DepEd chief gets tough vs bullying

MANILA, Philippines — Alarmed by studies showing the Philippines as the “bullying capital” of the world and that Filipino youth are among the loneliest, Education Secretary Sonny Angara wants closer monitoring of schools’ anti-bullying policy.

The issue on bullying was tackled during President Marcos’ meeting with the education sector at Malacañang yesterday.

Angara said Marcos cited a Singapore study that showed that the Filipino youth are among the world’s loneliest.

The President was apparently referring to a recent Meta-Gallup report that showed that the country’s Generation Z – born between 1997 and 2012 – are the world’s second loneliest and the most lonesome in Southeast Asia.

Gen Z is also the first generation to have fully grown up in the world of smartphones and social media, according to the report.

“Each school is required to have an anti-bullying policy, but the law did not say how strict they have to be,” Angara said, referring to the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013.

He was one of the authors of the law.

The education chief noted that very few schools have an anti-bullying policy.

“So, on the part of the DepEd (Department of Education), we will really track or monitor the compliance with the law,” he said.

He added that there was a time when cases of bullying rose to 20,000.

Second Congressional Commission on Education II executive director Karol Mark Yee, who joined Angara at the briefing, said bullying also affects students’ academic performance.

The Philippines was also ranked in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) as the bullying capital of the world, according to Yee.

“The one doing this job based on the Anti-Bullying Act, as implemented, is the guidance counsellor. But the vacancies in the DepEd is almost 5,000 plantilla positions,” he noted.

He said the position requires a master’s degree, but no schools are currently offering such a degree in the country.

“To fill all of the vacancies, it will take us 14 years by the current setup,” he added.

Yee said studies showed that those who were bullied received poor grades in math, science and reading.

“The Filipino students feel that they don’t belong and they are the loneliest... (The study) made an imprint on (Marcos) that we really need to address this,” he added.

To address bullying, Marcos directed the DepEd to make sure students have “someone to turn to” when they have problems.

As to cyber-bullying, Angara said the agency is also continuing its policy on the use of cellphones inside the classrooms.

“And part of the teacher’s duty is to explain to students the proper use of technology and cellphones – meaning, it includes learning to deal critically with news; not everything you read is true,” he added.

Education Cabinet cluster

Marcos yesterday approved the creation of a Cabinet cluster tasked to draft a 10-year plan to urgently address “deep-seated problems” in the country’s education sector.

At the same meeting, Angara said the cluster would be composed of the DepEd, Commissioner on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

He added the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Budget and Management would also be part of the group.

“In principle, (the President) approves of (the Cabinet education cluster), and he’d like us to fast-track some of the actions because he sees the urgency and it’s a very deep-seated problem,” Angara said.

Yee presented the proposal to create the cluster.

During the meeting, Marcos directed the agencies to device a coherent and system-wide national integrated education and workforce development strategy that starts from early childhood education to basic education, senior high school up to tertiary level.

He also tasked the cluster to ensure that education issues are tackled as “a whole system rather than in multi-agency silos.”

Yee, who joined Angara at the press briefing, said government agencies doing their respective jobs without coordinating with other concerned offices contributed to the “failed system of Philippine education.”

Among the issues that the cluster aims to address are the 5.5-year learning gap in the country, the subject-mentor mismatch and the lack of guidance counselors in schools.

The 2022 PISA showed that Filipino students are five to six years behind in learning competencies.

Yee said data also showed that 50 percent of the country’s science teachers did not finish a course related to the subject they are teaching.

“How will you teach something you did not know yourself?” he asked.

Yee said the Cabinet cluster seeks to formulate a 10-year integrated national education and workforce development plan and to make sure that the targets and budgets are aligned to support the plan every year.

COA to determine budget ‘mishandling’

Meanwhile, the Commission on Audit (COA) will determine whether the 2024 national budget was mishandled, according to Angara.

The education chief made the remark at the same meeting, when asked to comment on his predecessor Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim.

“We will see that in the COA reports. It’s the COA who really knows if there was mishandling,” Angara said.

“When we face Congress, usually the questions asked in the House, the Senate, are about COA reports. Those are the reports that will indicate if there has been any mishandling or not,” he added.

Duterte has cited the “mishandling” of the 2024 national budget, including that of the DepEd, as among her “long list of reasons” for resigning from the Marcos Cabinet.

Angara emphasized that the education sector is one Marcos’ top priorities.

“I really see the efforts of the President for the education sector. He was fast in deciding on this Cabinet cluster, and there’s the urgency and he has very specific recommendations,” Angara said.

“On the part of the administration, I think they have no shortcomings, especially when it comes to education. Although reforms need to be fast, I think this is what the President is telling us,” he added.

Earlier, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the government increased the DepEd’s appropriation for this year to P715 billion to support the agency’s MATATAG program.