Senator Sherwin Gatchalian spoke to education stakeholders from the Philippine Academy of Teachers, Administrators and Practitioners in Education (PATAPE), during its 5th General Assembly at the Novotel Manila Araneta City in Quezon City on August 27.
The event centered on the theme “Reinventing Education for Relevance and Quality” is an annual gathering of the academy and coincides with the induction of its recently elected National Board and Regional Chapter Leaders for the year 2022-2023.
Over the years, PATAPE has pursued programs to provide quality professional development among teachers and education stakeholders, while influencing education legislation and policies.
PATAPE, through its 3000-strong membership across the country, advocates to reinvent the education system and pushes for more responsive programs to develop 21st century skills for students, teachers and school administrators to be more competitive in the academic arena as the Philippines grapples with an education crisis exacerbated by the global pandemic.
PATAPE president and former PACUCOA commissioner Dr. Nestor V. Dela Cruz presented the organization’s vision for 2030, saying that “these and other relevant advocacies define our strategic relevance in a world that is slowly emerging and vibrant despite the prevailing learning crisis.”
Gatchalian, who sits as chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, in his keynote speech presented the Summary of Proposed Immediate Solutions for the First 100 Days prepared for the Department of Education.
Key immediate priorities included the opening of schools to enable face-to-face classes, implementation of RA 11713 or Excellence in Teacher Education Act, implementation of career progression policy, refining K-3 curriculum to focus on literacy and numeracy, and reinventing Local School Boards (LSBs) to make them accountable for learning performance.
He also stresses the importance of listening to the academic communities such as PATAPE and proposed a National Education Summit,
as he believes education issues should be addressed through a bottom-up approach.
Sen. Gatchalian capped the list with an emphasis on the implementation of EDCOM II Act or Republic Act (RA) 11899 which he sponsored during
the 18th Congress, embarking on a comprehensive evaluation on the Philippine education system, undermining the short term, midterm and
long term challenges of the sector. EDCOM II was created after PISA 2018, a study which revealed that among 79 countries, Filipino students ranks lowest in reading, and second to the lowest in science and mathematics.
The hybrid event, which was participated in by teachers and some DepEd representatives onsite and online via Zoom, will be the first of a
series of activities for PATAPE for the year. Inducted for SY 2022-23 were Dr. Nestor V. de la Cruz, President; Dr. Edith T. Puente, Vice-President for Internal Affairs; Mr. Rey Anthony Napay, Vice-President for External Affairs; and Dr. Liza Monje-Reotutar, Secretary. Dr. Marlene Montero was inducted by Dr. dela Cruz as President for Bulacan, QC and Caloocan City School Administrators Association.