EDITORIAL — Panic mode

Here’s another reminder that we should be in panic mode over the sorry state of Philippine education. A report released by the National Statistical Coordination Board showed minimal improvement in the competencies of elementary and high school graduates in the past year compared to the previous school year. Achievement tests administered among the graduating elementary and high school students showed only a tiny fraction made it past the "mastery" score of 75 percent, low enough as it is.

There‘s more. The board study showed that graduates in both levels fared worst in science, with only 1.8 percent showing the required mastery of the subject. The students also fared badly in mathematics, social studies and English proficiency. They did badly even in the Filipino language — bad news for those who thought abolishing English as a medium of instruction would fast-track the development of a national language.

The results were consistent with those of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2003, where Filipino fourth graders and high school students ranked near the bottom among 25 countries in the elementary level and 45 countries in secondary school in math and science competencies.

We are aware of the reasons for the deterioration in the quality of education. Addressing the deficiencies will require a massive infusion of additional funds. The statistical coordination board’s study also showed that students from schools with a smaller ratio of pupils per teacher performed slightly better than those from crowded schools. The shortage of classrooms, however, has been a lingering problem that has been barely addressed. A booming population and the chronic lack of everything from textbooks to school desks have been aggravated by the continuing exodus of teachers for better paying jobs overseas.

Addressing these problems require massive funds that the cash-strapped government does not have. But the deterioration in the quality of Philippine education must be reversed soon. Otherwise it could take a generation before the nation can recover from the consequences of a poorly educated citizenry.