PHILIPPI NE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Surian sa mga Pag-aaral Pangkaunlaran ng Pilipinas
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS July - August 2009
ISSN 0115-9097
WN
Vol. XXVII No.4
Editor's Notes Parents often tell their children “edukasyon lang ang
maipapamana namin sa inyo� (“education is our only inheritance to you�). Despite the seeming apologetic words, the pride in their voice as they say it is unmistakable and largely based on their belief that the kind
Governance in the education sector
of education that their children will get can carry them to better times and stations in life. And as such, will be their best gift to their children. But education in the Philippines, for many years now, has suffered much in terms of quality that the value of such gift might be quite diminished. True, access to education may no longer be an issue today but students’ retention rate in school and learning achievement continue to worsen, as shown from the results of various studies and national and international examinations. What brings about such situation? Are shortages in school buildings, teachers, and textbooks the reason? Or are they simply the symptoms of a more serious and underlying cause?
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What's Inside 7
Philippines must utilize East Asia’s response to
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global financial crisis PHDR 2008/09 road shows: bringing the results to the people
13 11th PIDS Corner opens its gate to Eastern Visayas 14 1st PIDS Corner in Cordillera Region set up at UP Baguio
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he 1987 Philippine Constitution upholds the right of every Filipino child to free education. Every year, millions of Filipino children claim this right, literally flooding schools all over the country to obtain primary education. Schoolchildren’s first-day-of-school experiences, however, are greeted with overcrowded classrooms and shortages of teachers and textbooks. High dropout rates and poor performance in national and international achievement tests continue to hound the country’s education system. In response to these, the Department of Education (DepED) has focused on addressing shortages which it sees as the root cause for the poor performance of students. Hence, the preoccupation with new classroom construction, teacher hiring, and textbook procurement. Various studies, however, look at this preoccupation with shortages as dealing with the symptoms and not the causes of underperformance by the education system. More critical have been the policy discontinuity brought about by frequent changes in leadership of the Department, coupled with poor governance of the system. Juan Miguel Luz, Associate Dean at the Asian Institute of Management, posed the dilemma in the form of a question: “Is Philippine education appropriately governed by its (current) highly centralized and top-down structure?� (2008/2009 Philippine Human Development Report, “Governance of the Education Sector�) Performance indicators in education The country is a signatory to the UNESCO Education for All (EFA) framework that advocates the right of every child to basic education. EFA is primarily concerned with primary schooling and focused on participation, retention, and achievement as the set of indicators to measure the performance of a country’s education system.
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Access to primary schooling In the Philippines, almost all school-aged children will attend Grade 1 whether at age 6, 7, 8 or older. Access to elementary schooling is not a major problem for the country’s education system. Pre-schools, both public and privately run, are also growing in number although this level of schooling is not compulsory and not readily available for all children in the country. As stated in the PHDR, access to education is no longer an issue as shown by the numbers. Retention What the major concern is, is retention: keeping children in formal schooling ungraduation. The high dropout for both the elementary and secondary levels is a continuing problem.
WN/Yolanda Leyba
Tracking school age cohorts over the past two decades reveals a pattern that has barely improved over that period of time. The pattern reveals that for every 100 children who enter Grade 1, only 86 pupils will continue to Grade 2. By Grade 4, 76 will remain in school. By Grade 6, only 67 of the original cohort of children are enrolled, with 65 graduating from elementary school. Of the
High drop-out rates continue to be one of the major problems in the country's education system. Various local and international student examinations have also shown poor results.
July - August 2009
65 who graduate, 58 will move on to high school. This is effectively a dropout rate (between Grade 6 and HS I) of 11 percent, the second highest dropout rate in the cycle. Of the 58 students who enter secondary school, only 42 graduate from high school.This completion rate of 42 percent of the original cohort is too low for a middle-income country. Over the past three decades, the cohort survival rate has improved by less than 1percent a year. In 1975, the elementary cohort survival rate was 45 percent. This rose to 55 percent in 1985 and to 65 percent by 2005. Compared to other countries which started at the same level or lower in the 1950s (Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia), this rate of improvement is miniscule and has left the country far behind. Achievement Achievement is the attainment of universally accepted learning competencies. For example, for students aged 8–9 years old (Grade 3), it is expected that they can read (have literacy) and can do the four operations of arithmetic (numeracy). Reading comprehension, intermediate reasoning, and basic math and scientific inquiry are expected of graduates of elementary school (Grade 6 pupils between 11 and 12 years of age). High school graduates (16–17 years old) should demonstrate English, Science, and Math proficiency and be adjudged to be ready for university or the world of work. The outcome of High School IV National Achievement Tests in English, Science, and Math showed that only 6.8 percent of senior students passed the English test, 12 percent passed Math, and only 0.7 percent hurdled the Science test (March 2004 NAT). (It is not possible to determine if this has improved because DepED has taken out the HS IV NAT and replaced it with a career aptitude test which is not comparable.) The results in the Trends in Math and Science Survey (TIMSS), an international comparative survey test conducted in 1998, placed the Philippines at number 36 among 39 competing countries. In 2003, the TIMMS was conducted in 45 countries, where the Philippines ranked 41. In both
