PNOY also talked about the “Roadmap on Public Higher Education Reform,” to improve efficiency and rationalize public higher education system to upgrade quality of public higher education. Also it will rationalize the State Universities and Colleges (SUC’s) and Local Colleges and Universities’ (LCU’s) number, distribution, and growth; program offerings; and resource utilization and generation. It strengthens SUC’s and LCU’s quality assurance; upgrade faculty qualifications; and upgrade SUC’s to international standards. Also, to modernize SUC’s facilities and strengthen student financial assistance programs.
One of the biggest problems in education is the scarcity of textbooks in public elementary and high school nationwide. PNOY promised the delivery of the 61.76 million textbooks and expected to be completed within 2012, to achieve an unprecedented 1 is to 1 (1:1) textbook to pupil ratio for both elementary and high school. This will cost P2.49 billion.
We’re also expecting an increase funding for the Government Assistance to Student and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE), to extend financial assistance to deserving elementary school graduates who wish to pursue their secondary education in private schools. For school year 2012-2013, P6.29 billion was allocated to cover 930,000 students, with students outside the NCR getting P6,500 per annum and students in the NCR getting P10,000 per annum. PNOY also said that he also provided alternative job opportunities to TESDA graduates through the TESDA Specialista Technopreneurship Program, launched in November 2011, through which some 5,240 TESDA Specialistas are assured of an average daily earning of P562 each, which is higher than the average daily basic pay of P317 a day. TESDA Specialista earns an average weekly income of P2,810 or a monthly income of P11,240. Strengthened efforts to address jobs-skills mismatch and ensured ready supply of skills through the four major convergent programs of DOLE, TESDA, CHED, and DepEd, such as the Education and Training Curriculum Review; Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF); career advocacy; and, timely labor market information (LMI).
I was so shocked and disappointed about the revelation that PNOY’s stated. He said that some teachers teaching in public elementary and high school are not a part or not registered in the roster of professionals in the Philippine Regulation Board (PRC). For me, I consider this as an alarming issue because there are some teachers operating in teaching field without license. This could actually affect the learning process because these teachers are not yet professional to handle students. This could actually cause malfunction in the society because these teachers aren’t products of the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET).
I think that the president did a very good job in his State of the Nation Address this year. He mentioned most of the government’s achievements and projects, problems and also the future plans. If I were to grade him, I would have given him a nine over ten. Most of the citizens of the country also agree with my decision that the president gave a good speech but it’s not entirely the good speech itself that I gave him due credit but most importantly, I can see in him the sincerity of what he said actually equated of what he did for the country, it’s not in the basis of words but I could say that he is a working President. But some people protested and got mad with his speech because they thought they didn’t feel that there were ever an improvement to our country, they also believe that the poor becomes even poorer and only few individuals have benefited to the works of the Aquino government, for them the president weren’t true to his words, thus “daang matuwid” of P-noy is “daang Malabo”. There were people who got injured, and also vehicles were destroyed, because of these protests which mostly happened outside the Batasang Pambansa. Security was very important in this place, because the president was inside. This event showed two different worlds, inside the Batasang Pambansa, there was peace and order while the president was giving his speech. While outside, the people were protesting and fighting with the police which depicted war and chaos.
I still believe that Filipinos should not solely blame our President for the suffering of our country and for being poor for so long now, our leaders are just there to lead us and assist us, but for me and in reality, we make our own fortune whether we allow ourselves to suffer or fight the poorness in us. God created us equally, so, it’s up to us to use the intelligence and skills God has given us, we should stop blaming other people or the President why we cannot buy food for our family, why wait for other people to feed us, we have to use our ability to work and make the tools of patience, hard work and confidence to make a better living. Our President cannot feed each of us, he cannot work and make an earning for each of us, he is there to teach us to fish and not to give us fish every day, we should move, we should work and we should believe in ourselves and even believe that our country has so much to offer for us Filipinos more than any President of the Philippines can offer.
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My Reaction: 3rd State of the Nation Address of PNOY
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