Discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the following

educational goals and programs of the government:

a. free basic education

b. universal access to quality education

c. trifocal system of education

A. Free Basic Education:

Strengths= It offers guaranteed access to basic level of education. This means that all
students in the country can have access to at least the most basic level of education.
This way, no one will be illiterate.

Weaknesses=There is the problem of overcrowding in public institutions. The fact that

there is no paying to get schooled, a lot of the public institutions offering this education
are often flooded as kids rush to get the basics. This may interfere with the optimal
delivery of teachers. There needs to be a certain number of students per classroom for
the teacher to function best. There is the risk of inequality arising. This stems from the
fact that a lot of children are brought in from varied social backgrounds. While education
has been leveled, the different lifestyles these kids lead at home will still show. Unless
the administration is strict, there is a possibility of other kids feeling demoralized or even
bullied because of social status and class.

Opportunities: Life security. With education being a key to a better life, when kids are
educated even at the most basic level, they increase their chances of fending for
themselves and their families in future. These students can join the workforce or even
become entrepreneurs upon completion of the basic level education or even join tertiary
institutions for further studies. Either way, there will be an improvement in lifestyle which
is good for the economy.

Threats= There is an obvious strain in the limited resources available. When parents do
not pay for the education of their kids, the government has to ensure that it
overstretches the little available resource to accommodate every student. This can be
difficult especially with the rising population. Everything, from physical to human
resource will be constrained. There is the danger of education being downplayed. The
fact that it is available for free may bring out the notion of it being ordinary and normal
which is not advisable. Sometimes, people have to incur a cost to appreciate what they
are getting. Funding the program will definitely lead to increased taxation. Education is
not cheap and the government will definitely require enough resources to push through
its agenda. As such, the citizens of the country have to bear the brunt of it all by being
over-taxed. Reduced quality. With large numbers and constrained resources, teachers
can only do so much. As such, the quality of education will reduce indefinitely. Teachers
may be unable to attend to each student in a satisfactory manner. There is no time to
learn about each student's strengths and weaknesses. This way, only the brightest and
quicker learners in class have an advantage.

B. universal access to quality education

Strengths= It offers guaranteed access to education in the tertiary level. This means that
students in the country can have access to tertiary education with benefits such as: free
tuition fees, minimal school dues, free access to learning hubs and stipends
(allowances to scholarship grantees). This way, no one will be illiterate.

Weaknesses=Recently, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)

illustrated the disadvantages of free tuition through infographics. It was based on a
policy paper, “Who benefits and loses from an untargeted tuition subsidy for students in
SUCs (state universities and colleges)?” The infographics showed that giving financial
assistance is antipoor because tuition comprises only one third of college education
costs. Citing “up-to-date” data (1999-2014) from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the
infographics explained that most students from SUCs were not poor; in fact, rich
households are the ones most likely to benefit from a free tuition law. It likewise
indicated that students from poorer households had a lower chance of getting into SUCs
because of competition and limited slots.

Opportunities= Irregular students or working students can juggle two tasks at one time.
They can have college education while working.

Threats= The info graphics is an excuse to cover up the poorly managed government
budget and corruption allegations. Free tuition will benefit the rich, but freeing
educational expenses, such as tuition, gives monumental relief to the poor.

“Why not distribute the subsidy of free education to other educational institutions?
Assuming they are well-managed, the poor will be more qualified for SUCs.”
Students will tend to enrol in fly-by-night colleges just to earn a college degree.

C. trifocal system of education

Strengths=Integrates skills development among learners. In Philippine education,

trifocalization means the convergence of 3 disciplines: DepEd for the Basic Education
(up to Senior High School), Tertiary Education, and TESDA (Skills development). If the
student/ learner cannot afford to get a college degree, they can still gain a diploma
through the skills development training in TESDA. This program develops manpower
enrichment. Future employees can still have a training/ education with the TESDA.

Weaknesses=Weak coordination among education agencies. The trifocal system is

ineffective in communicating of policy-implementation among other education agencies.
As a matter of fact, in 2010, the Philippine Task Force for Education has ceased to exist
because of the ineffective in harmonizing policies, programs and reforms since there is
no coordination of the implementation of programs.

Opportunities= Job opportunities for skilled workers are assured. Even when the learner
does not have college degree, he/she can still find a job in a company because of the
skills he/she has gained from the TESDA.

Threats= Non-government Organizations can provide similar trainings as TESDA.

Students will opt for the free trainings provided by the Non-government organizations.