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
international tests, the country’s results were significantly lower than the international average by two standard deviations. In 2005, DepED carried out a survey of high school seniors’ plans after high school graduation. The survey revealed 58 percent of the girls in the graduating class were interested in pursuing a college education versus 52 percent of the boys. More boys, on the other hand, were interested in work, though over a quarter of both boys and girls were not sure what they wanted to do. Given a higher high school graduation rate among girls than boys, this translates into a higher college enrolment rate for girls than boys. While the rest of the world is focusing its gender agenda on getting more girls educated, the opposite is true for the Philippines. More girls are graduating from high school than boys; more girls are going to college and getting a university degree than boys. What is the root cause for the country’s poor education system performance? How can quality education be ensured and what can be done to curb, if not totally eradicate, high dropout rates? For Luz, the answers lie on governance of the education system. Management indicators in education Governance is the manner by which a system or organization is managed with accountability, transparency and outcomes. In an education system, this can be analyzed in terms of spending, structure, and outcomes. Spending For the Philippines to be competitive, it must continue to produce educated and skilled individuals who would be competent workers in or outside of the country. One of the ways to achieve this is to allocate a bigger budget for education. For DepED, there is the immediate demand to address the shortages and overcrowding of public schools (e.g., construction of classrooms, teacher hiring, textbook procurement, procurement of school furniture, supplies, materials and equipment). For Luz, who served as undersecretary for finance and administration in DepED from
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2002–2005, there is a mismatch between the national budget cycle and the DepED schoolyear. This is a structural problem that hinders education spending. The national budget is based on the annual calendar year starting in January. The schoolyear, on the other hand, starts in June. While the national budget cycle is 12 months, the DepED cycle from budget preparation to presentation until the initial release of the funds is 18 months. Because of this mismatch in cycles, there is no way to link budget inputs to education deliverables. Hence, the short cut of the bureaucracy is to look only at the input side of building classrooms, hiring teachers, and procuring books. This is the easiest to measure and therefore becomes the focus of governance. In 2004, DepED – after undertaking a budget simulation study funded by the World Bank and assisted by PIDS – proposed to the DBM and the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) under NEDA a multi-year budgeting system. By linking outcomes to budget proposals, DepED hoped to “condition” the national budget authorities to allot higher annual budget ceilings to the Department. By 2008, this was realized with the DepED budget growing by around 8 percent per year versus an average of 1-1.5 percent before the proposal. Structure In operating 37,807 elementary and 6,488 secondary schools, DepED is the largest bureaucracy in the country. It is organized into 176 school divisions under 17 regional offices. The entire system has 356,381 elementary and 148,362 high school teachers in the national payroll. As of schoolyear 2007-2008, non-teaching staff numbered 65,312. These include principals, education and district supervisors, division superintendents, regional directors, school nurses, doctors, dentists, librarians, clerks, and central and regional office staff. Amid highly centralized policy, instruction, and implementation processes, schools, on the other hand, are scattered all over the country. Thus, it affects the timely communication between the central office and the
July - August 2009
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schools as well as the delivery and implementation of programs and projects. In 2001, Republic Act (RA) 9155, also known as “Governance of Basic Education Act”, rearticulated the objectives of public education and redefined the top-down structure of the department into a more decentralized system focusing on “empowered” schools through school-based management and principal empowerment. In this setting, parents and the local school boards can play a greater role in supporting schools. The new role of the central office is to be focused on policy reform, standards-setting and resource generation. The regions, on the other hand, would reinforce the said standards, and monitor and conduct quality assurance of divisions and schools within their jurisdiction. The regional office is to provide critical support services, including payroll preparation and servicing, in-service training, planning, management information systems, legal, and schools engineering. School divisions are to be the first line of operations taking charge of instructional leadership and administrative and technical support to schools. At the local school board level, divisions are to provide direction and plans on how to utilize the special education fund (SEF) provided by law. Schools are to be directly responsible for the delivery of quality education. Almost a decade later, though, the regional offices continue to exert control over schools and take on operational decisions that should be at the level of divisions. To a large extent, the Department remains the same organization issuing “DepEd Memos” as the basis for action even for very local decisions. This is a culture of compliance that pervades in DepED. How, then, can the system change when the structure stays the same? For this to occur, Luz stressed that first, there is a need for competent managers who can think strategically and manage schools with firm authority and accountability. And second, a culture of professionalism must be developed among the department staff.
