DepEd notes urgency in filling ‘gaps’ in quality education
MANILA, Philippines — After the Philippines ranked the lowest in reading comprehension out of 79 countries, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said it recognized “the urgency of addressing issues and gaps in attaining quality of basic education.”
Results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that the Philippines ranked the lowest out of 79 countries in reading comprehension after garnering a score of 340.
This was way below the average score in reading comprehension of all participating countries, which is 487.
The Philippines scored 353 in mathematics and 357 in science — both below the average score of all participating countries as well.
DepEd said it was the first time that the country joined the program as part of the Quality Basic Education reform plan as “a step towards globalizing the quality of Philippine basic education.”
“By participating in PISA, we will be able to establish our baseline in relation to global standards, and benchmark the effectiveness of our reforms moving forward,” DepEd said in a statement.
“The PISA results, along with our own assessments and studies, will aid in policy formulation, planning and programming,” it added.
Sulong Edukalidad
In a move to improve the quality of education in the country, DepEd said “aggressive reforms” in four key areas will be implemented under the “Sulong Edukalidad” campaign.
The four key areas were identified as follows:
- K-to-12 review and updating
- Improvement of learning facilities
- Teachers and school heads’ upskilling and reskilling through a transformed professional development program
- Engagement of all stakeholders for support and collaboration
“We envision that no Filipino learners should be left behind and it takes a nation to educate a child. Hence, DepEd calls the entire nation to take active involvement, cooperation, and collaboration in advancing the quality of basic education in the Philippines,” DepEd said.
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