SENATE Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano called for “drastic and radical” steps to plug gaps in the country’s education system, saying the future of Filipino children depends on delivering the quality education they were promised.
Cayetano made the call as he marked International Teachers’ Day, saying honoring educators should go beyond expressing appreciation and translate into concrete improvements in the education system.
“We're talking about our children's future, our country's future. So we have to do something drastic and radical,” Cayetano said in a Facebook livestream on Wednesday.
He said the government must address the shortage of classrooms and other resources that continue to hamper the implementation of the K to 12 program, particularly in public schools.
“When we passed that law, we promised that it would always be fully funded, but it was really never fully funded,” he said.
Cayetano also pointed to the gap between the K to 12 system as designed and the amount of schooling many students actually receive because of limited school facilities.
“To the rest of the world, we have K to 12. But in reality, many of our students are on double or triple shifts. In highly urbanized areas, there are so many shortages in schools, and what ends up happening is that students attend only half-day classes,” he said.
Cayetano said the government should work toward restoring full-day classes while keeping class sizes manageable.
This would give teachers more time to focus on their students, prepare lessons and attend to their families, he said.
Cayetano said honoring teachers should ultimately mean giving them the support they need to perform their jobs well. “There are so many highly capable people who contribute so much to our entire education system. One day [of honoring them] is not enough. One week is not enough,” he said.