July - August 2009 Wanted: competent managers To have competent managers, Luz enumerated four realities that need to be addressed. One, empowerment of principals is crucial. However, a number of schools do not have principals. And for schools that have, the principals lack management expertise. The Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP) funded by the World Bank concluded that high-performing schools are headed by high-performing principals. What makes a high-performing principal? High visibility in terms of instructional leadership is one characteristic. He/she must be visible in the community, respected, and followed as a leader. The principal must also have the capability to raise additional resources for the school, either in kind or in cash or both. Lastly, he/she should be someone who recognizes the significance of faculty development and works to achieve it. Luz put forward three proposals to support a program to build a corps of professional managers (e.g., principals) at the school level, namely: (1) introduction of a Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) licensure examination for would-be principals to test their managerial capabilities; (2) separation of the principal rank from the school size to discourage the setting up of extra large schools which is the requirement for higher principal ranks; and (3) creation of an incentive structure to motivate principals to make decisions not for purposes of promotion in rank or salary grade but for generation of additional resources to the school due to high performance. Two, the school division is the frontline for organizing outcomes. Due to the traditional roles of superintendents, however, they focus on procedures rather than on management. This is the function of a lack of management training for school division superintendents. Some of the recommendations for reforms come from the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Here, the CSC (under then Chair Karina Constantino-David) recommended reevaluating and rewriting the standards for school division superintendents (SDS) from recruitment to selection.
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Three, regions have yet to give up operational concerns and take on a supportive role viz school divisions. Regional offices continue to exercise operational decisionmaking because this is the level where managerial talent is lodged. Regional offices, however, are too far from local schools to act effectively. They have fewer education supervisors who could have a direct impact on school achievements. More so, regional directors tend to focus their attention upwards toward the central office rather than concentrate on the needs of divisions and schools. And four, the DepED central office remains involved in direct management and operations when it should be performing a directive rather than operations role. Decisions in procurement, health and nutrition, project management, physical facilities, and school engineering remain lodged in the central office when much of these should already be at the regional or division levels. Culture of professionalism The DepED culture remains rigid and heavily credential-driven. This is a culture that is not unique to the department but also pervasive throughout the bureaucracy, in large part because of staffing requirements driven by the CSC and DBM. Graduate studies are prerequisites for promotion and teachers pursue this at all cost to be promoted even if it means enrolling in graduate schools of dubious quality. Leadership The frequent changing of leadership at DepED, meanwhile, is one of the factors that hinders reform continuity. When a new Education Secretary is appointed, whether the person is a political appointee or an academic manager, administrators adopt a “waitand-see” attitude for instruction and survival. This is particularly problematic when field decisions are held in abeyance while waiting for “new instructions” from the top. This also perpetuates an incentive system that is based on connections or survival rather than on professional conduct and merit. Over the years, a discernible pattern has become evident. Secretaries of Education coming from an academic background tend to prioritize reforms in curriculum, achievement
July - August 2009
WN/Yolanda Leyba
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
The Department of Education has maintained its centralized form of leadership despite the passing of the law to redefined its top-down structure. Competent managers are needed for schools to become more empowered to act on their own.
testing, grading, and school-based management. Politically appointed secretaries, on the other hand, favor additional subjects in the curriculum, prefer diagnostic tests, and focus on shortages through additional budget allocation as the measures of success. Outcomes Education outcomes in the country lean closer to the minimum learning competency mode largely because of the department’s “one size fits all” approach to the growing number of enrollees and the immediate demand for increasing education services. Moreover, both the structure of DepED and the mismatch of cycles in the budget allocation tend to ignore desired learning competencies of students because of the longer time to realize and measure gains. While education outcomes entail long-term planning and implementation, addressing shortages demands immediate action that the current budget release can address. Under the multi-year budget simulation study presented by the DepEd to the DBM and DBCC for the years 2005 to 2010, the
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department’s projected budget requirements have to grow by at least 8 percent per year to deal with the combination of shortages, additional retention and improvements in service delivery. The system for multi-year budgeting also gives time for the DepED leadership to facilitate long-term outcomes (e.g., Education for All targets), plans and programs that would result in better and sustainable outcomes for the education system. Road to success The key to change lies in school-based management and a system to create the environment for this. School-based management (SBM) For SBM to succeed, it is necessary for communities to be involved directly in supporting a school. Structurally, this would be through school governing councils and school improvement plans (SIP). In the TEEP, the most successful divisions in terms of education outcomes were the ones where successful school-based management was realized. SBM, more than any other factor, was the single most important input; more so than the provision of material resources, including classroom and school-building construction and renovation, textbook, sup-
July - August 2009
plies and equipment acquisition, other instructional materials provision, teacher training, and division reengineering. SBM yielded higher levels of participation and promotion; lower dropout rates; and narrower gaps in completion rates among TEEP schools. From school year 2002–2003 to 2004–05, TEEP schools reported that all students could read and had attained the desired levels of numeracy. Parents’ involvement As TEEP and other donor-funded projects have limited lifespans, there is a need among shareholders to realize the roles they can play to continue this positive effect on their schools. Among the highest-performing elementary and secondary schools in the National Achievement Tests were schools located in the Eastern Visayas and Caraga regions, two of the poorest regions in the country. How did these regions produce high performance schools? It was determined that parents’ involvement, through the ParentTeacher-Community Associations (PTCA) in the form of school feeding and school-fetching programs for elementary students, had a positive effect on education indicators.
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Parents of secondary level students supported Saturday review classes that played a big role in their children’s performance in national tests as well as in other school events. Community members also actively participated in the maintenance and rehabilitation of old and dilapidated school infrastructure in their respective schools. These showed that parents, however poor, were willing to give small amounts or service “in kind� to see their children benefit from schooling.
