Despite what you have been reading, it is not entirely correct to say that our schools face the same problems they had the year before, or even as far back as four decades ago. It may seem that way.

There are still not enough classrooms.
Many schools still lack even the most basic utilities like water and electricity.
There are not enough textbooks, and the ones that are there are still filled with errors.
There are still too many children in a classroom and too few teachers to take care of them.
And so on, and so forth, ad nauseam.

But all of these things – these shortages and inadequacies – these things are merely obstructions to solving what really plagues our education system:

• Our pupils and students are not learning what they should, when they should.
• Our schools have so far been unable to provide our learners with a globally competitive level of mastery of desired concepts and skills. For far too long, the more pressing need for a high-performing education system has been crowded out by more sensational political issues or by political expediency.

As a result, our schools have thus far been incapable of preparing our youth for a productive and rewarding adult life nor instilling in them a deep-seated sense of legacy and citizenship.

This is why Education Nation views the first 100 days of the incoming Aquino administration with much anticipation. Never before have we elected a chief executive with a clearly articulated – and publicly declared – comprehensive education reform agenda.

Education Nation therefore respectfully requests President Noynoy Aquino to seize the unique opportunity that the first 100 days brings to elevate education reform to the forefront of national consciousness. Appointing reform oriented individuals to the posts of DepEd secretary, CHED commissioner, and TESDA director is a good place to start and it sends a very strong message that his administration fully comprehends the autonomous but synergistic relationship that surrounds these three education agencies.

Or, consider our teaching community.

Right now, many of our teachers lack the competence to confidently discuss their subject matter. Their teaching methods are outdated and their training is woefully inadequate.

To aggravate matters further, they are overworked and underpaid. On the other side of the coin, our best and brightest find it difficult to envision teaching as a viable career choice. As such, our Teacher Education Institutions are finding it increasingly difficult to turn out confident, highly motivated teachers.

It has reached the point where society no longer bestows upon the teaching profession the recognition, respect and dignity it rightfully deserves.

A modest but clear gesture of solidarity from President Noynoy – such as firm measures to streamline the delivery of GSIS benefits – would surely go a long way in boosting our teachers’ morale.

Similarly, consider how schools and our communities have grown apart from each other.

It is true that many public schools manage to survive and even flourish despite lack of funds because the communities that they serve help bridge their resource gaps. From helping refurbish and repair classrooms and equipment to raising funds for major school improvement projects, communities all over the country have proven time and again that they can be relied upon for assistance.

But the relationship usually does not go above nor beyond this level.

There are no institutional mechanisms in place to facilitate the organization of structured local education reform alliances. These school-community partnerships are premised on a mutual commitment to collaborate in every way they can to raise the academic performance of the pupils and students up to globally acceptable standards.

This is how communities hold their schools accountable in countries with high-performing education systems.

A number of NGOs, corporate foundations and philanthropic organizations – most notably Philippine Business for Education and the 5775 Movement here in the Philippines – have been pursuing this course of action for quite some time now. We now humbly ask every community, every barangay, to seek out these NGOs so that they may share with you their passion for education reform.

President Noynoy could jump start the development of organized school communities by supporting the alliance-building efforts pioneered by groups like these.

Education is the best weapon against Poverty.

This is what drives us to pursue genuine, comprehensive and lasting education reform. To this end, Education Nation has started preliminary preparations for a National Congress on education reform. We envision this to be a multisectoral undertaking, involving both the public and private sectors of education, to establish where we are now and agree on our targets and goals.

Education Nation is also in the process of refining the details of an Education Reform Watch so that the public may know what’s going on – whether good or bad – with regard to our collective efforts to bring about qualitative change in our education system. We are finalizing the metrics of a report card tool to monitor progress at national and local levels. We are likewise organizing a corps of volunteers to help monitor schools, local governments and the Countrywide Development Fund and Special Education Fund. The hopes, dreams and aspirations of our people can only be articulated fully through an education system that expects excellence from its learners as it nurtures in them an unwavering desire to achieve their true potential. Quality Education, broadly and freely accessible is indeed the best weapon against poverty, because it forges an Education Nation, a nation where citizens are imbued with purpose and vision.

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