ARTICLE 1: Don’t Drop The Ball, For Our Children’s Sake

May 10, 2019 Posted by: Lerato GCECategory: GAWE2019

This is a crucial year for education. Children starting school this year will complete their 12
years of basic education by 2030. The United Nations’ fourth sustainable development goal —
“Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities
for all” — comes under the spotlight at the UN’s high-level political forum. The thematic review
of goal four aims to identify the progress made and challenges encountered in the right to
education implementation, and most importantly, to assess interlinkages with other sustainable
development goals. The theme of the Global Action Week for Education — “Making the right to
an inclusive, equitable, quality, free public education a reality” — is the pressing issue of our
time. Global challenges such as poverty, increased inequality, migration, human-induced
climate impact and political interferences that lead to internal and cross-border humanitarian
crises are deterrents to the effective implementation of education that is truly equitable, just,
inclusive and transformative. The education 2030 agenda is our universal response to ensure
we address these challenges. Despite significant improvements in literacy and narrowing of the
gender gap, 750-million adults, two-thirds of whom were women, remained illiterate in 2016.
Today, millions of children and youth in school lack the minimum literacy and numeracy skills
because of overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers. In 2017, 262-million
children of primary and secondary school going age were out of school. Education in
emergencies is a human rights atrocity that can no longer be ignored.
Enough is enough. Society can no longer sit back and watch as children are forced out of school
and in some cases, recruited as child soldiers by armed groups. Are we building a society that
promotes war over education? The failure to solve these difficult challenges points, in part, to a
continuing lack of the necessary political will and of inadequate investment in the education
agenda. Despite numerous commitments to collective and inclusive participation by
governments and the international community, many national education coalitions and civil
society organizations remain excluded from the planning, implementation and monitoring of
the fourth sustainable development goal.
We know that education is indispensable to the achievement of all the sustainable
development goals and is at the heart of the sustainable development agenda. The Global
Campaign for Education believes that education is the most sustainable long-term driver of
social, economic and environmental justice; and that education is key to foster sustainable,
gender-equal, peaceful, democratic and resilient societies. Without quality education for all, the
future looks bleak. Citizens will lack skills to interrogate and actively participate as assertive
holders of their basic human rights. Without quality and inclusive education, children with
disabilities remain on the outskirts of society, attending special needs schools and taught in
separate classes.
ARTICLE 2: What will happen to poor students when schools go online?
Prince Kennex R. Aldama
Published 1:56 PM, March 16, 2020

I just attended a meeting on the utilization of online learning materials, as our university is
about to use these to aid the continuation of our classes amid the coronavirus outbreak. For
this so-called distance learning to be effective, a student will need a computer and stable
internet. Earlier this week, the university tasked each faculty member to conduct a survey in
our respective classes to assess our students’ access to virtual learning.
The survey asks how many students have computers and internet access in their homes. All of
my students, in 4 classes, have computers. But some of them do not have access to the internet
when they go home. start to wonder about other students in the country who do not have
internet access, let alone computers and gadgets. What will happen to their learning when their
school suspends classes? How are they going to have access to online learning materials?
The presence of technology and digital classrooms are manifestations of a modern education
system. We see that distance is being overcome. The physical presence of warm bodies is not
necessary for a class to be held. While the presence of technology is one good story of
innovation, access to them is another. This issue is rooted in the larger social problem of digital
inequality. Only those who have the resources to buy gadgets and to get an internet connection
in their homes are the ones who are privileged to continue their learning despite the physical
distance. They are ensured that their education is not compromised at times like these. The
adjustments done by universities for continuing teaching through online resources is an
impressive solution. But the situation also unearths the reality that income and social inequality
breeds digital inequality. When they go back to school, the poor will have to make up for the
lessons they missed, having not been able to attend the online classes.
Online classrooms, internet resources, and digital technology have been remarkable modes of
closing the physical distance and making education perpetual and accessible. But we must ask,
“For whom?”
Students can only go so far with their access to technology. In a world where virtual reality and
digital classrooms are becoming a feature of formal education, having a personal computer and
a reliable internet connection is a sure advantage. For those who do not have access, this is yet
another challenge that they have to work hard to overcome. After this pandemic, the gap
between the rich and the poor will still remain. The lower classes will continue to navigate their
way around the limits of their daily lives to have better access to the things they need in order
to survive. This painful reality of inequality is not just virtual. Decent food, clean water, safe
shelter, quality education, affordable medicine, and secure jobs are concrete and tangible
necessities. These are part of the greater gaps that we need to close if we want everyone to go
the distance. – Rappler.com
ARTICLE 3: Congress passes bill requiring GMRC in K to 12 curriculum
Aika Rey
Published 9:38 PM, March 04, 2020

