The imminent leadership turnover at the Department of Education (DepEd) signals a shift in the agency’s priorities.
Incoming education secretary and current senator Sonny Angara said that his main areas of focus upon taking the DepEd’s helm on July 19 are; streamlining the curriculum, improving quality of teaching, and providing better benefits to teachers.
“We’ll go back-to-basics; we must improve our reading education. The quality of education in terms of math, languages, and science has gone low. We must improve its system as this would help the country in general,” Angara told reporters on Thursday.
The senator also noted how progressive countries excel in their education system by focusing on math, science and technology, and reading as their foundation.
Angara said he agrees with the direction taken by the MATATAG curriculum that streamlines the learning competencies of students, something that he intends to continue under his term.
“Let’s not do it in haste. Let’s continue simplifying our curriculum and focus on areas that matter,” Angara emphasized.
The lawmaker also took a swipe at a recent study by Paris-headquartered Programme for International Student Assessment'(PISA) indicating that Filipino students lag in creative thinking skills, with a score of 14 over the global average of 33.
“I do not believe that Filipinos are not creative because we see it all over the world – inventions, creative ad campaigns, and artworks,” Angara explained.
Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has released the “Gabay sa Pamimili ng School Supplies” (Guide to Buying School Supplies), a price guide to assist consumers in purchasing school items as the new school year approaches.
The price guide includes suggested retail prices for various school supplies, including notebooks, pad paper, pencils, pens, crayons, erasers, sharpeners, and rulers.
This year’s guide features a wider selection of school supplies, with 173 stock keeping units (SKUs) compared to 117 in 2023.
“The good news for consumers is price stability. Over 68 percent of the listed SKUs maintained the same price as last year, while only 24 percent saw an increase,” according to the DTI.
The guide showed that the suggested retail price for notebooks ranges from PHP11.80 to P52.00.
It also indicated that short “pad paper” for Grades 1-4 varies from PHP9.50 to P61 while intermediate pad paper is priced between PHP13.80 and PHP48.75.
Writing materials like pencils and ballpoint pens range from PHP11.00 to PHP33.00 and PHP3.00 to PHP33.00, respectively.
“I urge consumers to buy school supplies from companies that comply with labeling requirements and use the Gabay in shopping. The Gabay indicates which SKUs have not increased or have retained their prices,” said DTI Sec. Alfredo Pascual.
He explained that the annual price guide is part of the DTI’s commitment to consumer protection, encouraging buyers to be aware of their rights and report violations in product quality standards. With Rolando Ng III
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “PEAC backs Angara move to expand gov’t assistance for poor students”