Education among priority areas of the Duterte administration – Bautista

Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista of the Department of Social Welfare and Development says the government has set aside a huge budget for the scholarship of students taking up college courses or technical/vocational training. /CDND File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines–Recognizing education as among the priority areas of the Duterte administration, a Cabinet Secretary said that the national government has allocate a huge budget for the implementation of various programs that are seen to improve the quality of education in the country.

“Investment in human capital development is essential in socioeconomic growth,” said Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista of the Department of Social Welfare and Development during  the 2nd Pre-SONA forum held Wednesday at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.

Bautista noted the importance of access to quality education to social, personal and economic development.

With this, the national government has set aside a huge budget for various levels of education.

For the Commission on Higher Education alone, the government has allocated P40 billion pesos in 2018 to help finance the education of  over 250,000 students who either received subsidies or free education in technical-vocational education and training, Bautista said.

On the other hand, a Technical Working Group (TWG) was created to focus on enhancing the quality of teaching and responsive curriculum to meet the skills set needed by the business sector.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the TWG will be working with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Nograles said the TWG will look at how to improve the country’s educational system, including the enhancement of the quality of teaching.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who has spent 12 years in the field of education, cited the need for human capital formation.

Duque noted that the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) have specific roles to fulfill.

But he noted the need to look at the different tracks of the senior high program, specifically the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics track, which is the Achilles heel of education.

Those who complete the senior high program, which was implemented under the K-12 system, are expected to find a job.

The Cebu business sector has urged the country’s education system to be responsive to the changing needs of the workplace.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Leonor Briones and TESDA Director General have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of the technical vocational livelihood (TVL) track in senior high.

Under the MOU, DepEd and TESDA would establish a TWG to harmonize technical vocational education and skills training in Philippine basic education system./dcb