Through the Brigada Eskwela, parents, relatives, friends, teachers, and other volunteers work hand in hand in initiating the cleaning and rehabilation of schools and classrooms.
Community involvement Despite material poverty, there are instances of community contribution to improving schools and the schooling environment. In 2003, then Education Secretary Edilberto C. de Jesus spearheaded the Brigada Eskwela project of DepED, also known as the National Schools Maintenance Week. Brigada Eskwela 15
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July - August 2009
Philippines must utilize East Asia’s response to global financial crisis
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he Philippines must utilize the regional responses of East Asia (EA) to the global financial crisis to boost domestic economy. This was emphasized by Dr. Josef Yap, President of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), during his lecture on “Regional Response to the Global Crisis: What’s in Store for the Philippines” at the University of the PhilippinesBaguio. Hosted by the Economics and Political Science Department of the University, the lecture was held at the Audio-Visual Room of the College of Social Sciences Building, UP-Baguio campus on July 22, 2009. The 2008 global financial crisis, according to Dr. Yap, caused a synchronized global recession that immediately caused freezing of interbank and credit markets. This led to the scenario of falling asset prices and wealth which generated a state of uncertainty to the people, consequently decelerating their investment and consumption activities. The chained recession indeed impeded trade and investment channels in the developing East Asia, also resulting in uncertainty over domestic investment and consumption that affected major outputs and employment in the region. As a prime export-oriented region, employment was adversely affected by the fall in investment and consumption in the industrial countries. The global projection for the year 2009 shows that the GDP of Industrial Countries will contract at -2.6 percent and have a 1.1percent growth by 2010. Specifically, the GDP projection for the United States is at -2.4 percent and 1.6 percent, Eurozone at -2.6 percent and 0.5 percent, and Japan at -0.3 percent and 1.2 percent for the years 2009 and 2010, respectively. On the other hand, the impact of the crisis on East Asia has been deeper than initially esti-
PIDS President Josef Yap explains that the rebalancing response of East Asia to the crisis will help strengthen the country's local financial market.
mated, said Dr. Yap. For the first quarter of 2009, for example, Taipei,China experienced the biggest contraction of the GDP at -10.3 percent, followed by Singapore at -9.5 percent, and Japan at -8.7 percent (Table 1). The primary lift of the Philippine economy, Dr. Yap said, comes from the remittances of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) unlike other East Asian countries which rely heavily on exports and foreign direct investments (FDIs). Rebalancing economic growth through increased intra-regional trade and investment as well as reduced independence on Western markets is the suitable regional response of East Asia to the global financial crisis, said Dr. Yap.
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DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
July - August 2009
Table 1. Real GDP growth rates 08/Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
09/Q1
Q2
PRC
10.6
10.1
9.0
6.8
6.1
7.90
Hong Kong
7.3
4.1
1.5
-2.6
-7.8
-3.80
India
8.6
7.8
7.8
5.8
5.8
6.10
Indonesia
6.3
6.4
6.4
5.2
4.4
4.00
Japan
1.3
0.6
-0.3
-4.3
-8.7
-7.20
Korea
5.5
4.4
3.1
-3.4
-4.3
-2.20
Malaysia
7.4
6.6
4.8
0.1
-6.3
-3.90
Philippines
3.9
4.2
4.6
2.9
0.6
1.50
Singapore
6.7
2.5
0.04
-4.2
-9.5
-3.50
Taipei, China
6.3
4.6
-1.1
-8.6
-10.3
-7.50
Thailand
6.0
5.3
3.9
-4.2
- 7.1
-4.90
Vietnam
7.5
5.8
6.5
5.4
3.1
4.40
Source: Asia Recovery Information Center
One way to attain rebalancing is to invest in infrastructure that can support the increased intra-regional trade, including services. “Use Asian resources for Asian infrastructure”, Dr. Yap emphasized. Another way of attaining regional rebalancing is by reviving the “flying geese” model that presents a catchingup process of industrialization through successive relocation of industries from advanced to developing countries during the latter’s catching-up process. The model is said to facilitate a supportive division of labor within the region. An example given by Dr. Yap was for Korea, China and middle-income countries to be the centers of production networks while Japan, Korea, and China will be the major markets for more “wage goods” rather than “luxury goods”
“China has to take the lead, and Japan has to accept that proposition. Albeit [the fact that] Japan’s technology is an advantage to strengthen East Asia’s economic competence”, Dr. Yap stated. Dr. Yap stressed that the Philippines must align its domestic policies to maximize East Asia’s economic rebalancing response to the crisis. Regional infrastructure development will have domestic spillovers and address supply bottlenecks in the country. More importantly for the Philippines, Dr. Yap assured that the regional economic rebalancing can strengthen local financial markets and encourage investment in the country. The poor infrastructure, high energy prices, and monopoly of goods and services were the reasons for low investment rates in the country. The gross domestic investment of the Philippines has decreased by 10 percent in the past decade because the domestic economy has been overreliant on consumption. This is in contrast to China’s overreliance on investment and Singapore's and Malaysia’s overreliance on exports. And while the Philippines loosened monetary policy and provided fiscal stimulus packages to support its economy, Dr. Yap pointed out that the country still needs an industrial policy that can integrate the laborintensive small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in economic growth areas. SMEs in rural non-farm areas should receive more support, he stressed. Just as the fiscal stimulus package was confronted by criticisms, the regional response of rebalancing also has to face political, legal and institutional risks. There are also historical incidents and many recommendations in the past that can hinder a synchronized movement for East Asia’s regional rebalancing. APQ
The chained recession impeded trade and investment channels in the developing East Asia, resulting in uncertainty over domestic investment and consumption, thus, affecting major outputs and employment in the region.
