By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday welcomed the Philippines’ improved performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), saying the gains indicate that education reforms are now bearing fruit.
In a video message uploaded on social media, President Marcos Jr. expressed elation over the country’s improved scores in reading, mathematics, and science, placing the Philippines among the few education systems that showed improvements across all three areas.
“Nabalitaan po natin ngayon-ngayon lang ay ang Pilipinas ay isa sa pinakamaganda ang performance sa pagpapaganda ng educational sector.
Ito ay kinuha sa mga score ng ating mga mag-aaral. Tumaas tayo sa lahat ng bahagi—sa reading, sa mathematics, sa science. Dahil ilan lang daw ang bansa na natamo ang ganoong klaseng improvement.”
The President noted the improvement in the number of Filipino learners reaching Level 2 in reading proficiency, which he attributed to the collective efforts of hard work of teachers, parents, communities and the government in supporting learners and implementing education reforms.
He said the latest PISA results demonstrate that Filipino students can achieve better outcomes when provided with adequate support.
“Nakakatuwa ang balitang iyan. Muli ay napapatunayan kung gano’ng kagagaling ang ating mga mag-aaral—na sila ay masipag at seryoso sa kanilang pag-aaral—at kung gaano kagaling magturo ang ating mga guro basta’t sila ay supportado nang tama.”
A sign of things to come
President Marcos Jr. said the government would continue pursuing programs aimed at addressing the students’ needs, including the construction of classrooms, provision of internet connectivity and computers, distribution of school supplies, and production of learning materials and books.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to improving education, citing the Philippines’ recognition as “one of the fastest-improving educational systems globally, with the strongest long-term improvement in reading amongst participating systems.”
“Nagsisimula pa lang tayo, ipapagpatuloy natin ito. At nakikita naman natin, kapag pinagkaisahan natin ang pagpapaganda ng buhay ng ating mga mag-aaral ay talagang ramdam na ramdam ang napakagandang resulta.
Kaya huwag po natin titigilan. Dito po sa ating administrasyon, hindi po natin titigilan yan. Mas lalo pa natin didiinan ng ating seryoso na pagtutugon.”
The PISA is an international assessment that measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics and science, providing countries with data to assess and improve their education systems.
