President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has established a new inter-agency body tasked with overhauling the country’s education and workforce systems to better align with the demands of a rapidly changing global economy.
Under Administrative Order No. 36, signed on Aug. 13 and released on August 18, the Education and Workforce Development Group (EWDG) will serve as the government’s central coordinating body for all matters concerning education and labor development.
The President will chair the group, with Education Secretary Sonny Angara as co-chair, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma as vice chair, and other members, including the heads of the Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Migrant Workers, the National Economic and Development Authority, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
Malacañang said the new body will craft a 10-year National Education and Workforce Development Plan to address what Mr. Marcos described as “long-standing concerns” in the education sector, including fragmented program implementation, misaligned teacher development, and incoherent policies, issues highlighted in the Second Congressional Commission on Education’s (EDCOM II) 2023 report, “Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education.”
The plan will set priority programs to improve learning outcomes, track learner progress, strengthen labor market information systems, and better align scholarship grants, teacher training, and course offerings in senior high school, higher education, and technical-vocational education with industry needs.
The EWDG is also mandated to evaluate existing inter-agency bodies on education and workforce, propose streamlining measures, monitor government programs, and recommend policy reforms. It will submit monthly reports to the President and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
Funding for the initiative will be drawn from the budgets of participating agencies, with long-term funding to be included in future appropriations.
“All concerned national agencies are directed, and local governments and the private sector are encouraged, to extend full cooperation to the EWDG,” the order stated.
