Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

Malnutrition, 'mass promotion', lack of books all linked to learning crisis - prof

Article (news)

David Dizon

ABS-CBN News

<p>Changing the curriculum is not the only solution to the learning crisis in the country, a university professor said Monday, noting that malnutrition, lack of reading material and even mass promotion are all part of the problem.</p><p>According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), a three-year study on the state of Philippine education showed learner proficiency plummeting from 30.52% at Grade 3, to just 0.47% by Grade 12.</p><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/kkaBWciQIdQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Some of the new findings for 2025 include “lack of learning resources for early childhood, the limited coverage of DOH and DSWD nutrition interventions for children aged zero to four, the urgency of needing to address ‘mass promotion’ practices in public schools, and the previously reported proliferation diploma mills in higher education.”</p><p>Prof. Lizamarie Olegario of the University of the Philippines noted the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be blamed for the learning crisis since the problems affecting the Philippines’ learners are systemic.</p><p>“Systemic kasi ang issue natin sa bansa natin at hindi ito masosolusyonan ng halimbawa ay curriculum change lamang,” she said. </p><p>One problem addressed by EDCOM 2 is malnutrition, which directly affects learner proficiency. According to Olegario, a malnourished or undernourished child will have slower brain development, which leads to attention problems and weak memory, affecting education.</p><p>One challenge that is not often discussed in the learning crisis is the limited language exposure of parents to their children as well as lack of reading material in the household.</p><p>She noted that a child is already learning even before they start schooling.</p><p>“Kapag halimbawa may limited language exposure ang mga magulang tapos hindi nila kinakausap ang mga anak nila, walang oras para sa mga anak dahil nagtatrabaho ang dalawang magulang. Tapos walang halimbawa hindi print-rich ang environment,” she said.</p><p>“May preparatory kasi yan bago makasampa ng Grade 1. May preparatory na hindi naman kinakailangang marunong magbasa pero kailangang meron silang exposure sa language at print-rich materials. If you were to be asked, ang dami kasing problema sa education, hindi naman sa we&#x27;re putting the [Department of Education] down, pero totoo naman ang dami-daming dapat i-address.”</p><p>Olegario confirmed the congested curriculum can hamper learning, with too many listed competencies that must be followed by educators. She proposed the “less is more” approach, with teachers focusing on literacy and numeracy for Grades 1-3.</p><p>Large class sizes can also be a problem, Olegario said, adding the ideal class size should be 20 students instead of 40-60.</p><p>She noted that for college level, ideal class size is 30 while for the graduate level of PhD students, the ideal class size is 5.</p><p>“Pag lumampas ng 30, lumagpas ng 35 ang class ko, nahihirapan ako dahil hindi ko matutukan ang mga estudyante,” she said.</p><p>Another problem, she said is mass promotion, in which a student is promoted to a higher grade even though they have not yet passed their subjects.</p><p>“Pinapasa natin kahit hindi pa ready…Napropromote ang mga estudyante dahil may mga nababalitaan ako na hindi naman nakakapasok ng klase dahil nagtatrabaho ‘yung bata or laging absent dahil maraming rason ang mga kabataan ngayon kasama na dito ‘yung kahirapan, dulot ng kahirapan, walang baon, walang pagkain, etc. so pinapasan nila…”</p><p>“‘Yung nga nakakarating na ng high school, hindi naman nakakabasa. Bakit problema ang mass promotion? Nagkakaroon ng misinterpretation na no one left behind. Pero ang no student left behind, ang tunay na meaning nun, nade-develop ang mastery ng mga bata.”</p><p>Olegario said poverty plays a huge role in education especially since those in the poorest sector are forced to work. This leads to a sector that are unable to finish their studies even as the richest sector hire tutors to help their children. </p><p>The UP professor denied that private school teachers are better than public school educators, saying that in some cases it could be the opposite. &quot;Pwede pareho lang, pwede mas magagaling pa ang nasa public schools,&quot; she said.</p><p>However, there is one key difference for private school learners.</p><p>&quot;Maraming support ang private schools. So ito &#x27;yung mga batang nakaka-afford nga ng tuition fee, nakaka-afford ng tutor, nakaka-afford ng after-school na remediation,&quot; she said.</p><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/o-ohEipocnw?&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/C1zqMt1AZv8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Changing the curriculum is not the only solution to the learning crisis in the country, a university professor said Monday, noting that malnutrition, lack of reading material and even mass promotion are all part of the problem.</p>

Changing the curriculum is not the only solution to the learning crisis in the country, a university professor said Monday, noting that malnutrition, lack of reading material and even mass promotion are all part of the problem.