MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday to continue efforts to improve the country’s performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

During a sectoral meeting in Malacañang on improving the Philippines’ PISA ranking, President Marcos wanted DepEd to focus on improving teachers’ teaching quality and competency, nutrition, addressing campus bullying, and aiding teachers on specializations.

“Pagdating sa teachers kasi talagang para sa ating Pangulo, napakaimportante ng ating mga teachers. And we agree, teaching quality will really improve. Sabi nga ng ating Pangulo, he believes around 60-percent improvement kung mapabuti din natin iyong ating teaching quality,” Education Undersecretary Michael Poa said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

Poa raised the President’s directive on the need to update teachers’ know-how with regard to technology.

“So, these are the things we have already started addressing sa Department of Education, but we will continue to strengthen our programs in terms of bullying, of course, in coordination also with other agencies such as the DOH pagdating sa referral system,” he said.

DepEd also presented to the President during the sectoral meeting the school-based feeding program through coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), according to Poa.

He said that in terms of feeding program, DepEd and DSWD complement each other to ensure continuity. It starts with the food stamps for the families in addition to supplementary feeding program funded by the welfare agency.

The government allotted P5.6 billion budget last year for the school-based feeding program and augmented it to P11.7 billion this year, Poa explained, adding the increase in budget will allow the agency to carry out the feeding program throughout the year.

“But, of course, the President wants us to still see kung ano pang enhancements ang magagawa natin dahil napakaimportante ng nutrition,” said Poa. “And, of course, pangatlo, iyong nabanggit ko nga po, iyong bullying talaga iyong isang naging focus.”

During the briefing, Education Undersecretary Gina Gonong said the Philippines recorded a two-point increase in Reading in PISA score; seven points in Math, but dropped by one point in Science.

“Pero hindi significant ang difference na ito. So iyong increase o kaya iyong decrease has nothing to do with performance level. So tama ang sabi mo kanina, talagang nananatili tayo sa low proficiency level. So 2018 at saka 2022, low performance levels tayo sa PISA,” she said.

A total of 7,193 15-year-old Filipino students from 188 schools, 106 divisions, and 16 regions, representing 83 percent of the total population of 15-year-old students in the country, completed the computer-based test.

The PISA, developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is designed to assess the extent to which students have acquired key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in social and economic life.

It is a triennial international comparative study that tests a 15-year-old’s ability in mathematics, reading, and science in real-world situations.

Some 81 countries and economies participated in PISA 2022, with some 690,000 students representing about 29 million 15-year-olds. The assessment was administered from March 2022 to May 2022 and results were released on December 5, 2023.

DepEd’s efforts to improve learner performance under the MATATAG Education Agenda include the implementation of the National Learning Recovery Program; pilot implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum; and enhancement of teacher wellbeing, such as strengthening professional development of teachers and school leaders, and removal of non-teaching tasks, hiring of administrative Officers.

Also part of the agenda are the creation of the Learner Rights Protection Office; and pushing for increased funds for the School Feeding Program, and providing strategic direction to Early Childhood Care and Development, the Literacy Coordinating Council, and Teacher Education Council.

Starting this month, the education department targets to implement Catch-up Fridays, which will allot time to improve the reading and writing skills of basic education learners.

DepEd also seeks to launch Digi-ed, a digital portal where teachers and students can access learning materials. (PND)