Notes About the Problems and Issues in the
Philippine Educational System: A Critical
Discourse
by Prof. John N. Ponsaran
Colonial historiography. Many teachers,
book authors, and Social Studies consultants give heavier premium to the
history of the colonizers in the Philippines than the history of Filipino
people. Mostly, this has been the case in the teaching of History subjects from
the elementary to tertiary levels. The history of the Filipino people and the
colonial history of the Philippines are two very different topics.
Internationalization of the division of
labor. The Philippine educational system conditions its students to be skillful
in arithmetic and computer literacy, fluent in foreign languages (specifically
English and Nihonggo), and docile in order to serve as workers of the
transnational businesses of the advanced, capitalist countries. Take the case
of the call center phenomenon in the Philippines, India and other developing
states.
Emasculation and demoralization of
teachers. Teachers, more often than not, are victimized by the over-worked and
under-paid policy of the system of the past and present dispensations. This
leads to the emasculation and demoralization of their ranks. This probably
explains why the teaching profession is not attracting the best and the
brightest from the crop of students. Expectedly, this will result in the
vicious cycle of mediocrity in education.
Fly-by-night educational institutions. The
proliferation of fly-by-night educational institutions is counter-productive
and anti-development. In the long run, it produces a pool of half-baked,
unprepared, and incompetent graduates. Alarmingly, the country is having an
over-supply already. This case is true for both undergraduate and graduate
studies.
Culturally and gender insensitive
educational system. The women sector, the masses and the indigenous people are
historically excluded from the Philippine historiography in favor of the men,
heroes from Luzon and the power elite. Women are marginalized and trivialized
even in the language of education.
State abandonment of education. In the name
of imperialist globalization, the state is abandoning its role to subsidize
public education particularly in the tertiary level. This comes in the form of
matriculation, laboratory and miscellaneous fee increases in order to force
state colleges and universities (SCUs) to generate their own sources of fund.
Ironically, the bulk of the budget (in fact, more than one-third in the case of
2005 National Budget) goes to debt servicing, which is an unproductive
enterprise.
Sub-standard textbooks. Some textbooks
which are already circulation are both poorly written and edited. Take the case
of the Asya: Noon at Ngayon with an identified total number of more than 400
historical errors. Unfortunately, it is
just one of the many other similar atrociously written textbooks which are yet
to be identified and exposed. This is a classic case of profit-centeredness
without regard to social accountability.
Widespread contractualization. In the name
of profit, owners and administrators of several private schools commonly
practice contractualization among their faculty members. Contractual employees
unlike their regular/tenured counterparts are not entitled to fringe benefits
in the bid of capitalist-educators to reduce the over-all cost of their
business operation. Job insecurity demeans the ranks of the faculty members.
Copy-pasting culture. Over-dependence to
the cyberspace has dramatically reduced the capability of students (even
teachers) to undertake serious research. ‘Copy-pasting’ has even turned into a
norm among some students.
Mcdonaldized education. The system,
methodology, and content of education in the Philippines is Eurocentric,
culturally insensitive, and non-reflective of the local milieu. This is based
on the xenocentric (foreign-centered) premise that other culture or system is
more superior than one’s own.
Poor regard for liberal art/education.
Liberal education is intended to form a holistic individual equipped with
communication, critical thinking, mathematical, creative, inter-personal and
intra-personal skills. This explains why we also have Philosophy, Languages,
Humanities, Natural Science, Social Science, and Physical Education in our
college curriculum, and not only our major subjects. The curriculum is
specifically designed to produce a total person, and not only a technical
specialist. Unfortunately, the desired objective is not being met since liberal
education is regarded only as a set of minor subjects. With the way these
subjects are being handled (taking into account both content and methodology),
students view the entire exercise as an unnecessary duplication of what they
have already covered in high school. Equally alarming is the lack of enthusiasm
and motivation exhibited by some professors to handle the subject especially if
they believe that it has nothing to do with the course or area of
specialization of their students (say, Art Appreciation for Accounting majors
or Algebra for Creative Writing majors).
Further marginalization of the
undersubscribed courses. In the name of profit and as a response to the
dictates of the market forces, colleges and universities prefer to offer more
courses in line with the health sciences like medical transcription, and
care-giving. This is done at the expense of the already undersubscribed yet
relevant courses like Area Studies, Pilipinolohiya (Philippine Studies),
Development Studies, Philippine Arts, Art Studies, Community Development,
Social Work, Islamic Studies, Clothing Technology, and Ceramics Engineering.
Prof. John N. Ponsaran is currently the
co-chair of the Development Studies Program in the University of the
Philippines Manila where he handles development studies and management courses
in the graduate and undergraduate levels.
He both earned his BA in Development Studies and Master in Public
Management in UP. He has co-authored 5
textbooks in Social Studies and authored various articles about sustainable
development, medical tourism and globalization.
