World Teachers Day on Oct. 5 brought the usual tributes. But teacher organizations say respect is better measured in salaries, working hours, staffing, and whether rights written into law 60 years ago are actually felt in schools. “You give more than you receive,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told thousands of teachers gathered at Smart Araneta...
Category: Education
Post
At UP, a reminder that truth is not measured by decibels
Sunflowers lined the University Avenue at the University of the Philippines Diliman again as graduates gathered on a bright Sunday morning for UP’s 115th Commencement Exercises last July 5. Their families cheered from the sidelines of the University Amphitheater as the graduates raised fists—a tradition that punctuates both UP student activism and personal triumphs on...
Post
UP Open U to set up Intelligent Futures Hub in New Clark City
The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) will establish an “Intelligent Futures Hub” at a UP building in New Clark City (NCC) in Tarlac, while keeping its headquarters in Laguna. An earlier report said the UPOU headquarters would be transferred to the 9,450-hectare NCC, which is envisioned as an “alternative” government center and touted...
Post
A university in Bicol proves that a nonprofit private school can work here
In social media, nonprofit private schools are defined as “independent institutes, not owned by the government or a church, funding themselves through tuition, fundraising, and endowments, rather than distributing profits to shareholders.” More: “They are governed by a self-perpetuation board of trustees and are distinguished from for-profit private schools to serve students without aiming for...
Post
Autonomy and the case of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the General Appropriations Act for 2025 despite the contentious budget proceedings including protests over alleged blank portions in the document. The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives, particularly the Kabataan Partylist, reported budget cuts on state universities and colleges (SUCs), raising negative reactions. After all, the fiscal operations of...
Post
Safe-space classrooms, where trust begins, are still a privilege in Philippine education
In some classrooms at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, students are encouraged not simply to answer but also to ask questions, the purpose being to perceive learning as a reflective, relational, and deeply personal concept. But outside the campus and in many public schools across the Philippines, classroom conditions are far from ensuring...
Post
Will reforming the K-to-12 program mean backtracking from the global standard?
As more Filipinos express dissatisfaction with the K-to-12 program, Rep. Roman Romulo is dangling an option for Grade 10 students: to leapfrog senior high school straight into college. But there’s a hitch: Tenth graders must pass an “honors” examination to land into a college of their choice. Otherwise, they need to complete Grades 11 and...
Post
Blended learning seeks to address classroom shortage, but outcome may be worse
In the postpandemic era, the Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City stands out for attempting to pioneer blended learning for its more than 15,000 students. With only 90 classrooms fit for 3,500 learners and no space to build more rooms, the administrators split Grades 7 to 10 students into morning and afternoon shifts,...
Post
Filipino students’ functional illiteracy is a ‘real and widespread learning crisis’
A stone’s throw from the House of Representatives’ sprawling complex in Quezon City is a congested public elementary school literally crawling with thousands of students, including a great number struggling with their ABC. When he took over as principal at the President Corazon C. Aquino Elementary School in 2024, Gerry Isip made a startling discovery:...
Post
How a high school org in Benguet preps students for life
In 2017 when Jonathan Supsupin of La Trinidad, Benguet, had to get on track for senior high school, he chose Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL). It was the first year of K-to-12 implementation and the middle child whose father is a vegetable picker at the trading post and whose mother works at a local hospital’s linen department was...