PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved “in principle” the creation of a Cabinet cluster for education to bolster efforts to further improve the country’s education system.
“He’d like us to fast-track some of the actions dahil nakikita niya 'yung urgency and it's a very deep-seated problem. Medyo matagal-tagal na na kailangan tugunan. Sabi niya, 'talagang kailangan itong cluster,” said Education Secretary Sonny Angara in a press briefing on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, following a sectoral meeting presided over by Marcos in Malacañang.
Angara said the cluster will be composed of the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
The cluster will come up with a 10-year integrated national education and workforce development plan.
It will also have to make sure that the agency targets and budget are aligned to support the plan every year.
Palace press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez said the cluster for education aims to synthesize a common vision and common direction to reform the education system and to have a positive long-term effect on every Filipino student and graduate.
“President Marcos directed the agencies to devise a coherent and system wide national integrated education and workforce development strategy that starts from early childhood education to basic education, senior high school, and so on,” she said.
“The President directed the proposed Cabinet cluster to ensure that education issues are tackled as a whole system rather than in multi-agency silos,” she added.
In his third State of the Nation Address (Sona), Marcos challenged Angara to ensure educational recovery and enhance quality of education in the country “as soon as possible.”
Marcos cited a recent assessment, which revealed that more than half of the country’s Grade 6, 10 and 12 students failed to reach the ideal proficiency levels, faring low in information literacy, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)