Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Students arrive for the afternoon classes at the President Corazon Aquino Elementary School in Batasan Hills Quezon City on April 7, 2025.
The Education Department allowed schools around the country to implement adjusted class schedules from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. for morning sessions and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. for afternoon sessions, as the heat index is forecast to reach more than 42 degrees Celsius, which falls within the danger levels.  Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

HIGH HEAT INDEX- SCHOOLS

Ched Rick Gatchalian

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17564009645939c6e6010-bf94-4c0c-9ee6-bdcbf0340049.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Klaus Hoffarth Center for Critical Thinking (KHC) formally opens in Miriam College in Quezon City on Thursday, August 29, 2025. <em>Ched Rick Gatchalian, ABS-CBN News.</em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — Several educational reforms and challenges were raised during the official opening of the Klaus Hoffarth Center for Critical Thinking (KHC) in Miriam College in Quezon City on Thursday.</p><p>KHC, a resource hub built through partnership of Miriam College and Hoffarth family, seeks to help address the recently surfaced critical thinking gap among the Filipino youth.</p><p>The Philippines was the second-lowest among 64 ranked countries of the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) on creative thinking performance of 15-year-old students, based on its 2022 report released last year.</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:560px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1961022562043142596&amp;lang=en&amp;maxWidth=560px&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-08-28T17%3A06%3A40.963230%3Aedaf2c9d-7966-47f1-b0ee-25ab3240255f%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=44cf3b2652643656522d739ad086ce1339c25296&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:506px;height:300px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1961022562043142596"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><p>The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also revealed in 2022 that nearly 19 million Filipinos aged 10-64 are not considered &quot;functionally literate&quot; or they struggle to understand simple stories.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/12/06/23/pisa-filipino-learners-still-lagging-in-math-reading-science">No improvement in learning? 2022 PISA results show Filipino learners still lagging behind in math, reading, science</a></div><p>&quot;With the Philippines facing significant economic, social, and political challenges, we were inspired to create an initiative that could make a meaningful impact,&quot; said Gerry van der Linden, KHC Advisory Council chairperson.</p><p>During the launch, the council highlighted that KHC seeks to help prepare the youth become more politically aware.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CLASSROOM BACKLOGS, DIGITAL DIVIDE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Department of Education Undersecretary for Strategic Management Ronald Mendoza shed light on some problems that DepEd is trying to resolve during his keynote speech.</p><p>Among these are the accumulated backlog of 165,000 classrooms and the existing inequality of access to digital academic tools or solutions.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/8/23/education-allocation-in-proposed-budget-falls-short-of-unesco-standard-business-group-1214">Education allocation in proposed budget &#x27;falls short of UNESCO standard&#x27; — business group</a></div><p>Mendoza said Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) will play a huge role in addressing the mounting classroom backlogs.</p><p>&quot;It (PPPs) will allow us to frontload the production of 105,000. And my advice to the next Undersecretary for Strategic Management who will replace me in 2028 is tirahin mo na &#x27;yung 60,000 &#x27;pag take over mo,&quot; he stressed.</p><p>Mendoza added DepEd is focusing on digitalization-based reform on the education sector.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/technology/2025/6/19/internet-in-all-public-schools-eyed-this-year-dict-1442">Internet in all public schools eyed this year: DICT</a></div><p>&quot;The first is digitalization. The writing is on the wall, this is the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We must all have access to that technology if we are to be empowered,&quot; he said.</p><p>But he recognized that there is an inequality to those who can access the technology.</p><p>&quot;What we want to make sure is that we give all Filipino children a fighting chance to access that technology, to thrive in that technology,&quot; he emphasized, stressing that innovations are necessary.</p><p>He also pointed out that as more schools opt to implement &quot;blended learning&quot; especially amid inclement weather, the Philippines also need to prove such set-up does not sacrifice the quality of education.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/11/04/22/blended-learning-allowed-in-schools-with-exceptional-circumstances">Blended learning allowed in schools with &#x27;exceptional circumstances&#x27;</a></div><p>&quot;We have to prove that having the blended learning doesn&#x27;t mean you&#x27;re a second-class learning, and the one that is face-to-face has a superior learning outcome,&quot; he said. &quot;Otherwise, we will see an equality yet again.&quot;</p><p>Among the main outcomes of DepEd&#x27;s 5-Point Reform Agenda that Mendoza shared was high performing teachers, protection of learner&#x27;s physical and mental well-being, efficient structures, high quality education, and empowered and employable Filipinos.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CHANGING THE NARRATIVE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte attended the launch, stressing that the need to improve critical thinking skills is more urgent now that there are proven learning gaps.</p><p>&quot;These aspirations (dignity with ability to make well-informed decisions) are even more urgent today, in the face of challenges like persisting poverty, lack of opportunities, and gaps in our education system,&quot; she said.</p><p>She mentioned the recent assessments pointing out Filipino students&#x27; difficulty to think critically.</p><p>&quot;As mayor, I&#x27;m determined to do my part in changing this narrative, putting social justice in the heart of what we do,&quot; Belmonte said.&quot;</p><p>Victoria Bantug Hoffarth and her son Paul, the supporters of the project, were also present during the event.</p><p>KHC is gearing up to launch more pocket activities, contests, and workshops that aim to hone the critical thinking skills of the youth.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/809-Vy4ICpQ?&amp;t=23s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ieF0mNunlMY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Department of Education Undersecretary for Strategic Management Ronald Mendoza shed light on some problems that DepEd is trying to resolve in the next 3 years.</p>

Department of Education Undersecretary for Strategic Management Ronald Mendoza shed light on some problems that DepEd is trying to resolve in the next 3 years.

DepEd eyes more PPP deals to address classroom backlogs, digital divide

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DepEd eyes more PPP deals to address classroom backlogs, digital divide

Ched Rick Gatchalian,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 29, 2025 09:45 AM PHT

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Klaus Hoffarth Center for Critical Thinking

KHC

Miriam College

Quezon City

Ronald Mendoza

Department of Education

DepEd

Joy Belmonte

Critical Thinking

Filipino students

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