Marcos needs more time to choose DepEd chief

New head must bring up test scores

MANILA, Philippines — Picking the next education secretary was harder than he thought, President Marcos said yesterday, so he is giving himself more time to find the “right person” for the job vacated last week by his Vice President.

“It turns out, it’s harder than I thought because we have to absolutely get it right. So, I’m giving myself more time,” the President told reporters after attending an event in Makati City on Saturday.

“As I told you before, we have to see really what the DepEd (Department of Education) needs,” he said.

Marcos explained the next DepEd chief should be able to “manage the agency properly” and help “bring up the test scores” of students in the country.

“In other words, yes, I am having a hard time choosing because the work of the DepEd chief is very complicated,” the President said.

Marcos on Thursday said he would name the replacement of Vice President and former education secretary Sara Duterte by the end of the week.

Asked whether he already had a shortlist, Marcos said, “I’m not going to let you tie me down to anything. We are looking at everyone.”

Sen. Sonny Angara is reportedly being eyed as possible replacement of Duterte.

“I know people myself who I think can do the job,” he said.

The Chief Executive said he received several recommendations for the position, including an educator, an administrator and a history professor.

“And I’ve gone through so many CVs, we have a lot of competent people,” the President said.

“Many people come to me and say why don’t you think about this fellow, why don’t you think about this – the maestra. Why don’t you… So, we look at them all,” Marcos said.

The Chief Executive said the next DepEd secretary should be someone who “understands the bureaucracy, and how to use the budget properly.”

Furthermore, he or she should be someone who can steer the country to higher test scores, according to Marcos.

“What we always look at is our test scores. We have to bring up the test scores. You all know that. So, you need an educator who understands how to help the students, how to help the teachers,” he said.

The Philippines landed in the bottom four of a global test for creative thinking, according to results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)’s newly launched benchmarking test for creativity.

Among 64 countries, 15-year-old Filipino junior high students were deemed to have one of the weakest creative thinking skills globally, with a mean score of 14.2.

In the PISA results released in December last year, the Philippines landed in the bottom 10 out of 81 countries in reading comprehension, mathematics and science in 2022.

“There’s a great deal more work to be done and we’ll find the right person to do it,” Marcos said.

Duterte’s resignation as DepEd secretary will take effect on July 19. She resigned as DepEd secretary and vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict on June 19 amid the souring relationship between her family and the Marcoses. Marcos earlier said Duterte did not say why she quit her post.

Qualified

Senate colleagues of Angara have vouched for his qualification as next DepEd chief.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said he is convinced of Angara’s capability to lead the DepEd, citing their experience working together in the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).

Gatchalian is EDCOM 2 co-chairman while Angara is commissioner for governance and finance. Gatchalian himself was reportedly also being considered for the post of DepEd secretary.

A Harvard educated lawyer with an economics and international relations degree, Angara chaired the youth, finance and ways and means committee in the Senate, as well as the higher and technical education committee when he was an Aurora congressman.

Angara has also authored and sponsored several laws improving access to quality education, such as the Free College Education law, Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UNIFAST), Anti-Bullying law, the Alternative Learning System law, among others, according to his curriculum vitae.

“He is on his last term, so this would be a good transition for him. He, as an active member of the Education Commission, knows the solutions to the problems of the education sector,” Gatchalian said in a dwIZ interview.

“He also took up college at the London School of Economics and then Master of Laws at Harvard University. His education background is really top class. I see in his experience and in his passion for education that he is fit for the position,” he added.

Gatchalian said he would prefer to finish his term in the Senate, squelching talk that he was a shoo-in for the post.

It would also not look good if he is appointed education secretary when his brother Rex Gatchalian is the social welfare secretary.

“I still have four years in the Senate. I want to finish the mandate given to me by millions of voters,” Gatchalian said.

Sen. Nancy Binay, for her part, said she is proud that two of her fellow “Solid 7” members – Gatchalian and Angara – are being considered for the DepEd post.

They formed the bloc of senators who sided with former Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri when the latter was ousted by now Senate President Francis Escudero.

“It is a proud moment that our fellow two group mates are fit for the job. Both of them are part of EDCOM and thus know the problems of the education sector,” Binay said in a separate dwIZ interview yesterday.

“I guess the consideration is that Senator Sherwin has four more years left as senator, while Angara is graduating next year,” she added.

Escudero and Sen.  JV Ejercito have also vouched for Angara’s competence as DepEd leader.

Non-politician

Meanwhile, teachers’ group Teacher Dignity Coalition has reiterated its call on President Marcos to choose a non-politician with managerial skills and teaching background as the next education secretary.

“First, we insist that the new secretary should not be a politician or actively involved in partisan politics. This is crucial to keeping the DepEd free from political conflicts and ensuring that its focus remains on educational advancement rather than divisive politics or electoral considerations,” the TDC said.

The group said that since DepEd is considered as the largest bureaucracy in the country, its next leader should have the necessary knowledge and experience in managing the agency’s extensive operations.

“The new secretary will confront complex challenges, manage extensive resources, implement policies affecting some 47,000 schools and 1 million personnel and initiate reforms that will impact the entire educational sector,” the group pointed out.

TDC also said the next DepEd chief should have a “teacher’s heart,” meaning he or she comes from the academe or at least has an experience in public school teaching.

“Such a background ensures that the new secretary has firsthand experience with the daily challenges faced by teachers and students, providing a deeper understanding and empathy for their situations. The new secretary should have a teacher’s heart,” the group said.

The TDC, however, clarified that despite its preference for candidates possessing these three qualifications, it is not endorsing any specific individual, particularly from its organization or allied organizations.

“Regardless of who the President appoints, we vow that we will continue to engage with DepEd to improve our education system. Our focus remains on advocating for better policies for teachers, the single most important factor in education,” the TDC said.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), for its part, said the resignation of Duterte as DepEd chief has finally freed the agency of an “inept” leader, contrary to the claim of former presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo that she had been productive.

“The education sector, in fact, has finally been freed from the grip of an agency head who, for two years, miserably failed in addressing the learning crisis and resolving the massive shortages in teachers, classrooms, education support personnel and teaching and learning resources,” ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said in a statement.

“Her declared accomplishments in her two Basic Education Reports barely scratched the surface of the declining state of education as schools remain overcrowded, understaffed, underfunded and neglected, while teachers and education workers continue to be overworked, underpaid and undersupported,” he said. — Elizabeth Marcelo, Marc Jayson Cayabyab