The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) was created through Republic Act No. 11899, which mandates it to conduct a three-year-long “comprehensive national assessment and evaluation” of the educational sector’s performance and come up with concrete recommendations by 2025.
Its members include five senators and five congressmen who serve as commissioners of the body, along with an advisory council with experts from different sectors, including the academe, industry, government agencies, local governments, and civil society organizations.
The commission has identified too much politics, red tape, and overregulation as among the factors impeding the proper implementation of education-related policies and reforms.
Six months since the assessment started, one of the commission’s initial findings was that the politicians themselves were partly to blame for the state of the education sector. “They know that and they say it themselves. They admit to it and they all agree that it applies to their colleagues,” EDCOM II Executive Director Karol Mark Yee said in a recent webinar.
Joseph Noel Estrada, EDCOM chief legal officer, added that politics could not be avoided as it could also be “favorable” to education, particularly when it comes to funding, considering that Congress holds the power of the purse. He added that politics will always be there since “the heads of education agencies are appointed by the Chief Executive.”
Aside from politics, another problem is the lack of trust and accountability and ability of people on the ground such as teachers, resulting in overregulation, according to Yee.
As for the problem of red tape, the commission based this finding on its observation that there were many factors and policies beyond the education system that affect the work of schools and agencies concerned. Since public schools are treated as government agencies, the process of hiring, planning, and procurement become complicated as it is subject to the policies of the Department of Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, and even the Civil Service Commission.
EDCOM II has so far identified 28 priority areas to guide its assessment and development of policy reforms for the education sector, particularly in early childhood care and development, teacher education and development, technical and vocational education and training, and governance and finance.
With so much areas for improvement, it would seem that the Department of Education has its work cut out. Hopefully they are up to the challenge of providing the country with better quality education as soon as possible.*
