Once more into the breach

Classes begin on Monday.

For millions of Filipino families, perhaps no other four innocuous words are as emotion-laden. The opening of classes marks another year of renewed hope that the family will prevail over the trials that come with living in a 21st-century knowledge economy. Once more, parents nationwide will entrust the formation of their children to our education institutions. Driven by perhaps not much more than faith, parents will once more look to our teachers and schools to mold our youth into responsible citizens and prepare them for rewarding careers.

But Academic Year (AY) 2014-2015 brings with it major reform elements to recalibrate our trifocalized education system to global standards through globally responsive, learner-centered and outcomes-based curricula.

Just last week, in her address at the Commission on Higher Education’s 20th anniversary, Chair Patricia B. Licuanan said: “It pays to remember that the CHEd was born out of a reformist cocoon to more effectively develop the professions that will provide leadership for the nation … and advance knowledge through research work, improve the quality of human life, and respond effectively to changing societal needs and conditions, in the spirit of academic freedom of higher education institutions.”

She added: “The imperatives dictated by globalization, the emergence of regional economic communities including the Asean Economic Community, the international paradigm shifts in education, the development of national and regional qualifications frameworks and, equally, if not even more important, the intractable 20th-century problems that have continued to plague our country in the 21st century—e.g., poverty—demand an even more vigorous pursuit of a reformist agenda, with goals that are nuanced by the urgent need to further leverage Filipino human resources for national development and global competitiveness.”

Licuanan outlined the CHEd’s Access, Capacity and Excellence strategies that collectively aim to enhance higher education’s role in expanding the life and career choices of Filipinos and its service to Philippine society as an instrument of poverty alleviation and capital formation, and as vehicle for technology-driven national development and global competitiveness.

“All eligible Filipinos regardless of social class, ethnicity or religion should have access to quality education that will transform them into thoughtful graduates with a humanist orientation, analytical and problem-solving skills, the ability to think through the ethical and social implications of a given course of action, and the competency to learn throughout life,” she said.

She also said the CHEd “[must maintain and improve] its commitment to excellence and its capacity to produce competent graduates for work in the 21st century, to undertake the research required for technological innovation and for crafting the country’s strategic directions and policies, and to engage with communities in providing solutions to nagging problems.”

Licuanan said that as of AY 2013, the mixed public-private system consisted of 1,929 higher education institutions (HEIs) excluding 447 satellite campuses. Each of our provinces has HEIs including at least one state college per province except Sarangani. There are 3.43 million students, translating to a Gross Enrollment Ratio of 28 percent, which is associated with middle-income countries.

HEIs are unevenly distributed, with the biggest concentrations in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon and Central Luzon. Other heavily populated or fast-growing regions like Regions I, VII and XI have much less.

State universities and colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs), and other government schools (OGS—the National Defense College, Philippine Military Academy, Local Government Academy, Maritime Polytechnic Institute and Public Safety College), make up 12 percent of HEIs. The rest (88 percent) are private HEIs.

According to Licuanan, this is a positive feature often cited in comparative studies of education systems—the presence of a robust private sector in the country.

The market share of public HEIs has been steadily increasing at 41 percent in 2013-2014, with the private sector at 59 percent. The 59:41 sharing ratio still presents a fairly balanced distribution, Licuanan said. Eighty-six percent of all private HEIs have an enrollment of less than 2,000 students; 94 percent of all private HEIs have less than 5,000.

Parents and education stakeholders should take note that business administration and related courses (marketing, finance, accountancy) continue to be the most populated, with more than 938,980 students in AY 2013-2014. These are followed by education and teacher training with 604,463 students; IT-related courses, 421,104; engineering and technology, 402,065; and medical and allied courses, 220,851.

In comparison, Licuanan said, enrollment in priority disciplines (science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics, or STEAM) is only 541,728, or 16 percent of total higher education enrollment in both the baccalaureate and graduate programs. The STEAM disciplines are needed to produce graduates with the knowledge, skills and competencies vital for growth and national development.

While there are more female students in the total higher education population, there are more male students in STEAM courses.

“If we institute the right policies and platforms to harness and sustain this tremendous potential, it can yield very positive results for the country,” Licuanan said.

Butch Hernandez (butchhernandez@gmail.com) is the executive director of the Eggie Apostol Foundation and education lead for talent development at the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines.