Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda recently filed a bill in Congress seeking the establishment of Schools of the Future in Technology that will serve as pillars of basic Philippine education and provide “Filipino students the benefit of technological innovations and prepare them for the challenges of future economic and employment realities.”
Titled the Philippine Schools of the Future Technology Act of 2019, Salceda said his proposal (HB 9142) answered the need to “close the technological and knowledge gap,” with the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is expected to “disrupt traditional business and employment models, render certain professions obsolete and displace some sectors of the workforce whose jobs are bound to be automated.”
Citing various researches, Salceda said half of today’s activities could be digitally enabled by 2025, technology being an indispensable tool in almost all facets of human activity. “About 65 percent of current work skills become obsolete in two years due to technological innovations… and this phase is seen to intensify in the years ahead,” he added.