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DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
July - August 2009
PHDR 2008/09 road shows: bringing the results to the people
Bicol PHDR Forum The Bicol Consortium for Development, Inc. (BCDI) was the local partner during the presentation of the Report in the Bicol region held in Legazpi City, Albay on June 16, 2009. Dr. Clarissa David of the HDN presented the provincial Human Development Index (HDI) that showed the level of human development in various provinces as measured by life expectancy (longevity), knowledge (education), and standard of living (income). Dr. David showed that Albay ranked 10 in terms of life expectancy, 34 in knowledge, 57 in standard of living and 32 in overall HDI, which topped in the Bicol region. Other provinces in the region ranked fairly as shown by Camarines Sur which ranked 36; Sorsogon, 51; Camarines Norte, 54; and Catanduanes, 59. However, the province of Masbate landed at the Bottom 10 at rank number 72. Meanwhile, apart from delivering the opening statement where he gave the background
and objectives of the HDN in coming up with the Report on a regular basis, Dr. Arsenio Balisacan, President of the Philippine HDN, also presented the key results and recommendations of the PHDR. Dr. Balisacan focused on the relationships between institutions and politics, on the one hand, and their effect on good governance, on the other, which ultimately impacts on human development outcomes. One of the reactors, Mr. Luis G. Banua, Assistant Director of NEDA Region V in Legazpi City, appreciated the better picture that the HDIs provided to all its stakeholders. He added that the various issuances of the Report are an excellent base for policy and local governance which may in turn be used for national level planning.
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T
he Philippine Human Development Network (HDN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the New Zealand Agency for International Assistance (NZAID), and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) collaborated with different institutions as they embarked on a series of road shows for the presentation of the 2008/2009 Philippine Human Development Report with the theme “Institutions, Politics, and Human Development in the Philippines�. The first one was held in Legazpi City, Albay with the Bicol Consortium for Development, Inc. as collaborator; the second was in Naval, Province of Biliran with the provincial government as partner; and the third and final road show took place in Baguio City with the office of the Provincial Governor as the local partner.
Aside from being the location of the world-renowned Mayon Volcano, the Albay Province ranks the highest in the overall Human Developent Index in the Bicol Region.
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The assistant director also underscored the importance of the utilization of the PHDR in order to have positive effects on the lives of the people. Moreover, Banua noted that topperforming LGUs are perfect models that can be the source of information and strategies to address the condition of the poorperforming LGUs. Albay Governor Jose Maria Salceda, also one of the reactors, meanwhile, noted the huge role of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Super Committee in the province. “It is a monitoring and evaluation as well as a planning tool for the province”, the governor said. He likewise mentioned that the Province of Albay is now concentrating in addressing the participation rate and cohort survival in the elementary grade as well as the maternal mortality rates. In 2010, the issue on households with no access to sanitary toilets will be one of the targets to be prioritized and given permanent solution, he stressed. According to Salceda, the goal of the province was redefined in the Safe and Shared Development: The MDG Pathway report that the
July - August 2009
province recently came up with. He explained that the Shared Development component is their compliance to the MDGs which would be a great factor in the improvement of the province’s HDI. On the other hand, the Safe Development component represents the disaster risk reduction and climate action that are integrated elements in the province’s central economic strategy. He likewise emphasized the role of structured governance in order to achieve advancement in the lives of the people in Albay. The BCDI also presented the Bicol Baseline Studies, which is one of their initiatives to find solutions to the problems and needs of different sectors in the region, with the goal of achieving development interventions. The studies focused on the issues of poverty mapping, fishery profiling, gender and development, credit services, microenterprise and entrepreneurship, and local governance. Around 139 participants attended the forum. They consisted of officials of regional government agencies based in Legazpi, local chief executives and legislators, heads of government and non-government organizations, leaders of people’s organizations, partners from the academe, media and other sectors coming from the whole Bicol region. Biliran PHDR Forum The forum on the presentation of the Report in Naval, province of Biliran, on July 1, 2009 was led by the Office of the Governor. More than 75 participants from various sectors in Biliran and Leyte attended the forum, specifically from the education and agriculture sectors, and local government units.
Attending the Philippine Human Development Report Forum are the participants from the education, agriculture and local goverment units in Biliran Province. In terms of education indicators, Biliran Province ranks as one of the highest in the country.
