The Philippine’s Education System Does Not Prepare Filipino Learners for the

“Demanding and Competitive” World

"Filipino learners are not academically proficient," the Department of Education Secretary

Sara Duterte, said herself. In this increasingly "demanding and competitive world" many Filipino

students fail to meet the standards. With Philippine’s growing economy, the expectation for the

next generation Filipino has risen throughout the years. And for DepEd’s mission, to protect and

promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based, and complete basic

education, does the current educational system of this country still promote a "quality" education

that prepares a student for the competitive world?

“Many of them fail to meet the standard of the demanding and competitive world,” as Sara

Duterte quoted. She admitted the lacking facilities of the schools, that are necessary to provide the

high-quality education that this developing nation demands. And with the frequent emotional

abuse and weariness, some of the students face, several Filipino students undeniably experience

academic insecurity and psychological exhaustion (ABS-CBN News, 2023).

Undeniably, one of the foremost problems is the quality of education the current system is

delivering, although the quality has always been in talks, the 2014 National Achievement Test

(NAT) and National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) results remarkably showed that

primary and secondary education is declining in importance. This may be because of the lacking

budget the department is allotted yearly, with the country having one of the lowest budget

allocations for learning among ASEAN countries. This leads to the soaring expenses the schools

or department shoulders, due to the issue of money, where there is still remarkably a large

difference in the learning efforts of different social groups.

On the other hand, outside school, the mismatch can also be a problem, with many people

mostly new graduates are unemployed or living on low wages because of a huge mismatch

between education and actual work. That most schools or universities aren’t able to tackle much,

because of the strict or directed curriculum that they are thought. And with the large competition

outside, the non-experience adults are left behind to pave their own.
 Lastly, is the crisis in insufficient resources most public schools face, with major

deficiencies in classrooms, lack of teaching force, and other tools for sustaining solid learning

are also significant problems (Child hope, 2021). One more thing, that many other developing

countries are experiencing, and is one of the biggest problems in the Philippines' education

system since the early 70s is the "brain drain". This is the outflow of talented students, alumni,

and teachers to other countries, due to the lacking benefits the country’s industry provides. This

problem will continue until opportunities at home match the number of qualified graduates from

the education system (Future Learn, n.d.).

Although, one of the biggest problems is undoubtedly the quality of education provided

by the current system. Another destructive "brain drain" system in the Philippines has a

tremendous impact on each learner's physical and mental condition, leading to a learning crisis.

Through time, our education system has changed from 'study to learn' to 'study to survive'.

Thinking you can memorize, recite, and get a passing grade is different from being ready and

adaptable. When you look at school, it kills the learning spirit of learners, which is the exact

opposite of what is required to succeed in real life. Are you ready to face the realities of the

world in such a setting? Having this kind of setup, does it really get what it takes to be ready to

face the world's reality of the “demanding and competitive” world of adulting?
Bibliography

ABS-CBN News. (2023, January 30). Sara Duterte bares plans to address problems in basic

education | TV Patrol [video]. Youtube.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AaqcUqlXkV0&feature=shares

CHILDHOPE. (2021, August 25). The Current Education Issues in the Philippines — and How

Childhope Rises to the Challenge from https://childhope.org.ph/education-issues-in-

thephilippines/.

FutureLearn Local. (2021, August 6). The education system in the Philippines from

https://www.futurelearn.com/info/futurelearn-international/explore-philippineseducation-

system.

Submitted to:
Ma’am Flordeliza Oriña

Submitted by:
Arenas, Margareth Louise E.
De Guzman, Marjorien M.
Macatangay, Ryanne Danielle DV.
(9-Gold)