Aiming for zero dropout According to the Department of Education (DepEd), out of 100 students, only 66 will finish

elementary education, 42 will finish high school, and only 25 will go to college. Education Secretary Mona Valisno said their answer to this problem is already in place. DepEd had already integrated Unescos program Education for All which aims at a zero dropout rate, making all Filipinos functionally literate and able to read and write. Their target year for this is by the end of 2015. "We are asking for more budget, said Valisno. She hopes that the new Aquino administration would grant their request because they can only achieve this vision through an additional budget. She also encourages the private sector to help out in the process. Valisno said our education system is getting better and is headed in the right direction. Education crisis But the Alliance for Concerned Teachers (ACT) thinks differently. We are in an education crisis, said Antonio Tino, ACT president. He added that the Arroyo administration had neglected our education system.
DepEd and ACT may not seem to have the same picture of our education system but they both agree that additional budget is needed.

But according to presidential front-runner Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, in a recent interview in Greenhills, San Juan, an additional budget is quite hazy due to a huge budget deficit that he would inherit from the Arroyo administration. Instead of an additional budget, the existing budget should be spent wisely. His plans for education: I want a 12-year program. The textbook issues and the classroom shortages should be resolved, Aquino said. According to ACT president Tino, with this kind of plan its business as usual. Like the Arroyo administration we cannot expect anything to improve in the next six years. Tino added that although money isnt everything, it is a basic necessity for improving our education system. Section 1 of Art. XIV of the Constitution requires the State to promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels. So is there a glimmer of hope for students like Arlene in the next administration?

Major problems of education in Philippines

The literacy rate in the Philippines has advanced a lot over the last couple of yearsfrom 72 % in 1960 to 94 % in 1990. This is attributed to the boost in both the number of schools constructed and the grade of enrollment in these schools. Aside from the figures explained before, which are outstanding, there is furthermore required gazing nearly and determination the next significant issues: 1) quality of education 2) affordability of education 3) government budget for education; and 4) education mismatch. 1. Quality - There was a down turn in the value of the Philippine learning, particularly at the elementary and secondary levels. For demonstration, the outcomes of standard tests conducted among elementary and high school students, as well as in the National College of Entrance Examination for school students, were way below the target mean score. 2. Affordability - There is furthermore a large-scale disparity in informative achievements across social groups. For demonstration, the socioeconomically deprived students have higher dropout rates, particularly in the elementary level. And most of the freshmen students at the tertiary grade arrive from somewhat welloff families. 3. Budget - The Philippine Constitution has mandated the government to assign the largest percentage of its allowance to education. However, the Philippines still has one of the smallest allowance shares to education amidst the ASEAN countries. 4. Mismatch - There is a large percentage of ""mismatch"" between teaching and actual jobs. This is the foremost difficulty at the tertiary grade and it is furthermore the origin of the reality of a large assembly of educated jobless or underemployed.

insufficient facilities and equipments in most public high school....that is the major problem in today's educational system
The challenge of education is to build more school buildings, provide quality textbooks, hire more highly qualified teachers, reach out to the rural areas, eliminate corruption, provide training for teachers to be more effective, and increase the basic salary of our educators who deserve a big break. - Alfredo Carballo Jr., Negros Occidental Almost everyone knows that the quality of education in our country has deteriorated. The causes of the worsening quality of education are obvious to us all: Lack of teachers, lack of classrooms, and lack of textbooks. The Department of Education should not pay lip service but instead address these issues by implementing concrete action. - Juan Deveraturda, Subic, Zambales