Dr. Winfred Villamil, member of the HDN’s Board of Directors, presented the provincial HDIs while Dr. Ma. Cynthia Bautista, VicePresident of the Network, highlighted the key findings of the Report. In their presentations, both noted the high ranking of the Province of Biliran, specifically in certain education indicators. Biliran was one of the three recipients of the May Malaking Pag-angat sa Kaunlarang Pantao Award during the 2008/2009 PHDR National
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Launch in Manila, registering a ranking of number 29 overall from its ranking of number 61 in 2005.
July - August 2009
Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan welcomed the participants Present during the forum as reactors were from local government units (LGUs) and institutions in the Dr. Sara T. Arupillo, Schools Division Super- CAR, the academe, the industrial and agricultural sectors, and intendent, Biliran Division, Department of the private sector to the event that showcased the reasons why Education (DepED); Hon. Leo Caneda, Regional Executive Director for Region 8’s the province ranked highest in the 2006 HDIs. Department of Agriculture; and Mr. Teodolfo Sebedos, Provincial Coordinator, RDIBiliran. One of the issues raised in the forum is the province’s concern with the localization law. Primarily, the law requires that a local be given priority and preference in the filling up of certain items/positions in the education plantilla. However, not all candidates being considered are qualified but because the localization law calls for locals to be hired, there are instances of ineligible teachers being hired simply because they are backed by local officials. Given the downside of the localization law, what was thus suggested is the revival of the old policy of implementing the probationary period for new teacher hires before they can achieve permanent status. During the forum, the regional directors of NEDA and DBM for Region 8 mentioned that they will present and take up the key findings and recommendations of the PHDR 2008/2009 in the sectoral committee which they both chair under the Regional Development Council (RDC) for Region 8. The agreements of their meeting on the Report’s results and recommendations will then be presented to the Executive Committee of the RDC -8 in order for policy and program interventions to be developed and implemented. Meanwhile, during the question-and-answer portion of the forum, suggestions were raised, including the following: the preparation of a Q&A on some points included in the PHDR so that stakeholders will be able to focus on them and possibly come up with programs and actions; the posting of the full text of the PHDR in the website of the PIDS for easy access; and the conduct of parallel provincial fora prior to the printing
of the Report in order to get feedback from concerned sectors that can be inputted in the final version. The importance of peace and security was also mentioned by the representative of the Philippine National Police (PNP), saying that it should be included in the Report because without it, development cannot be achieved. According to the PNP representative, development, on one hand, and peace and security, on the other, are interrelated. Both Dr. Villamil and Dr. Bautista of the HDN agreed and said that in fact, this topic was tackled and given importance in the 2005 PHDR, with its theme on “Human Security and Development”. Benguet PHDR Forum The province of Benguet, which earned two awards — the “May Mataas na Kaunlarang Pantao” and “May Malaking Pag-angat sa Kaunlarang Pantao” — as recognition for its positive gains in human development (the awards were given during the 2008/2009 PHDR National Launch), hosted the regional presentation in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) on July 22, 2009 in Baguio City. The forum served as the finale in the series of road shows for the PHDR. Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan welcomed the participants from local government units (LGUs) and institutions in the CAR, the academe, the industrial and agricultural sectors, and the private sector to the event that showcased the reasons why the province ranked highest in the 2006 HDIs. He expressed appreciation to the local partners who have helped in the delivery of government projects that centered on providing basic services to the people.
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July - August 2009
WN/Yolanda Leyba
Center for Health Development; Engr. Lomino Kaniteng, President of the Benguet Federation of Small Scale Miners; Dr. Janet Luis, Director for Research of Benguet State University; Ms. Lolita Bentres, Provincial Agriculturist; and Dr. Mary Namuhe, Schools Division Superintendent Benguet Division.
The Philippine Human Development Report states that most of the gains of Benguet Province are due to its education sector. It has the highest rate of high school students in the Philippines.
