Education in Asia still weak and unequal
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Fidel Valdez Ramos
IN recent years, Asia has become the world’s fastestgrowing economic region. Nowadays, many experts are saying that the Asia-Pacific, to include Australia and New Zealand, will soon become the main source of global economic power. That forthcoming era — when our continent and its archipelagic states become the growth engine for the whole world — we all hope to see within 5-10 years and benefit from. Yet, we are also well-aware of how relatively weak education in Asia still is, when compared to education in the West. Then, there is the reality that education in many Asian countries is still plagued by inequalities — that while tiny elites among our peoples get first-rate university education, the great majority still receive very little education, if at all. Leaders, educators, economists and social scientists around the world know how a poor education system, a stagnant economy, shorter life expectancy, and mass poverty are parts of the same vicious cycle.
The Philippine situation
The "Common Country Assessment" (CCA) of the Philippines put out by the United Nations Country Team in 2004 contains some good news and much bad news. On education, the CCA reveals that the Philippines enjoys a high participation rate of 97 percent in elementary education and a high literacy rate of 94 percent. However, secondary level participation is dramatically lower at 66 percent, and large disparities exist across regions. Most regions in Luzon rate above the national average in secondary level attendance, while most of those in the Visayas and Mindanao fall below. During the 20002001 school year, the ARMM registered the lowest secondary level participation rate of 23 percent — in sharp contrast to that of Region I (Pangasinan and the Ilocos provinces) at 87.5 percent, the highest in the country.
The country also faces a major challenge to retain children in the formal education system. The more affluent areas have a nearly 90 percent completion of elementary education, while the poorest areas have a completion rate of only 30 percent. Research reveals that, in addition to poverty and health considerations, the main reasons for dropping out include: Distance between home and school, lack of interest in school, teacher hostility in the classroom, malnutrition, as well as the decisions of families to sacrifice the schooling of employable family members in return for additional income, especially among the poor with unwieldy family size. Many of the children who drop out, or have never attended formal classes in the first place, have few opportunities for further study or work. More attention, therefore, needs to be paid to transforming schools into child-friendly learning environments, addressing the disparities in education outcomes, and developing alternative delivery schemes for particular groups.
Funding has always been and continues to be a serious problem. Much of the education budget is directed to the formal school system, leaving very little to nonformal education for the needs of school drop-outs and the out-of-school youth.
In the effort to provide free elementary and secondary education for all, the school system has been rapidly expanded. Such rush, however, has not been able to ensure the minimum requirements for quality education. Causes include: Unwieldy class sizes, congested curriculum, use of inflexible and impassive teaching and learning techniques that inhibit active participation and feedback, and a predominance of teachers with poor pedagogical skills as a consequence of inadequate formal training.
Pooling resources to strengthen Asian education
Part of the answer to national weaknesses and deficiencies is to increase international cooperation, communication and interaction — so that countries can reinforce each other in strengthening the education system everywhere in Asia. At the 2005 Education Forum for Asia ( EFA-2005) held last 13-16 October in Beijing, this was the general consensus of some 800 delegates who were led by 25 Asia-Pacific Ministers of Education. The event was coorganized by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA); the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the China Scholarship Fund (CSF). As BFA Chairman, I delivered the opening address and headed the Philippine delegation composed of more than 20 leaders of universities and educational institutions.
A resurgent and prosperous Asia is envisioned to play a leadership role in the world of the 21st century. The mobilization of education administrators, professors, scholars, educational organizations, technology partners, students, and government officials has been undertaken to address the issues and problems faced by individual countries in the region, it being the common belief that the single key to Asia’s progressive and sustained development is the strengthening of Asian education and accessing it to the maximum number of people. This means not only higher education, but also elementary education, vocational-technical education, non-formal education, and a system of lifelong learning. In its broadest sense, education is considered to be the most powerful "weapon of mass upliftment" ( WMU).
The really good news for everyone at the conference was the actualization of the first year of the Asia Foreign Study Scholarship Program ( AFSSP). Empowered by generous contributions from the Ministry of Education, Beijing Municipal Commission on Education, and several Chinese universities, the first ten scholars — coming from as far as Uzbekistan and Nepal — had arrived in China and were already placed in their respective schools. These scholarship recipients will ultimately become "Asian Educational Exchange Ambassadors" — educational emissaries among our peoples. An important pre-requisite to earning a scholarship under AFSSP is functional proficiency in Mandarin, which is the principal medium of instruction, and which takes at least two years of intensive learning to acquire.
The EFA series of annual international conferences was established in Beijing in December 2003 as a result of an "Initiators Meeting" co-organized by the BFA, UNESCO and CSF. Its major purpose is to address the urgent need for well-trained and skilled human resources to achieve long-term economic and social development, as well as global competitiveness, in Asia. The Initiator’s Meeting was highlighted by the address of Her Excellency Chen Zhili, State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China and former Minister of Education. Providing both logistical and technical support are the Municipal Government of Beijing, the China Council of University Presidents and China’s Ministry of Education.
EFA-2005 focused on the issues related to resource and talent development; vocational education; international certification and the labor market; impact of corporate community partnerships on school education; the role of information technology in education management and training; and the expansion of scholarship programs.
Aside from China, the Philippines had the biggest delegation in EFA-2005, and consisted of: Dr. Carlito Puno, Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); Atty. Roberto Laurel, President of Lyceum of the Philippines; Bernadette Nepomuceno, President of Holy Angel University; Dr. Trinidad Osteria, President of Yuchengco Center; Teodoro Ocampo, President of National University; Dr. Carmen Lamagna, Vice-Chancellor of American International University-Bangladesh; Dr. Patricia Licuanan, President of Miriam College; Dr. Jose Paulo Campos, President of Emilio Aguinaldo College; Aniceto Sobrepeña, President of Manila Doctors College; Josie Tirador, President of Golden State College; Dr. Consuelo Co, President of ICCT Colleges; Guillermina Tabamo, President of USST College; Teresa Ocampo, President of Tarlac School of Arts and Trade; Gregorio Sison, President of Softnet College of Science and Technology; Alma Curato, Vice-President of Arellano University; Atty. Manuel Curato, Director of Arellano Law Foundation; Dr. Eduardo dela Cruz Jr., Dean of Arellano University; Dr. Ma. Mercedes Rodrigo, Department Chair of International Systems and Computer Sciences, Ateneo University; Dr. Conrado Iñigo Jr., AVP of Centro Escolar University; Mario Sales, AVP of Arellano University; Louie Divinagracia, Academic Programs Director of De La Salle Professional Schools; Florentino Cayco III, Director of Arellano Law Foundation; Veronica Caroline Co, Director of ICCT Colleges; Elena Tesoro, Department Head of Dee Hwa Liong College; Pedro Cayco, General Services Manager of Arellano University; Ma. Luz Medialdia, Trade Specialist of DTI; and Michelle Lichauco, Co-owner/School Director of Young Creative Minds.
China’s aggressive thrusts in the educational field are manifested by a new national policy for grade school students to learn English as early as possible, and the establishment of more than 300 scientific research institutes in the Beijing area alone.
The Philippines is still lagging behind.
Please send any comments to rpdev@skyinet.net.
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