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PRESIDENT Arroyo announced on Thursday that she has
signed an administrative order certifying the terms of
reference of a “high-level” body that would restructure
the education system to produce graduates better
equipped for the demands of the future.
The
President made the announcement at the groundbreaking
ceremonies of the Texas Instruments assembly site in
Clark Freeport in Pampanga, where she said that Emmanuel
Angeles, chancellor of the Angeles University
Foundation, will be one of the members of the
nine-member task force.
[For full story on the
Texas Instruments groundbreaking in
Clark,
please see ‘RP is the best place to invest in
Asia.]
“Last
night I signed an administrative order to certify the
terms of reference of the high-level task force that
will be reengineering our education system,” Mrs. Arroyo
said.
The
government contingent in the task force includes the
secretary of Education, the chairs of the Commission on
Higher Education and the Technical Skills Development
Authority, and the presidential assistant on Education.
The
remaining five members would be from the private sector,
among them Angeles, who would be tapped from the
business and academic community.
The
President announced the creation of the body while
discussing the importance of a “responsive” educational
system.
She
cited the move of the AUF to create a curriculum that
addresses the employment needs of TI, which had chosen
to set up a $1-billion expansion facility in Clark
Freeport.
“Our
workforce is well educated. If they need a specific
skill, right away, Angeles University can offer it,
that’s how educated out work force is. That is how we
intend our educational system to be responsive,” she
said, adding that such moves would help make the
Philippines “the best value and the best place to invest
in Asia.”
The
President has been issuing directives to improve the
educational system in the country, among them Executive
Order 632 transferring the functions of the National
Coordinating Council for Education (NCCE) to the
Presidential Assistant on Education, who would assess,
plan and monitor the country’s educational system.
The
President had said mandating a presidential assistant to
take over the functions of the NCCE is necessary to
“synchronize and harmonize the government’s educational
policies, programs and initiatives. . . . given our
ranking in world competitiveness.”
In a
press statement, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr.
said the government will propose a four-fold increase in
funds for preschool classes, or from P500 million this
year to P2 billion in 2008.
“The
400-percent leap in the budget of the preschool
education program of the Department of Education is part
of the government plan to achieve universal early child
education,” Andaya said.
This
year’s P500-million budget covers 1,600 kindergarten
classes in fourth to sixth class municipalities in the
country, while the proposed P2 billion budget for 2008
will be used to “train teachers, implement curriculum
standards, and administer school readiness assessment.”
Of the
proposed 2008 allocation, P1.36 billion will be spent
for capital outlays or new classrooms and equipment, and
P640 million for maintenance and other operating
expense.
The
budget chief said that the proposed increased funding
would help more towns prepare for first grade-ready
pupils.
DepEd
will get the biggest share among line departments in the
proposed P1.227-trillion 2008 national budget with a
P145-billion allocation, P3.6-billion higher than its
2007 budget. |