PIDS President Dr. Josef T. Yap, on the other hand, expressed gratitude to the local organizers for the opportunity to present the Report in the CAR. He also extended his congratulations to the Province for its dual recognition and said that he is happy to get a first-hand picture of the joint efforts of the people of Benguet that helped their province attain the number 1 overall ranking in the provincial HDIs. Meanwhile, for the key presentations of the provincial HDIs and PHDR results and recommendations, Dr. Villamil and Dr. Bautista were once again on hand to represent the HDN. The Report revealed that most of the improvements in Benguet were driven by gains in education, with the help of improvements in life expectancy. Specifically, Benguet led in terms of high school enrollment ratio and real per capita income. Other CAR provinces were in the middle of the overall HDI list, e.g., Abra ranked 24; Ifugao, 45; Mt. Province, 48; Apayao, 64; and Kalinga, 65. The pool of reactors was made up of Dr. Janice Bugtong, Medical Specialist III, CAR
In her comments, Dr. Namuhe expressed gratification over the contribution of education to the improvement of human development in the province despite budgetary constraints that hindered policies in the delivery of basic education. Benguet’s remarkable education outcome is attributed to the Functional Alternative Literacy Program and the Balik sa Paaralan for Out of School and Adults (BP-OSA) under their Alternative Learning System (ALS), together with the internationally funded Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP) and Secondary Education & Development Improvement Project (SEDIP). Meanwhile, a way to protect livelihood and income in the province, according to Engineer Kaniteng, is to come up with a mining code that will regulate, legalize and monitor the impact of mining on the environment. This was the call he made to the provincial legislative body. He asserted that mining is a very destructive activity when it is not done responsibly and when laws aimed at protecting the environment are not properly implemented. Linking education and environmental concerns and maximizing Benguet’s human and environmental resources as the key to further the quality of life in the province was underscored in the Forum. Dr. Luis of the Benguet State University argued that quality basic education is necessary to prepare students in the countryside to capitalize on their skills in support of Benguet’s agriculture, industry, and environmental resources. Finally, Provincial Agriculturist Lolita Bentres said that the greatest challenge for Benguet is to address and sustain a high sense of values among the Benguet people which would ultimately make the province excel even more in terms of human development. CSM, APQ
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
13
July - August 2009
11th PIDS Corner opens its gate to Eastern Visayas
O
n July 2, the first PIDS Corner to be launched in 2009 was inaugurated at the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) in Tacloban City. The occasion was made possible in collaboration with the University's Main Library. The EVSU joins other provincial public libraries and college/university-based libraries to become part of the Institute's network of partner libraries that would provide reading and research materials on developmentrelated concerns to as many readers as possible in locations outside of Metro Manila. Tacloban City is considered the gateway to Eastern Visayas as well as the educational, business, and cultural center of the region. Adding to this EVSU's mission to provide quality education and professional training through instruction, research, extension services, and production makes the setting up of the 11th PIDS Corner in the EVSU Main Library truly a propitious collaboration. The ceremonial cutting of the ribbon formally marked the launching of the Corner. Ms. Jennifer Liguton, Director for Research Information, who represented PIDS President Dr. Josef Yap, and EVSU officials led by Dr. Catalino Beltran, President, Dr. Ma. Socorro Gicain, Vice-President for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Manuel Paca単a, Vice-President for Research and Extension Services, led in the ribbon cutting. A doxology rendered by the EVSU Chorale solemnly opened the program that followed the ribbon cutting. A warm welcome by Dr. Gicain was extended to the PIDS staff. Ms. Liguton in turn thanked the entire EVSU officialdom for agreeing to host a PIDS Corner in their main library. She also explained the rationale of the PIDS Corners around the country. The setting up of these Corners is both a dissemina-
tion and outreach strategy of the Institute to make its research outputs more visible in the provinces as well as to help make development-oriented studies more accessible to researchers and local decisionmakers. She added that the EVSU Main Library is the fourth PIDS Corner to be inaugurated in the Visayas and the 11th in the entire country. Dr. Edwin Martin, Chief of Public Affairs of PIDS, then showed a video presentation about the Institute and presented the various resources of the PIDS website. Ms. Liguton and Dr. Beltran next signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA), sealing the setting up of the PIDS Corner at the EVSU. Lastly, Dr. Beltran, in his speech formally accepting the agreement, conveyed his gratitude to PIDS for choosing the EVSU as part of its undertaking and expressed hope for a fruitful and further collaboration with the Institute. JCA
The PIDS Corner in the EVSU Main Library. Bottom: Dr. Catalino Beltran and Ms. Jennifer Liguton formally sign the memorandum of agreement while Dr. Edwin Martin ably assists them. The EVSU Chorale provides background music to the signing.
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
14
July - August 2009
1st PIDS Corner in Cordillera Region set up at UP Baguio
T
he Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) inaugurated its 12th PIDS Corner at the Filipiniana Section of the University of the Philippines Baguio Library on July 22, 2009. The corner, however, is the first one set up by the Institute in the Cordillera Region. “The PIDS Corner in the Cordillera Region will be open to all students as well as professionals”, said UP Baguio Chancellor Dr. Priscilla Macasantos as she welcomed the students, faculty, and librarians from other Cordillera schools present during the launching event. Dr. Macasantos also noted that the new addition to the UP Baguio Library collection will benefit all the University’s students, especially from the Social Sciences Department.
Seated (L-R): Dr. Yap and Dr. Macasantos sign the Memorandum of Agreement between PIDS and UP Baguio for the establishment of the 1 2 th P I D S C o r n e r. S t a n d i n g from (L-R): Witnessing the signing are PIDS Public Affairs Chief Dr. Edwin Martin, PIDS Research Information Director Jennifer Liguton and UP Baguio Librarian-OIC Ms. Brenda Dogup.
