MANILA, Philippines – If you’re concerned about the poor academic performance of many Filipino learners, you’d also be alarmed by the insufficient support for the country’s smartest students.
The Year Two Report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) showed that the Philippines is only supporting 1.03% of the “best and brightest” learners in the country, or 279,796 out of 27.08 million.
In comparison, countries such as China and South Korea target their top 3%, while Australia and Europe support up to the top 10% of their students. This would mean the Philippines should support “an additional 533,502 to 2.43 million learners.”
EDCOM 2 noted that around half of the students qualified for admission to the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) system or Pisay were unable to get in because of limited slots.
“While there were 49,481 applicants for the 16 Pisay campuses from SY 2022–2023 to SY 2024–2025, only 11,351 (23%) qualified. However, only 5,544 were able to eventually pursue their studies in PSHS, with the remaining 5,807 ‘turned away’ due to lack of slots,” the commission said.
At the PSHS main campus in Metro Manila, there were 4,540 applicants and 3,234 qualifiers, but only 719 slots from SY 2022-2023 to SY 2024-2025.
EDCOM 2 appealed to the government to increase slot allocations for the PSHS system to “ensure all qualified students are admitted.”
The commission also noted that private school students outperformed public school students in the PSHS National Competitive Examination, at 43% versus 17%.
“Without differentiation and opportunities to further improve their talents, the potential of talented students is unfulfilled. Research shows that effective support strategies include instructional grouping, acceleration through curriculum compacting or grade skipping, and enrichment models like the School-wide Enrichment Model (SEM), which offers advanced, interest-based opportunities,” EDCOM 2 said.
The PSHS system is being managed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Students are taught with a research-oriented curriculum focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
“Compared to the DepEd (Department of Education) curriculum which follows a spiral progression across grade levels in high school and does not transition seamlessly from JHS (junior high school) to SHS (senior high school), the PSHS curriculum is strategically designed to scaffold skills and knowledge in STEM education,” EDCOM 2 said.
The commission noted that most qualifiers for admission to the country’s premier state university, the University of the Philippines, come from the PSHS system.
Outdated special programs
EDCOM 2 also flagged the DepEd’s outdated special curricular programs (SCPs). These are:
- Special Program in the Arts
- Special Program in Foreign Language
- Special Program in Journalism
- Special Program in Sports
- Special Program in Science Technology and Engineering
- Special Program in Technical-Vocational Education
“Evidently, these special programs were not borne out of a cohesive and deliberate framework to support the best and brightest learners. Instead, these are different initiatives that emerged over 24 years and were eventually grouped under one category and office,” the commission said.
According to EDCOM 2, some of the SCPs still operate under policies and implementing guidelines that date back to the era of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, the DepEd’s predecessor.
The commission pointed out that curriculums and programs must be regularly updated to meet the needs of the current generation of students.
Aside from being outdated, the SCPs also face the following problems:
- limited financing
- few opportunities for specialized teacher training and learning resources
- absence of mechanisms for identification of specialization in earlier years
- lack of cohesive vision for curricular progression
- lack of clear delineation and structure of manpower throughout the DepEd governance levels
- absence of assessment mechanisms such as tracer studies to determine program effectiveness or impact
You can access the full Year Two Report here. – Rappler.com
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