The Senate is having a keen eye on strengthening our education sector.
In January, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte mentioned in her speech the huge problem in the Philippine Education System, from the school infrastructure up to the learning outcomes of the students.
"There appears to be insufficient knowledge on developing 21st Century Skills, including higher-order thinking skills among learners. This is not the fault of our teachers whose dedication, integrity, and the commitment to serve Filipino children and the country strengthened our collective effort to achieve our shared dreams for our learners," Duterte stressed in her speech.
"The sad reality is that the system has failed them. This is a system that burdens them with backbreaking and time-consuming administrative tasks, a system that provides no adequate support and robs them of the opportunity to professionally grow and professionally teach, assist, and guide our learners."
Relative to situations like this, Sen. Win Gatchalian proposed Senate Bill 155 or the 21st Century School Boards Act where he proposed to strengthen the role of local government units (LGU) in facilitating the Education Summit, Community Town Hall Meetings, consultations and discussions of relevant education concerns. The local school board (LCB) will be tasked for inputs in the eventual "Formulation and Institution of Education Reform".
The Bill also tends to extend the coverage of Special Education Fund that may cover salaries for all employees including teaching and non-teaching personnel, educational research, procurement of Learning Materials, Information and Communication Technology, and Alternative Learning System (ALS) Program Implementation.
"Mahalaga ang pagsasagawa ng education summit sa ating mga local government units upang masuri natin ang mga hamong kinakaharap. Magiging daan din ang mga summit na ito upang matalakay ang mga solusyon at mga repormang kinakailangan upang maabot natin ang bawat bata at matiyak na makakatanggap sila ng dekalidad na edukasyon"- Gatchalian said in the press report.