MANILA, Philippines – The 18th Congress on Wednesday, March 4, approved a bill that
would require good manners and right conduct (GMRC) and values education in the K to 12
curriculum.
At around 3:30 pm on Wednesday, the Senate first ratified the bicameral conference
committee report on the GMRC bill. The House of Representative approved the same report at
around 8 pm. The bill will now be transmitted to Malacañang for the President's signature.
Under the bicam report, GMRC will replace the existing "Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao" class
which teaches ethics to students.
Values education, according to the bill, will teach the students the following:
Basic tenets of the observance of respect for oneself, others, and elders
Intercultural diversity, gender equity
Ecology and integrity of creation
Peace and justice
Obedience to the law
Nationalism and global citizenship
Values of patience, perseverance, industry, honesty, and integrity
Good faith in dealing with other human beings, along with all other universal values
If signed by the President, GMRC would be taught as a separate class from Grades 1 to
6, while values education would be a separate subject for Grades 7 to 10. For Grades 11 and 12,
values education would be "integrated in the teaching of subjects." (READ: The value of
education in the age of social media)
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the sponsor of the measure at the Senate, said that children will
be taught GMRC and values education with the same amount of time they are taught in Math,
Science, English, among others. Gatchalian said that young people today are exposed to many
vulnerabilities, especially with easy access to social media."Kung araw-araw nating natuturuan
ang mga bata sa eskwelahan, hindi lang sila matututo ng magagandang asal, kundi pati na rin
kung paano maging mabuting tao," Gatchalian said.
(If children are taught every day in school, they will not only know how to conduct themselves
properly, but they will also know how they can be a good person.) – Rappler.com
ARTICLE 4: Why Singapore reopened schools despite coronavirus: They used science
Paterno Esmaquel II
Published 5:39 PM, March 23, 2020

SINGAPORE – Schools in Singapore reopened on Monday, March 23, after the students’
regular March holidays, despite the rising number of novel coronavirus cases in the city-state.
Singapore Education Minister Ong Ye Kung on Sunday, March 22, outlined Singapore’s
reasons for deciding to reopen classes, providing a glimpse into how decisions are made to
fight the coronavirus in Singapore.
Their decision was based on science, as well as careful analysis of their society.
It’s in sharp contrast to what many Filipinos perceive to be the necessary but haphazard
lockdown of the Philippines’ biggest island group, Luzon, without clear rules and without
considering its effects on daily wage earners and even health workers who have no means to
commute while public transport is suspended. (READ: [EDITORIAL] Emergency measures?
Show us the plan first) Ong explained there is much scientific evidence showing that COVID-
19 affects adults more than the young.
There is also no evidence that the young are spreaders of the coronavirus, and the reverse
seems to be the case – that adults at home affect the young, according to Ong, citing Dale
Fisher, group director of medicine at the National University Health System and chair of the
World Health Organization Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. In fact, he said,
there have only been a few students hit by COVID-19 in Singapore, and “every single one
caught it outside of their schools.” Ong added that closing schools “will disrupt many lives.”
He cited parents who are both working and have no domestic helpers. He said Singapore is
worried most about “parents who are healthcare workers and providers of essential
services.”
“Keeping our healthcare system strong is paramount in the fight against COVID-19. Our
frontline warriors will be much more assured if their children are in school, meaningfully
engaged, in a safe and healthy environment,” the minister said. Ong pointed out that their
Ministry of Education (MOE) is taking strict precautions to protect students against COVID-19,
in consultation with healthcare experts:
Students, teachers, staff, and even canteen school operators are required to take a leave of
absence or stay home for 14 days if they went overseas during the March holidays.
Schools at their gates are implementing a “100% check” on travel histories
Out-of-class activities that involve mingling with other students have been suspended,
Every morning, students who feel unwell with a cough, sore throat, or fever will be placed in
an isolation room or sent home. Students will have to sit apart, “just like during exams.”
“In that sense, schools remain safe places for children, especially as they seem to be more
resilient against the virus,” Ong said. There have been 455 coronavirus cases in Singapore as
of Sunday evening. Of this number, 144 have recovered, 14 remain in critical condition, and
two have died. Most others are stable or improving.
Singapore noted that around 80% of recent coronavirus cases are imported – a piece of data
that informed their decision to ban tourists from all countries starting 11:59 pm on Monday.
ARTICLE 5: Use drug test budget to hire guidance counselors – Gatchalian
Updated July 10, 2018, 7:48 AM
By Mario Casayuran

The Senate Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian called for
the scrapping of the controversial plan of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to
conduct mandatory drug tests on students. PDEA should instead use the budget to hire more
guidance counselors for the Department of Education (DepEd), Gatchalian said.

DepEd said PDEA’s drug testing plan would need 12.8 billion to cover at least 14 million
Grade 4 to Grade 12 students at 1200 per student “The 12.8 billion needed to fund PDEA’s
proposed mandatory drug testing of Grade 4 to Grade 12 students will be put to better use if
allocated to address the shortage of guidance counselors in elementary and high schools,”
Gatchalian, also the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts, and Culture,
said.

He said the students would be better served by having guidance counselors correct or
prevent unhealthy behavior rather than subjecting them to drug tests he said was “a
potentially traumatic experience.”

“Ano na lang ang iisipin ng mga bata? (What would the young think?) It’s like we’re already
treating them as drug suspects, even the ones as young as nine years old in Grade 4,” he said.

“I would rather have more guidance counselors who will steer young students away from
drug use by encouraging them to succeed in academics, sports, the arts, and other
wholesome activities,” he added.

Public elementary and high schools in the country severely lack registered guidance
counselors (RGCs).

DepEd requires public and private elementary and high schools to hire one guidance
counselor for every 500 students. The Philippines, however, only has 3,220 RGCs as of July
2017 since the first batch of licensure examinees in 2008.