EDITORIAL - PISA results should be a wakeup call

The results are out. According to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, Filipino students ranked the last in a list of 79 participating countries when it came to reading, and second to the last when it came to mathematics and science.

The study was meant to gauge the ability of 15-year-old students to “use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges.”

It would have been alarming enough to score the lowest in reading, but to score second to the lowest in mathematics and science as well? That’s just plain scary.

Where does the problem lie? There seems to be an endless list of “suspects.”

Is it the worsening environment in public schools where more than one class occasionally has to share one classroom? Is it because teachers are overworked, underpaid, and undergo unnecessary harassment from parents (and sometimes from media bullies)? Is it because the students of today no longer seem to have the discipline the students of previous generations had? Is it because there are just too many students for teachers to handle? Is it because our school curriculum is inferior to what they teach in the rest of the world?

The problem could be any of the above, but it could also be all of the above, or even something else entirely.

We are not experts in education, but those in the Department of Education can surely be able to tell where we went wrong. And the sooner they do it, and remedy the situation, the better.

This alarming news should serve as a wakeup call for our education authorities. This problem is like a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. There may be no immediate negative impact, but somewhere down the road, the deficiencies of these students will be their downfall.

Some may think there is no big deal in kids being poor in reading, math, and science. However, they forget that eventually those kids will grow up, become adults, and assume their role in building this nation. Now imagine these generations being in charge of the Philippines.

If nothing is done we may end up with generations of adults that can’t read very well, can’t add up, and keep on insisting that the Earth is flat.