Press Release
November 18, 2008

ROXAS PUSHES REFORMS IN EDUCATION SYSTEM
NO POLITICO IN DEPED, CHED

Politicians should not be appointed as heads of institutions such as the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas said Monday as he pushed for reforms in the country's education system during a lecture at the Far Eastern University in Manila.

"The worst thing to do is to appoint a politician to educational institutions. The education system in our country needs educators and managers because of its wide-ranging priorities," he told students of the FEU Institute of Education.

Roxas is author of the proposed Omnibus Education Reform Act of 2008, which he filed during the 14th Congress and which is now under consideration by the Senate committee on education.

The system, he noted, has diverse needs which require prioritization. "Sa skills set, ang kailangan ay isang manager para sa pagbalangkas ng magagandang programa na siyang sasagot sa mga problema sa sistema. Ito ay sa kabila ng iba't-ibang priorities na hinihingi ng mga constituents. (The system needs a manager who can craft programs that would address problems afflicting the system. This is in response to the different priorities demanded by the system's constituents)," he said.

"Ang taong nakaupo sa DepEd (Department of Education) o sa Ched (Commission on Higher Education), mas lamang na may managerial skills dapat. Ang mga pulitiko ay walang puwang sa sistemang ito. (The head of the DepEd or the Chied should be some someone with managerial skills. Politicians are not the people to do that)," he also said.

The Ilonggo senator said massive reforms should be instigated by the country's next president, whom he said should have the political will to carry out the changes regardless of the influences of powerful individuals trying to maneuver the government's manner of running the system.

He noted the present and previous administrations have failed to fulfill their "social contract" with the people to provide quality education to the youth, adding the system remains plagued with problems such as lack of qualified teachers, classrooms and textbooks.

"Ang pinakamahalaga ngayon sa educational system ng ating bansa ay tama at wastong political will na baguhin ang sistema. Ang mga namamahala kasi diyan ngayon, sa kagustuhan daw na baguhin ang sistema, lahat pinagbibigyan para lahat ay matutuwa. Kaya sa kabila ng bilyon-bilyong budget na inilalaan para sa DepEd taon-taon, at the end of the year, akala nila okay na pero sa totoo lang, wala namang na-accomplish. (Reforms in the educational system require political will. There are those in position today who say they want reforms, so they consent to all requests made to appear to be related to reforms. We give billions of pesos every year to the DepEd but at the end of the year, when the public thinks everything is okay, nothing has really been accomplished)," he said.

"Political will is good governance. And good governance is more about saying 'no' than about saying 'yes'. Because you see, good governance is discipline, which is one of the most important values for governance. And discipline means being able to say 'no'," he added.

Roxas stressed there is need to improve the system, which he lamented has become substandard and incomplete, proven by the poor professional competency of students who graduate every year.

"Our educational system is in shambles. Sa madaling sabi, palpak ang sistema. Kailangan talaga nating baguhin ito kung gusto nating umunlad ang ating bansa. (The system is a failure.. We need to effect changes if we want our country to progress)," he said, noting that the education sector is stunted by lack of funds and student malnutrition, among others.

The Omnibus Education Reform Act of 2008 proposes meaningful change in the educational system through the implementation of a Strategic Education Reform program through a 10 year operational education investment plan.

The bill's pertinent components includes the use of Filipino as medium of instruction in all educational facilities; a 12-year basic education curriculum; a school-feeding program; performance standards; revision of the secondary curriculum; teacher qualifications and development; and compulsory pre-school education.

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