absence of lingua franca. He argued that the curriculum which was borrowed from the United States was not suited to the
Filipino children of the 1920s. The many issues and concerns regarding the condition of the Philippine educational system since 1920s to
2009 were not only remained but have been continuously worsened.

Bro. Armin Luistro first stated the issues concerning Regression in Access of our education system. This refers to the weakening of the
students participation and completion rate as well as the increasing rate of out of school youth from primary to secondary level which
considered as a problem.

He then stated the issue about Bureaucratic Melee, and cited two comments: wherein according to the assessment of Counts,
educational bureaucracy was being too centralized; wherein according to Bautista et al, governance in the Department of Education is
not only highly centralized but extremely hierarchical and there is a culture of obeisance.

The issue about the hierarchical structure and culture of obeisance is always true, based on my personal experience in my 4 years of
teaching in public school. When I was a newly hired teacher in the school where I’m currently teaching, I had a culture shock and always
wanted to ask questions regarding with the implemented school systems and policies just like; why does our school head have to be like
this and like that? Why does our head teacher wont allow us to fail the students even though they don’t participate and do their activities
in classes. Moreover, we haven’t seen some of them for ages because some of them are really not showing up in school to attend their
classes.

_____________________________

2Social divide.

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Still, the distinct social cleavage regarding educational opportunities remains problematic for more than one reason. Historically, in most
modern societies, education has had an equalizing effect. In Germany, for instance, the educational system has helped overcome the
gender gap, and later also the social divide. Today, the major challenge confronting the educational system in the country is the
integration of millions of mostly non-European, in most cases Muslim, immigrants. Importantly, this leveling out in the context of
schooling has not occurred in this part of the world. On the contrary, as one Filipino columnist wrote a while ago, "Education has become
part of the institutional mechanism that divides the poor and the rich." Let me add an ideological note to the educational debate: Liberals
are often accused of standing in the way of reforms that help overcome social inequalities. While, indeed, liberals value personal freedom
higher than social equality, they actively promote equality of opportunities in two distinct policy areas: education and basic healthcare
(Orbeta,2002).For this reason, educational reform tends to have a high ranking on the agenda of most liberal political parties in many
parts of the world (Tan,200

1). Representative Edmundo O. Reyes, Jr, the Chairman of the Committee on Education of the House of Representatives, and DipEd
Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz had both given imposing presentations on the state of Philippine education. We always hear reports
again and again through the frankness and directness with which people address problems in public debates. “The quality of Philippine
education has been declining continuously for roughly

5 years," said the Undersecretary -- and no one in the audience disagreed. This, I may add, is a devastating report card for the politicians
who governed this nation in the said period. From a liberal and democratic angle, it is particularly depressing as this has been the period
that coincides with democratic rule that was so triumphantly and impressively reinstalled after the dark years of dictatorship in 1986!
Describing the quality of Philippine school education today, the senior DepEd official stated the following: "Our schools are failing to
teach the competence the average citizen needs to become responsible, productive and self-fulfilling. We are graduating people who are
learning less and less."

Gargantuan problems.

While the Undersecretary very patiently and impressively charted out the four policy directions of the political leadership of his
Department (taking teachers out of elections, establishing a nationwide testing system, preserving private schools,

3raising subsidies for a voucher system), to me, these remedies sound technocratic considering, what one writer has recently termed,
"the gargantuan magnitude of the problems besetting Philippine basic education." (Orbeta,2000). Reportedly, at last count more than
17million students are enrolled in this country's public schools. At an annual population growth rate of 23per cent, some 1.7 million babies
are born every year. In a short time, these individuals will claim their share of the limited educational provisions. "We can't build
classrooms fast enough to accommodate" all these people, said the DepEd. Undersecretary, who also recalled the much lamented lack of
teachers, furniture and teaching materials. In short, there are too little resources for too many students. Equity. It is providing equal
learning opportunities for all learners, regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, learning and thinking styles, and personality and
temperament. In the real world though, it is easier to define equity than to implement it because there is a tendency to perceive diversity
as a divisive factor rather than auditing factor. In an article (Manasan & Villanueva,2002) I read, a teacher blamed his five students who are
non-Tagalog speakers as the primary reason for his school’s low performance in the National Achievement Test (NAT). The teacher
opined that because the students are from Bicol and do not speak Tagalog which is the Mother Tongue in Southern Luzon, they do not
perform well in class and they are becoming a problem. He went on ranting and ranting blaming the five students for the low NAT
performance of their school. There was admixed opinion on this matter. Some teachers agreed; others did not. I belong to the latter. I
think that the five students are not to blame for their school’s dismal performance in the NAT. The primary reason is the teacher’s inability
to address the issue of diversity in the classroom. The teacher was not effective in considering individual differences among his students.
The above situation is one of the many situations depicting the diversity and equity and the need to address it. As propositioned by
education reformists, the ³one size fits all´ policy is not the solution to addressing diversity in the classroom. Curriculum and instruction
must be modified to meet the different needs of the learners. What works in the city, may not work in the rural areas. There are already
programs in place such as the Alternative Learning System (ALS) and the MTB-MLE as well as the Mobile Teachers program; however, the
problem son delivery of educational services and providing equal access to education to all learners remain. The blaming game will always
be there; however, it is about time we start working together, despite of 4and in spite of socio-political and economic ideals and
affiliations. The main thrusts should be on reforming the educational system to provide equity in education. Reforms are not done
overnight, it may even take our lifetime to reform the educational system and we may not be able to see the fruits of these reforms; but
what is important is we are doing something. We may fail but at least we did something. There is hope. And it is time we work together
rather than blame each other. Let’s make it happen.

Two alternatives. In this situation, logically, there exist only two strategic alternatives: either, one increases the resources, which is easier
said than done considering the dramatic state of public finances, or one reduces the number of students. This second alternative
presupposes a systematic population policy, aimed at reducing the number of births considerably. But this, too, is easier said than done,
considering the politics in this country -- or to quote Congressman Reyes: "Given the very aggressive and active intervention of the Church
addressing the population problem is very hard to tackle."