PIDS President Dr. Josef Yap, for his part, expressed gratitude to the UP Baguio community for agreeing to host the PIDS Corner in their University. The inauguration of the first PIDS Corner in the Cordillera, according to Dr. Yap, is a way of strengthening PIDS’ thrust of disseminating research outputs throughout the country. The proximity of the UP Baguio to other educational institutions in the region such as Abra State Institute of Science and Technology, Apayao State College, Baguio Central University, Benguet State University, Kalinga-Apayao State College, and Saint Louis University may also facilitate the establishment of tie-ups and sharing resources among these academic institutions, thereby maximizing the utilization of the PIDS Corner’s collection. APQ
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
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15
July - August 2009
Governance from p.6 ○
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has become the model for community involvement that is both institutional and sustainable. The Brigada called on parents, relatives, friends, and other interested volunteers to work together in repairing their children’s school for one week in May, three weeks before school opening. When the project was first launched in May 2003, over 12,000 schools signed on to participate, generating over 700,000 volunteer man-days with an estimated value of PhP392 million in donated labor and materials. In May 2006, the fourth year of the Brigada effort, the number of schools more than doubled to over 26,000. The total estimated value of labor and materials donated swelled to more than PhP2.0 billion. This constitutes new value generated by school communities as a whole that adds to the amounts provided by the national budget. The key to the success of Brigada Eskwela had been the school principals who provided local leadership. Effective principals were able to organize the effort, the parents and community, and assemble the necessary efforts. The project reveals how effective a principal can be in mobilizing resources for their school without relying on national resources. Textbook count The Textbook Count project arose out of the need to curb graft and corruption in textbook procurement. In the three years that the program was conducted, textbook prices were brought down and the procurement cycle reduced from the usual 20–24 months to 10–12 months. Managing the procurement cycle is crucial to curbing corruption by minimizing, if not preventing, the overlapping of procurement packages that could be used by insiders or people in the know to hide deals between themselves and publishers or suppliers. Critical to the success of Textbook Count was the implementation of a common delivery
Governance is the manner by which a system or organization is managed with accountability, transparency and outcomes. schedule so that actual textbook deliveries could be synchronized and monitored. The role of community volunteers to observe local deliveries helped to check the quantity and quality of textbooks delivered. In the past, publishers or suppliers dictated the terms of delivery following their own schedules. This made it difficult to monitor deliveries and prevent problems, including “shorts” (less textbooks delivered than contracted, generating “savings” for the supplier) and substandard textbooks (poorer quality paper and cover stock than in the technical specifications to cut costs). To monitor over 30,000 textbook deliveries, DepED organized volunteers to watch actual deliveries in schools or in district offices. To inform the public of deliveries, DepED published delivery schedules in local newspapers. Civic groups and boy scout and girl scout troops were recruited to witness and inspect all textbook deliveries, strengthening the claim of schools, teachers, parents, and children for quality textbooks and timely delivery. Concluding remarks Despite the passage of the Basic Education Law (RA 9155), DepED remains a highly centralized department. In effect, reforms to address its numerous problems are yet to be implemented. Unless school-based management is realized, education outcomes from the ground up will be difficult to attain and sustain. Dynamic leadership in the form of proactive and accountable education managers is the key to change for schools. The support of parents and the community is likewise critical for success of the high-performing schools and a better managed education system. JML, CSM
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DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
STAFF BOX
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS Vol. XXVII No. 4
Editorial Board: Dr. Josef T. Yap,
publication of the PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE FOR and recommendations of PIDS research projects and important
ISSN 0115 - 9097
Vice-President and Director for Project
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS is a bimonthly DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (PIDS). It highlights the findings
July - August 2009
President; Mr. Mario C. Feranil, OIC
July - August 2009
policy issues discussed during PIDS seminars. PIDS is a nonstock, nonprofit government research institution engaged in long-term,
Services and Development; Ms. Jennifer P.T. Liguton, Director for Research
policy-oriented research. This publication is part of the Institute's
Information; Ms. Andrea S. Agcaoili,
program to disseminate information to promote the use of research findings. The views and opinions
Director for Operations and Finance;
expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Inquiries
Atty. Roque A. Sorioso, Legal Consult-
regarding any of the studies contained in this publication, or any of the PIDS papers, as well as suggestions
ant.
or comments are welcome. Please address all correspondence and inquiries to:
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The lead feature in this DRN issue points out to the
parents, families, friends and teachers to help invigo-
matter of governance of the education sector, result-
rate their schools. These are, according to Luz, some
ing from a highly centralized structure and frequent
of the major factors that will constitute the road to
changes in leadership. Reforms in the structure and
success and to instituting high performance among
injection of dynamism in those who manage the op-
our schools and to eventually having better quality
eration of the system could contribute a dozenfold in
and improved education outcomes.
improvement in the overall quality of the education outcomes. These, in essence, are what Professor
Which would thus make true parents’ gift of educa-
Juan Miguel Luz, former Undersecretary of the De-
tion to their children as the best legacy.
partment of Education (DepED) and Associate Dean at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), suggests
Accompanying the lead feature in this issue is the
as he tries to analyze what’s keeping our education
story on the Philippine Human Development Report
sector from breaking loose from its myriad of prob-
provincial roadshows in Benguet, Biliran and Bicol.
lems.
Noteworthy to mention is the fact that Benguet and Biliran are both in the top 10 high-performing prov-
Some gems have indeed emerged in cases where
inces, specifically in the aspect of education. What
school principals have been fully empowered in the
these provinces have been implementing in their lo-
management of their respective school jurisdictions
calities are worthy to be emulated by many other
and have enlisted the support and cooperation of
provinces in their goal to achieve human advancement for their people.
DRN