Education Sector Issues

This paper provides a practical guide in answering the unresolved question “What is the best medium of instruction” for Philippine schools?” The first part would discuss the second Marcos administration’s language policy and how it departs from the Philippine Constitution’s official language policy. The second part argues that while the Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) is a good compromise policy given the country’s multilingual, multicultural, and neocolonial status, its haphazard implementation has not (yet) delivered on its promises. The third part provides a deconstruction of myths surrounding various Philippine administrations’ and some education sector professionals’ and bureaucrats’ obsession with maintaining English as either the sole or main medium of instruction despite the fact that such policy goes against the Philippine Constitution’s official language provisions. The fourth part provides an alternative language policy (functional multilingualism), which may not be ideal, but could be a working compromise that would satisfy both national language advocates, MTB-MLE advocates, and foreign language enthusiasts too.

Ang Scopus ay isang database ng mga piling journal na itinuturing nilang de-kalidad/de-kalibre. Pag-aari ito ng Netherlandsbased na kumpanyang Elsevier, at isa rin sa mga karaniwang batayan ng mga panukatan (metrics) sa mga pagraranggo ng mga unibersidad sa buong daigdig. Bunsod ng nabanggit na realidad, kapansin-pansin ang pag-iral ng Scopus-sentrismo—ang pagkiling sa Scopus bilang isa sa mga pangunahing batayan ng de-kalidad na saliksik – sa mga polisiya ng mga unibersidad sa bansa at ng mga ahensiyang pang-edukasyon at/o pampananaliksik. Sa ganitong konteksto, layunin ng papel na ito na 1) makapagbigay ng makabuluhang impormasyon tungkol sa Scopus at sistema ng mga database ng abstrak at citation; 2) mailarawan ang pangingibabaw ng Scopus-sentrismo (lubos na pagpabor/pagkiling sa Scopus bilang pamantayan ng mahusay at tinatanggap na saliksik) sa mga ahensiya ng gobyerno at mga unibersidad sa bansa; at 3) makapagbigay ng kritik sa Scopus-sentrismo sa Pilipinas. Sa pangkalahatan, replikasyon ito ng kahawig na pag-aaral ni Ramon Guillermo hinggil sa Institute for Scientific Information o ISI, na inilathala ng Asian Studies noong 2000. Mga Susing Salita: Scopus, saliksik sa Pilipinas, Filipino bilang wika ng saliksik, hegemonya ng Ingles, neokolonyalismo (Scopus is a corporate-owned database of selected journals which they consider as high-quality/top-caliber. It is owned by the Netherlands-based company Elsevier, and among the typical bases of metrics used in global university rankings. As a result, Scopus-centrism persists in the policies of Philippine universities and Philippine educational and/or research agencies. In view of this, this paper is aimed at fulfilling the following objectives: 1) present a critical introduction on Scopus and similar systems of abstract and citation databases; 2) describe the dominance of Scopus-centrism among public agencies and universities in the Philippines; and 3) present a critique of Scopus-centrism in the Philippines. In general, this is a replication of Ramon Guillermo’s earlier study on Institute for Scientific Information or ISI, published by Asian Studies in 2000. Keywords: Scopus, research in the Philippines, Filipino as a language of research, hegemony of English, neocolonialism)

The original draft was prepared by ACT Teachers Partylist in May 2016 for consultative assemblies nationwide. This 12 February 2019 draft with proposed revisions and notes is the product of an ACT-Private School leaders’ meeting, with teachers from Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University-Manila, University of Santo Tomas, and Far Eastern University-Manila, and also informed by the synthesis of discussions in a May 2016 assembly of ACT-Private Schools at De La Salle University-Manila, and another one at Ateneo de Manila University in June 2016. The final draft for filing in Congress will be prepared by the Legislative Research Team of ACT Teachers Partylist. Hence, this draft is an input from ACT-Private Schools leaders for the final draft. Researchers and advocates are also encouraged to read the article “Notes on the Draft Magna Carta for Private School Teachers Rationale of A Separate Magna Carta for Private School Teachers: Protection of Rights and Expansion of Benefits” for additional insights.

Private school teachers are somehow more marginalized than their public school counterparts, as proven by the lack of a magna carta for the former. While the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers was enacted in 1966, a magna carta for private school teachers remains a dream that still struggles to be heard as of this writing. Progressive lawmakers led by ACT Teachers Partylist have published a DRAFT Magna Carta for Private School Teachers as early as 2016. This article is a collection of short notes on the said draft, aimed at stimulating public interest on these issues, and encouraging more lawmakers to support the draft Magna Carta’s passage.

Pangunahing layunin ng papel na ito na 1) ilahad ang malalim na koneksyon ng mga isyung pangguro at pambayan; 2) bigyang-diin ang mahalagang tungkulin ng guro sa pagbabago ng sistemang pang-edukasyon at ng sistema ng lipunan sa Pilipinas; 2) maghapag ng makabayang pagsusuri sa kasalukuyang kurikulum ng sistema ng edukasyon sa Pilipinas. Gagawing lunsaran (springboard) ng pagtalakay ang paglilinaw sa depinisyon ng nasyonalismo – partikular sa edukasyon at ekonomya – tungo sa epektibong paglalantad sa hindi makabayang direksyon at nilalaman ng kasalukuyang kurikulum sa sistema ng edukasyon sa Pilipinas.

This is a position paper by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers – Philippines (ACT-Philippines), Alliance of Concerned Teachers – Private Schools (ACT-Private Schools), Alliance of Concerned Teachers – National Capital Region Union (ACT-NCR Union) and the Philippine Public School Teachers Association – National Capital Region (PPSTA-NCR) on the Continuing Professional Development/CPD Law (CPD Law) or Republic Act 10912 and other related documents such as Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Resolution No. 1032, Series of 2017 – or the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the CPD Law – and Professional Regulatory Board for Professional Teachers (PRBPT) Resolution No. 11, Series of 2017. This paper is aligned with the analysis and objectives of House Bill 7171 or An Act Repealing Republic Act 10912, Otherwise Known as The “Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016” introduced by ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio L. Tinio and Rep. France L. Castro, BAYAN MUNA Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate, GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. Emmi A. De Jesus and Rep. Arlene D. Brosas, ANAKPAWIS Party-list Rep. Ariel “Ka Ayik” B. Casilao, and KABATAAN Party-list Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago, on the Second Regular Session of the Seventeenth Congress (filed on 13 February 2018); and submitted and read into the records of the Senate hearing on the CPD Law on 14 February 2018, called by the Office of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.