When the late Dr. Josefina R. Cortes, former dean of University of the East College of Education was asked what was the current state of Philippine education at the turn of the 21st century, she answered, “A nation of fifth graders,” because the Philippines has long suffered from poor learning outcomes. Evidence of this is aplenty: the 1925 Monroe Report determined that Filipino children schooled in English were four to five years behind their American counterparts; in 2013, around 7 million Filipinos did not know how to count and 17 million had poor comprehension skills; in 2014, the general scholastic ability of our high school students was a dismal 44.48 percent. Filipino students fared poorly in the 1999, 2003 and 2008 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tests. TIMSS strongly hinted then that it was time to reform many of our education practices, including the language of learning.

Many educators entertained high hopes that things will turn for the better with the enactment of RA 10533 or the K-12 law in 2013, whose philosophy is centered on the use of the child’s first language for his or her education. After 10 years, the status of Philippine education has not changed. It remains poor and inferior which is affirmed by the results of SEA-PLM, TIMMS, PISA 2018 and the recent PISA 2022.

The DEP ED hierarchal mindset is at fault for jeopardizing the MTBMLE language in education policy shift that remains good on paper only. The PISA 2022 country report elucidated that, “expenditure on education is related to student performance to a certain extent. Among the countries/economies whose cumulative expenditure per student, over all primary and secondary school years between the ages of 6 and 15, was under USD 75 000 in 2019. In the Philippines, the cumulative expenditure per student, over ten years of age between 6 and 15, was equivalent only to about USD 11 000.”

Dep Ed underspending can be seen in its failure to hire enough teaching staff. In 2022, 43% of students in the Philippines were in schools whose principal reported that the school’s capacity to provide instruction is hindered by a lack of teaching staff (and 19%, by inadequate or poorly qualified teaching staff). The situation has worsened since 2018 with corresponding proportions at 19% and 8%. (PISA 2022 Country Report).

Dep ED appears to be unmindful of the poverty factor in student performance. Based on PISA 2022, 36% of students (the largest share) were in the bottom international quintile of the socio-economic scale, meaning that they were among the most disadvantaged students who took the PISA test in 2022. Their average score in mathematics was 344 score points. In Türkiye and Viet Nam, students of similar socio-economic background tend to score significantly higher.

“The poor performance of our learners is not just a problem of education alone, but our country as a whole,” said the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) as it explained that the weaknesses in the basic education system translates into the weakness of the country’s workforce — “affecting the productivity and key source of our economic growth and competitiveness.” Most graduates end up as security guards, salespersons, toll booth collectors, utility workers, public utility vehicle drivers. Many get victimized by get rich quick schemes and empty promises of incompetent politicians. PBEd stressed that a “crisis of this magnitude” requires swift action and great effort from all sectors.

We don’t feel any sense of urgency on the part of Dep Ed leadership to address the learning poverty crisis. We perceive them as indifferent factotums with this disturbing business as usual attitude aggravated by overpriced laptops and unexplained use of confidential funds. We persist as a nation of fifth graders.