Innovations in education

PUNCHLINE

Ike Seneres

I am very fortunate to have interviewed Atty. Teodoro Pascua, the Deputy Director General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Atty. Julito Vitriolo, the Executive Director of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Because of these interviews, I gained a better understanding of the innovations in education that the Aquino Administration is now implementing.

Many sectors are saying that there is a high unemployment rate because of a mismatch between the skills of those who are looking for jobs, and the needs of the employers who are looking for people to hire. While that may be true, the high unemployment rate could also be caused by the low supply of job openings, compared to the high demand for jobs among those who want to be hired. Since there is not much that we could do about the supply side, it would be more practical instead to lessen the mismatch, so that more applicants could be hired in whatever job positions are available.

As I learned from Atty. Pascua and Atty. Vitriolo, the K-12 strategy that the Aquino Administration is implementing is part and parcel of an overall strategy that will prepare the students to be more competitive in the job market as they graduate, in effect minimizing the effects of the said mismatch on them. It appears to be a very good strategy, because it gives the high school students the option to take up vocational courses even if they are still at the secondary level, thus it would give them the chance to get employed after graduation, just in case they would decide not to proceed to college.

Another good innovation is the Dual Training System (DTS), a system that allows students to work and study at the same time. Under this system, they would not only earn academic credits, they would also earn real money in payment for the real work that they would do for a real employer that would need their services. The money is of course only one part of it, because the more important part is that the students would earn the actual experience that they would need. What is even more important is that the students are already being matched even when they are still studying.

Yet another innovation is a “ladderized” system that would allow a student to initially take a vocational course, but later on be able to move up to a college course wherein his vocational units would be credited also. For example, a student could take a vocational course in drafting and be able to work right away as a draftsman. Later on, that same student could proceed to an architecture course in college, where his units in drafting could be credited. Conversely, a student could take an architecture course in college, but just in case he could not finish that course, he could move down to a vocational course in drafting, where his college units will also be credited.

As it is now, TESDA is already offering online courses that allow students to study at their own pace wherever they are, and when they are ready to be assessed, they could just go to the nearest assessment center to take an actual test. If and when they pass the test, they would already get certified as if they took the courses in a regular onsite school. According to Atty. Pascua, they already have about 20,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are taking these online courses, thus giving them the option to be promoted within their chosen careers or perhaps move on to another field where they could earn better incomes.

On his part, Atty. Vitriolo is interested in an online system that would enable CHED to help more poor but deserving students. According to him, CHED is spending about 700 million a year to help these needy students, but as of now, using conventional means, they are only able to help about 50,000 students. Since online education is actually cheaper than the conventional means, he sees the potential of doubling or even quadrupling the number of students, even if they would spend the same amount of money that is allotted for the purpose.

Despite the fact that cable and satellite broadcasting are relatively older means of delivering educational content, these could still be used for distance education, especially in areas where the signals for internet and mobile connectivity are not good, or if there are none at all. On the upside, cable and satellite could be cheaper than internet and mobile means. On the downside however, the broadcasts are only one way, meaning that it could not be interactive.

For as long as internet and mobile connectivity are available, these are obviously the better options, because these are two way means, meaning that these are interactive. “One is to many” is one way of delivering video content via internet and mobile means, wherein the teacher could be seen and heard by an unlimited number of students, regardless of where they are. Video conferencing is another way of delivering video content, wherein a teacher could also be seen and heard by about two dozen students in an interactive setting. Both approaches could be supported by live chat, yet another way of interactive distance education. Either way could reach more students in more places, anywhere in the world.

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