PITFALLS IN PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

August 24, 2024 Educator's Corner

Jackyline D. Kis-ing

In DepEd, one pitfall in plan implementation that I have experienced is non-appropriation of funds. There are significant programs of DepEd that are implemented by schools with no appropriated funds. One example is the Gulayan sa Paaralan. Schools are obliged to establish this program but they are forced to solicit funds from benefactors for materials and seeds. The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) is another example of DepEd program that has no funds but implemented religiously by schools.

While the M&E of DepEd focuses on the implementation of the said program yearly, schools conduct their M&E every quarter focusing on the generated funds and income, number of beneficiaries and TWG involved. School M&E comes in a form of checklist from planning, implementation to post activity. Another pitfall of plan implementation is change of leadership. Just the change of political leaders in the Philippines could change the planned programs in DepEd. It is even more evident when the department secretary would be changed. So is the change in school heads.

The trend in the Philippines is that every president and DepEd secretary want to have a new brand of education curriculum. Thus every new political leader means end or delay of the old program. This trend kills the sustainability of a curriculum or program. In the school setting, the conduct of M&E comes in two parts, the midyear review and end of-school-year accomplishment. With these processes, the M&E tool is the checklist of AIP programs and activities anchored from the School Improvement Plan.

In the midyear review, the planned programs and activities of the school should be at least half-way or under the starting phase. In the end-of-school-year review, on the hand, the planned programs and activities of the school should have been fully implemented with significant results. With the aide of the SIP and AIP, the change of school leadership doesn’t affect the implementation of plan, unless the SIP or AIP has reached its time limit for recrafting.