Position Paper # 1

Republic Act No. 10533 otherwise known as the K to 12 Program declared its purpose that
the state shall create a functional basic education system that will develop productive and
responsible citizens with the essential competencies, skills and values for both life-long learning and
employment. In order to achieve this, the State shall give every student an opportunity to receive
quality education that is globally competitive based on a pedagogically sound curriculum that is at
par with international standards. Assessment plays a pivotal role in providing quality education. A
more detailed definition is that assessment is: the process of obtaining information that is used
to make educational decisions about students, to give feedback to the student about his or her
progress, strengths, and weaknesses, to judge instructional effectiveness and curricular adequacy,
and to inform policy (AFT, NCME, NEA, 1990). It is one of the most reliable ways of identifying
problems, whether these are at the system level, the school level, or concern the individual student
(UNESCO, 2001).
National Achievement Test of DepEd historically revealed the Filipino learners’ poor learning
performance. It shows that Filipino students fall below the minimum proficiency score of 75 percent.
Moreover, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of 2018 disclosed that Filipino learners are
placed last among 79 participating countries and near last in Science and Mathematics. Joining
the PISA for the first time is considered a bold move for DepEd – knowing fully well what the
outcome would be. In this regard, Briones stressed that it, “puts in even sharper focus in our
need to address quality in basic education.” In order to address these challenges, DepEd focuses
on Sulong EduKalidad campaign which calls for a national effort for improving education quality. This
has four key areas: K to 12 curriculum review and updating, Improvement of the learning
environment, Teachers' upskilling and reskilling and Engagement of stakeholders.
But DepEd 'KITE' strategy might not be enough. K to 12 program should not be limited only
to review and updating. If found ineffective, it should be change and eliminate. Learning environment
should be approach comprehensively and should be look as teacher's working environment too. The
department should entail sufficient budget allocation and efficient spending to fill in all the shortages
as well as enabling teachers to focus on teaching by freeing them from non-teaching duties and
substantially raising their salaries. It is indeed true that quality education equates to quality teachers.
Hence, the government must prioritize the welfare of its teachers if it wants to uplift the quality of
education in the country. But unfortunately, it is evident that education is not high priority in this
administration. In 2021, the budget for the education sector was P751.7 billion, comprising 16.7
percent of the national budget. However, the increase in education spending was only 7.4 percent
over the year prior. (The Philippine Star. 2021)
As a newly assigned school head of Mapagmahal Integrated School this requires a lot of effort
to thrive in this challenges. This is a complex problem that demands a pragmatic solution. Thus, I
should start upskilling myself first and lead by example. I have to train all of the teachers to think
globally and act locally. The curriculum for Grades 1-3 must be reviewed for these are the foundation.
Capacitating of teachers in formulating localized teaching materials and methodologies is primarily
important. It cannot be achieve only through professional development program or seminar and the
like. Research-based data should always be the basis on conducting any training at school. Above all
of this efforts, we cannot solve a problem if we do not really know what should be address. Window
dressing should be eliminated. It is to be true and transparent on what is really happening inside our
school and our learners. What is the sense of being termed as the best school when all the learning
outcomes data are fabricated only? I will thoroughly remove the culture of denial, concealment and
dishonesty in our department. The leadership must change to one that is transformative, progressive
and transparent. I really believe that if we focus on rationalizing DepEd system aside from objective
financial statement in our country, we can therefore finally say that we are one in the campaign
Sulong Edukalidad!

Prepared by: Danniese H. Remoroza

Submitted to: Mary Ann L. Sarmiento Ed. D.
Course Placement: Master of Arts in Education Major in Educational Management
Course Title: Administration and Supervision of Schools

References:
 PISA 2018. National Report of the Philippines
 Masigan, Andrew. (2021). Our Education Crisis. Why and what next? The Philippine Star
 Malipot. Merlina (2019). YEAR-END REPORT: DepEd in 2019: The quest for quality
education continues. Manila Bulletin