THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is calling for the creation of a new Congressional Commission on Education, pointing out the competency gap among workers hired by the private sector.
PCCI is pushing for the development of an “EdCom 4.0,” or a new congressional commission on education that evaluates learning systems at every level. The country’s largest business group said the education sector must respond in a proactive way to Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution.
The chamber in a press release on Friday expressed concern about the country’s low performance in international educational assessment.
Filipino students had some of the lowest mean scores in reading comprehension, science, and math in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranking released last year.
“To the business sector, the most alarming is the perceivable gap in the competencies of the graduates for the world of work. The business sector is also very concerned about the alignment and harmony of the tri-focalized system of education,” PCCI said.
Tri-focalized education in the Philippines refers to the separate agencies working on education: the Department of Education for basic education, the Commission on Higher Education for higher learning, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for vocational training.
PCCI said the private sector should be involved in the development of educational systems and policies.
A 1990 joint resolution created the initial congressional commission on education, which released a report and proposed the tri-focalized system.
In January, five senators released Senate Joint Resolution No. 10 calling for a new EdCom composed of members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, a co-author of the resolution, had called the country’s PISA results a “wake up call” for the government.
PCCI also asked the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to conduct the postponed board licensure examinations, including those for physicians and nurses, to allow professionals to enter the workforce. PRC had said that it would consider online exams. — Jenina P. Ibañez
