(FILE) A teacher answers a call from a student in need of assistance on distance learning through a hotline program, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines, October 7, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
MANILA, Philippines — The country needs to evaluate its education sector to ensure that students are still adequately trained amid the changing business landscape caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rizal Second District Rep. Fidel Nograles said on Sunday.
“We have to take a clear-minded view of the situation. Baka kasi hindi na akma ang targets natin dahil nag-iba na ang labor requirements dahil sa pandemya (maybe we no longer have to right targets because the labor requirements have changed due to the pandemic),” Nograles, who is also the vice-chair of the House Committee on Education, said in a statement.
He explained that a systematic approach is necessary for tackling this issue, “otherwise we risk derailing our recovery.”
“Nagbabago ang business models, nagbabago ang teknolohiya, nagbabago ang pangangailangan ng tao––kailangan akma ang edukasyon natin sa mga realidad na ito,” said.
(Business models are changing, technology is changing, human needs are changing –– our education needs to fit in these realities.)
He warned that if the country fails to do so, it would “result in more people mired in poverty if we do not improve the quality of our education and produce ‘undesirable’ graduates that businesses do not need nor wish to employ.”
Nograles then emphasized the need to address gaps that have been identified in the education sector during the past year, such as connectivity issues, lack of adequate learning materials, and other resources to support both teachers and students.
He also suggested that the curricula be recalibrated to take into account both current and future needs, as more offices continue to adapt structural changes to deal with the pandemic.
The lawmaker also expressed hope that more funds will be allotted for the education sector in the P405.6 billion Bayanihan 3 bill as well as for the 2022 budget.
He added that he expects the Commission on Higher Education to take the lead in convening a dialogue between government, private sector, and academic stakeholders to address the education sector’s future.