– On Education, Department of Education (DepEd-CAR) director Estela P. Leon-Carino said, “(We, are the) weaver of hope and transformation,” on DepEd-CAR’s mantra.
– Nelson Mandela previously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
– While Mahatma Gandhi left these words, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
BAGUIO CITY – A cherished dream of every Cordilleran parent – – and all Filipino parents for that matter – – for their children to attain quality education as embodied in the Constitution and the Department of Education’s (DepEd) primary objective of educating and nurturing well-rounded, bright and happy children, is a vision ensconced in hope towards reality.
That, despite grappling with a myriad of challenges, Cordillera Administrative Region’s (CAR) Basic and Secondary Education sector stalked off from a risky red line, and seamlessly joined National Capital Region and Region 4-A or CALABARZON in achieving the minimum level of performance in reading, science and mathematics.
In “The Report Card of the State of Basic and Secondary Education in CAR” presented last August 16 at Baguio City High School auditorium, it stated “NCR, CAR and Region 4A have the largest share of students who have reached the minimum level of proficiency in reading, science and mathematics.”
Regardless of NCR and Region 4A being big regions and possessed with huge number of students, DepEd-CAR refused to call it a day and stayed the course for CAR learners to achieve that level of competence. And CAR students responded.
Such a stance can be gleaned at how students at one CAR public school, the Baguio City National High School, demonstrated their skill across learning area. “In the earlier Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Baguio National High School performed well,” particularly stated Estela P. Leon-Carino during the August 16 presentation.
“At least for CAR, wala tayo doon as red. Hindi tayo ang pinakamababa sa performance in reading, science and mathematics,” Carino specifically asserted.
“It may not be that high but at least we reached the minimum reading level,” she emphasized.
“I would like to mention that in the earlier PISA, Baguio City National High School performed well. This school was always mentioned when it comes to performance in the PISA,” Leon-Carino stressed.
“During the time of Briones, this school (Baguio City National High School) was always mentioned,” Leon-Carino stated.
Leon-Carino apparently referred to the time of Leonor “Liling” Mirasol Magtolis-Briones, academician who served in capacity as secretary of DepEd during the Duterte administration.
For Baguio City National High School hugging the limelight of being always mentioned as compared with the thousands of schools nationwide, by no less than the DepEd secretary, is already considered a standing performance worthy of applause that CAR students take pride in. And which other schools pine to emulate.
“I would like to mention that in the choice of schools that will join the PISA, it is not total enumeration. Just like 2022, we only had three. One private school and 2 public schools, one remote school in Benguet and in Apayao,” Leon-Carino explained.
On competencies like problem solving, information, literacy and critical thinking, Leon-Carino also stressed that students in CAR are apparently good in English, achieving 57 per cent competency.
CAR students have topped the English-speaking and listening regions in the Philippines, surpassing high performing regions like Eastern Visayas and Mindanao that senator Erwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on C Basic Education said praised the region.
Gatchalian said: “Congratulations to the learners and teachers in Baguio and CAR for their outstanding performance in the recent international assessments. There’s a lot to learn from them to improve the performance of students in all parts of the country when it comes to English proficiency.”
On student gender aisle, “What is quite mentioning is female learners met the nearly proficient level in Araling Panlipunan, English and Filipino, parang mas maganda ang performance ng female,” Leon-Carino revealed, eliciting applause from female students who attended the report card meeting dubbed, Dagyaw: Open Government town Hall Meeting.
Dagyaw, a concept of community work in Philippine communities, dwell on work freely offered and reciprocal service rendered to any community member in the spirit of neighborliness. In Cordillera highlands, it is termed “ub-ubbo,” or “binnadang,” another word for the Tagalog word “bayanihan.”
As compared to the males, “learners did not meet the proficient levels in any of the of the three 21th century skills,” Leon-Carino revealed.
CAR performance in the 21th century skills by subject and overall test scope shows Baguio City, Ifugao, Benguet and Mt. Province are above the CAR Mean Performance Score in three skills. Baguio has the highest MPS and Abra, the lowest. “That is the challenge, dapat sana lahat,” Leon-Carino wished.
