Vice presidential candidate Bayani Fernando spends some time with the elementary pupils in Cebu. As an engineer, Bayani is pushing for tech-voc courses for young people, the construction of more schools, and the upgrading of salaries of teachers.

His pronouncements on reforms in education may sound ambitious, but people know – and his track record shows – that when Bayani Fernando says it, he does it.

For instance, Bagumbayan vice presidential candidate and former MMDA chair Bayani Fernando vows to focus on the 10 reforms in an Education Reform Agenda proposed by a coalition of captains of industry and other concerned citizens in the country called the Education Nation.

These 10 points are very “doable,’’ Bayani says, and they include increasing the education budget; enhancing Basic Education by adding two more years; promoting academic excellence; developing community ownership of schools; ensuring universal access to education; strengthening higher education; empowering teachers; building transparency and accountability; supporting private education; and maximizing alternative learning.

The 63-year old candidate says that his main education agenda, should he be elected, is to help the President establish measurable and doable targets for the Education department.

The Constitution guarantees free elementary and high school education, Bayani says, but the problem is how the State can ensure the quality of education and make sure that the children become genuinely literate.

“I have a measure for that because I believe that what is not measured is not managed. Just look at the students’ textbooks and check kung hanggang saan ang nabasa ng mga bata sa loob ng isang school year. Most of the time, the child has read only 30 percent of the book. Ang masama diyan, many lessons are supposed to be the pre-requisite of other lessons in the next year. So nagkaka-domino effect at sa huli, graduate ang bata pero hindi marunong magbasa,’’ Bayani explains.

Bayani says finishing the curriculum at the end of the school year should be prioritized. “Dapat pumasok ang mga bata kung kinakailangan para tapusin ang curriculum. Pag hindi natapos, bagsak ang bata, tanggal ang maestro,’’ he says.

Even as mayor of Marikina, Bayani has already focused on making education interesting for students.

Bayani is known for his drastic yet effective ways to reform systems that have gone awry. But he says he is only guided by principles of practicality when he executes his job.

Teachers' welfare
An engineer, Bayani will also push for the construction of additional modern school buildings, as he is very much aware of the big deficit in the number of schools in proportion to the number of students in public schools.

He says he will also push for technical-vocational education for the youth.

Bayani and Bagumbayan standard bearer Richard Gordon also plan to increase the salaries of teachers to 40,000 pesos. “Teachers should not be spending time in cleaning or repairing school facilities telling them that it is the job of the engineers like me,’’ he adds.