EDCOM 2 taps ‘outstanding’ teachers for solutions to learning gaps

MANILA, Philippines — A congressional body tasked with crafting legislative solutions to long-standing problems in education has tapped award-winning educators to provide insights on how to improve learning and teaching standards across the nation’s schools.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) on Thursday signed a partnership with the Metrobank Foundation, which awards one “outstanding” Filipino teacher every year since 1984.

EDCOM 2 is conducting the biggest review of the Philippine education system since the 90s, when the first EDCOM was convened. The findings of the first EDCOM led to significant changes in the education system, such as the division of the government’s education body into three distinct agencies: the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Educational and Skills Development Authority.

Among the problems that EDCOM 2 has repeatedly flagged is the low quality of teaching in schools, largely caused by the lack of resources and the limited time given to educators to cover all lessons in class. 

The Metrobank Foundation’s network of outstanding teacher awardees will be asked to “contribute valuable insights to help reinforce standards in our education system,” an EDCOM 2 release said.

“As part of the learning ecosystem, they can provide credible inputs that can help in the development of policies and programs that can address the current learning challenges of our teachers and students,” Metrobank Foundation President Aniceto M Sobrepeña said in an EDCOM 2 release.

EDCOM 2 has also tapped non-government organization The Asia Foundation (TAF) to provide workshops on decentralization and participatory governance. 

“Our joint research endeavors to unpack the necessary interface between different institutions and stakeholders, paving the way for better education outcomes for all Filipino children,” said TAF Country Representative Sam Chittick.

Decentralization is among EDCOM 2’s 28 priority areas, or aspects of education that they focus on as part of their three-year review of the country’s education system.

Last year, Bienvenido “Ben” Nebres, a member of EDCOM 2’s Advisory Council, said that the giant bureaucracy of the Department of Education has slowed the pace of reform due to its centralized structure, where major decisions at the division or regional level still need to be greenlighted by leaders at the top.

“I don’t know if you realize that there are only three signing authorities: the Secretary, the Division Secretary, and the Principals…but you have 800,000 teachers, 45,000 elementary schools…we have to find a structure that is more decentralized so that it can be more effective,” Nebres said.