Phil. Education: Mandatory Pre-School, 5 years in College

[jpdm]

[SIZE=3]Philippine Star

Government eyes mandatory pre-school, 5 years in college[/SIZE]

By Ding Cervantes
Updated December 22, 2008 12:00 AM

ANGELES CITY – The Presidential Task Force on Education (PTFE) urged the government to implement reforms aimed at improving the quality of education in the country.


Among the measures being recommended by the PTFE are [SIZE=3]the mandatory pre-school before Grade 1[/SIZE], compulsory aptitude tests for high school graduates entering college, and [SIZE=3]at least five years college education to accommodate “pre university” or “pre specialty” units.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Emmanuel Angeles said the PTFE [SIZE=4]wanted to implement the measures by next school year.[/SIZE]


Angeles said teachers who graduated from state colleges and universities would handle pre-schools. Local government units are to provide them with compensation, he added.


Angeles said CHED is currently reviewing and revising existing policies to attract teachers to pursue higher education.


On the other hand, Angeles revealed Mrs. Arroyo had favored the recommendations of the PTFE as a measure to curb “significant dropouts” of pupils from Grade 1 to Grade 2, apparently due to lack of proficiency.
Angeles also cited the need for reforms at all levels of the educational system to keep up with international standards.


[SIZE=4]“The Philippines is one of only two countries which require only 10 years of basic education. The other country is Botswana. In other countries, basic education now lasts 12 years,” he said.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=3]At the college level, a two-year pre-university or pre-specialization under a “polytechnic system” has been proposed.
[/SIZE]
For two years, students would be provided skills which could immediately land them jobs should they choose not to pursue further college courses which would take at least another three years, he explained.


Angeles said the PTFE recommended the s[SIZE=4]o-called Bologna approach[/SIZE] that requires [SIZE=4]15 years of schooling for a bachelor’s degree,[/SIZE] or [SIZE=4]the Washington accord[/SIZE] that [SIZE=4]imposes 16 years, particularly for architecture and engineering courses.[/SIZE]
“It’s a tall order, but we must adjust our educational system to conform with international standards,” he said.


Angeles added Congress has already approved the proposal for the establishment of a [SIZE=3]National Institute of Science and Technology.[/SIZE]
CHED is asking Congress for additional P1.5 billion outlay over the already approved P1.4 trillion national budget for next year.

Bad news for families with limited budget.

Bad news for Iskul Bukol ( Escalera brothers type) students

Good news for our economy especially our educational system and R&D.

Is this feasible in our country?

What do you think?

[ghosthunter]

Adding more years of bad schooling will not help. It will just be another way for government officials to get more kickbacks from the system.

[ab_initio]

^^ mandatory preschool: psychological preparedness of a child is at an issue here. is the child ready for the routine in school?

5 years in highschool, yes.

5 years in college, yes. ---2 years prep; 3 years proper.

[CVT]

For as long as the government can guarantee very good job opportunities here in our country, then this proposal should be okay. Else, it's just one of those things that we will always mistrust....

Anyway, related to this, one of our friends, an engineering graduate here in the Philippines, was relegated to a trade school graduate when he moved to Canada some years ago.....

7202:bruce_lee:

[jpdm]

For as long as the government can guarantee very good job opportunities here in our country, then this proposal should be okay. Else, it's just one of those things that we will always mistrust....

7202:bruce_lee:

agree!!

[jpdm]

Comment from philstar on the issue..

Philippine Star
[SIZE=2]EDITORIAL [/SIZE]
Improving national capability

Updated December 23, 2008 12:00 AM

Some quarters are opposing proposals made by a task force to make pre-schooling mandatory and to add another year to basic college education. Their protests will have to be reconciled with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on Education, most of which seek to improve national competitiveness by halting the slide in the quality of Philippine education and bringing it at par with global standards.


Educators themselves have warned that the nation faces a crisis in education. [SIZE=3]Several decades ago, public schools offered education of such high quality that the Philippine school system was the envy of Asia. [/SIZE]



Back then education opened opportunities for advancement even for the poorest of the poor. [SIZE=4]It was no coincidence that the Philippines at the time was seen as a leader in Asia in terms of economic growth and development, with Filipinos enjoying one of the highest standards of living in the region.[/SIZE]
Today the Philippines is nearly at the bottom of the regional heap in all economic and human development indicators. The head of the education task force, Fr. Bienvenido Nebres of Ateneo de Manila, believes that national salvation lies in improving the capability of the nation’s human resource. This is possible through better education.


The task force, which submitted a long list of detailed recommendations recently to the Cabinet, notes that the Philippines is one of just two countries requiring only 10 years of basic education. The other country is Botswana. The task force wants to make pre-school mandatory. This makes sense, especially for poor students who in the earliest stages of education are already placed at a disadvantage because children from higher-income families get from two to three years of schooling, including kindergarten, before entering first grade. The problem here will be funding, plus the facilities to accommodate the pre-schoolers.


Several task force proposals aim to bring down the high dropout rate in elementary and secondary school. Other proposals face opposition from certain quarters including teachers. These include a faculty development program that will encourage teachers to obtain master’s degrees or doctorates, as well as the addition of a year of “pre-university” or “pre-specialty” education in college.


Most of the recommendations deserve serious consideration by national leaders. The proposals are laudable – if they can get sufficient funding and the political will for implementation that is efficient and sustained.

[XTO]

This Presidential Task Force on Education (PTEF) is bull$h!t :puke1: :stone:

[StraightSix]

It's the quality and not the quantity (of years) that's important.

But if you have both, then you'll be really competitive.

[A121]

Hindi ata tama na dagdagan ang taon sa preschool.

Tingin ko dapat pahabain ang high school at doon na ilagay yung first few years ng college education na mga generel education subjects. Umiikli kasi sobra ang oras para makapag-specialize ka sa kursong kinuha mo.

[Gen. Miting]

students should specialize starting at 13. by that time, nagkakaroon ng identity crisis ang youngster. why bec. the school and the parents are enforcing a system na ayaw na tanggapin ng bata. and that's why nagrebelde at nagbibilyar na lang hehehe

[pup2]

students should specialize starting at 13. by that time, nagkakaroon ng identity crisis ang youngster. why bec. the school and the parents are enforcing a system na ayaw na tanggapin ng bata. and that's why nagrebelde at nagbibilyar na lang hehehe

Hey, some of us just like billiards and beer! Teenagers will ALWAYS rebel, depende lang kung gaano ka grabe, that's due to hormones.

On a more serious note though, I'm wondering why people are objecting to the requirement of a pre-school level. Kaya naglagay ng isa dun ay para ma maximize ang learning curve which is higher at the younger end of the age spectrum. Besides, di ba sa private system halos required na nga ang pre-school?

Kung may issue man sa additional level, it is one of funds talaga -- not just for the gov't but for the food and transpo of the students. Few people may realize it but baon, transpo, supplies, etc. are actually costlier than tuition for most people. Kung hindi ma address ito, either hindi matuloy itong proposal or lilipat lang ang dropout rate from grade 2 to grade 1.

Our government should wake up and realize we've just gone from one of the lesser SEA nations to one of the top AFRICAN ones. Maybe we'll get something done after.