In problem solving, literacy skills and critical thinking, Leon-Carino bared that CAR students were found wanting in performance in critical thinking. “Medyo mababa tayo,” she lamented.
Comparing division performance by subject area in MPS (Mean Performance Score) Baguio City, Benguet and Mt. Province are above CAR MPS. So that is the challenge. Dapat sana lahat,” Leon-Carino again stressed.
Leon-Carino also dwelt on enrollment for the last three years which showed a slip in all schools’ division, more particularly in the junior and senior high schools.
“Data shows a downward trend in the enrollment from grade 11 to grade 12 and the number of graduates for six years. It implies that there are retention issues which could be attributed to a variety of factors such as dropping or transferring of residences,” Leon-Carino elucidated.
Schools Division Office (SDO) Benguet has the highest current enrollment at 97,596 while SDO Kalinga has the lowest at 23,855 enrollees, the DepEd report card revealed.
Leon-Carino articulated that the decrease can be attributed to: “Either they (students) transferred or the Department of Health (DOH) was successful in family planning that is why we should not question when enrollment is going down.”
On the matter of exit of senior high school students, where do they go?
Leon-Carino revealed that a huge number of students exiting senior high school prefer to finish college and attain degrees. Others opt for technical education skills.
On another score, the DepEd director said parents are right in their conviction that any child will only be successful in his/her future endeavor if he/she finishes college.
At present, the state of enrollment as of August 14, 2024, there are 414, 472 enrollees in 1,844 public schools, 234 private schools, and 5 State University College (SUCs)/ Local Universities College (LUCs).
Breaking the schools number, Leon-Carino ticked them by province, with Abra having 317 public schools, 32 private schools and 2 SUCs/LUCs for a total of 351 schools.
Benguet has 428 public schools, 54 private schools and 1 SUCs/LUCs, for a total of 483 schools.
Apayao, with 201 private schools, 7 private schools and 1 SUCs/LUCs, for a total of 209 schools.
Kalinga, with 194 public schools and 7 private schools, for a total of 201 schools.
Ifugao, with 266 public schools, 12 private schools, for a total of 278 schools.
Mountain Province, with 317 public schools, 32 private schools and 2 SUCs/LUCs for a total of 251 schools.
As of July 2024, the status of construction of classrooms as of July 2024 stands at a need for 55 more classrooms, 38 were completed and 17 ongoing constructions.
CAR has 18,908 nationally paid school teachers. Of the number, 2,625 are assigned in Abra, 1,598 in Apayao, 4,224 in Benguet, 2449 in Mountain Province, 1,483 in Kalinga, 2,220 in Ifugao, 2,384 in Baguio and 1,276 in the city of Tabuk.
For those interested to land a teaching job, Leon-Carino revealed there are newly created teaching position items for the following areas: Abra, 118; Apayao, 41; Benguet, 214; Ifugao, 76; Kalinga, 57; Mountain province, 43; Baguio, 39 and, City of Tabuk, 61, for a total of 649 new teaching position.
DepEd CAR latest budget computes at more than 695 million pesos, or a mere 2 per cent of the entire DepEd budget.
But DepEd-CAR budget has been transferred to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the agency tasked to implement infra needs of the education department.
Leon-Carino was one among the four panelists during the presentation, accompanied by Dr. Ramir S. Austria of the University of the Cordilleras, Ms Annie Marie Caguioa representing the Baguio City Association of Private Schools and Mr. Pablo Gomuad, representing the Federation of Parents-Teachers Association – Baguio City.
If to try and at least second-guess the message behind DepEd-CAR’s mantra, “weaver of hope and transformation,” it is about CAR teachers blazing trails, plumbing the depths and providing a path for children to follow, by going above and beyond than would usually be expected, amidst obstacles.
In any bustling CAR school filled with students of vibrant colors and fluttering fabrics, DepEd teachers, possessed of remarkable talents, have the rare ability to weave dreams into students tapestries, imbuing them with hope and aspirations.
Each thread the CAR teachers weave from their looms into the learners tells a unique story, while every woven pattern whispers a secret longing into the realm of possibility – for these CAR children’s dreams to grasp an education.
