THE Department of Education has issued a statement on the Philippines' ranking in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results. Sorry, but I have to say that DepEd is like a dog trying to lick its wounds. We don't have enough words to describe our apparently poor performance out of 79 countries that was part of the said achievement test.

And because our Education officials are obviously in denial, it has put forward four rationalized measures in an effort to appear proactive. Calling said measures "aggressive reforms" DepEd vows to (1) review and update K to 12, (2) improve learning facilities, (3) upskill and reskill teachers, and (4) engage stakeholders for support and collaboration.

In its face value, the said "aggressive reforms" do not show any sign of aggression. All I can say is "what's new?" These are the same big words used by DepEd across presidencies. The same promises and strategies repeated like unfulfilled New Year's resolutions. Public schools have been recipients of several donations and outreach activities. From "adopt a school" to the so many reforms using the PPP model. Without political will and the balls to clean up the public school system, everything will stay in eternal recurrence.

The fact that the "public" and "private" distinction still thrives speaks that not only have our prejudices lived but also the objective conditions that gave rise to such prejudices. We are talking about the low budget allocation for schools especially in the basic education level. The current administration has succeeded in creating an impression that it is taking care of our teachers through continual salary increase. A closer examination however would reveal that this is not enough.

If we want to attract more good teachers to the public schools, we should not just raise salaries. We should also improve its working condition by making it decent. This means making public school teachers safe and free from the many hazards and threats that confront them on a daily basis.

There are a lot of things missing however in our analysis of the current problem. The low performance of our learners cannot just be attributed to the quality of education that our public schools offer. It also reflects our failure in addressing poverty, public health issues, and the so many gaps in social welfare.

This might be an oversimplification, however, there is so much sense in saying that there is a correlation between our poor students' low academic performance and their quality of life. Comprehension, analytical skills, and creativity do not develop in a vacuum. You can have the best teachers hired and recruited for our public schools. However, if you have students who go to class sick, hungry, and depressed because of conditions that are rooted at home, then there is no significant improvement to expect from all of these... "big words!"

I know that those who are trying to be hopeful as well as those who are deeply indoctrinated to be loyal to the current administration would say that it is not fair to "again" put the blame on the government. But perhaps we should in all seriousness ask, if the government is not to be blamed then who should? Under whose domain and power is it to come up with projects, change policies, and really have the balls to move things in order to "in real and concrete terms" change people's lives?

Of course, we cannot but be fair in saying that the malady in our education system is a sustained problem which all administrations have contributed to. However, if the current administration would like to make a difference, it has to pay attention to the fact that we are at the bottom of PISA. And indeed, if it is true to its slogan "change is coming" -- such change should not just affect drug addicts and drug lords.

Perhaps, it is time for the president to divert his anger to poverty, illiteracy, and inefficiency in the agencies under his (executive) department.