EDUCATION today has not only become an issue of academic progress. It is now a work of attaining the educational quality set by international schools. The educational global standard has gained unprecedented progress in the academic field and the chief concern of the country is catching up to be on this level or at least near this point.
Quality of education is now measured against the international standard. Each country has assessment tools to measure its quality of education but we understand that these national assessments do not always reflect the actual academic status of the land. I hinted in my previous articles that there are factors why this occurs. I still think that the covering up is oftentimes related to saving up skins. This implies that not all national reports are reliable. I hope this will be rectified for the sake of our academic progress and national development. There is no shame in accepting the truth that a country is stuck at a developing stage of educational quality. So, international assessments bear the heaviest weight.
The Philippines, in my heart, has high potential to be one of those country with superior educational quality. As a country, we put high value on education. The general public perceive education as a key factor to turn lives upside down. It is seen as an essential element to get out of poverty. Education is recognized as a right in this country and parents are required to send every learner to school. We also have outstanding professors and teachers. Problem is, other countries acquire these assets to teach in their country through offering lucrative compensation. Our teachers are adaptable, open-minded, and place high regard on teacher-student relationship. The number of academicians taking up graduate programs is increasing. Our schools are strengthening their research and innovation programs. We have the tools to be among the best.
There was a time when the world particularly our neighboring countries look up to our educational quality. This was the time when President Marcos was at the helm. Of course, this was not the sole achievement of the Marcos regime. The administrations before it had strong programs in education. The systems were right and the people running it are in sync with its goals. For foreign students, it was an opportunity to study in the country. The background, I supposed, was not all because we had the best educational system but because these countries were recovering from their own political and economic turmoil. We had a robust economy and our educational system benefited from it.
Now, the world has made some turns, and our neighboring countries continued to develop their educational system. Their schemes worked and the quality of their education reached new heights. Did we decline in terms of educational quality? I think not. We were just contented in our position. In short, we were stuck. We were hardly moving. We were not bothered witnessing the progress and educational growth of other countries. Or perhaps we had internal issues to resolve and we did not see the rapid development of their education. Our ranking in international educational assessments today is considered poor but this may not actually mean that our educational quality is dismal. Maybe it is or maybe our standard is no longer the same standard adhered by the international academe.
I cannot say the primary cause or causes of our education's failure to attain the same growth achieved by others. We may have had adopted educational systems that did not work because they did not suit our learners' needs. We may have had political and social issues that were not resolved hampering our academic growth. Whatever the causes, the truth is we are almost at the bottom of the standing now. This might appear as a lesson or as an embarrassment considering the educational status we once held. Again, whatever the cause or reasons, the work is "catching up" to the educational standard of the international community. The standard is high and this means there are lots of work to do.