đź“· Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Gabriela partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas
THE resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte as Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) should not be construed as an easy way out even as a partylist congresswoman insisted that Congress has yet to get an explanation as to how funds were used during her stint as DepEd chief.
Citing the most recent result of a study administered by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Gabriela partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas finds it imperative for Duterte to attend the upcoming budget deliberations for the 2025 General Appropriations Bill.
In its 2022 cycle, PISA measured15-year-old students’ creative thinking or the “ability to generate, evaluate and improve ideas to produce original and effective solutions, advance knowledge and create impactful expressions of imagination”.
“Hindi pa lusot si VP Sara Duterte sa nalalapit na national budget deliberations. Kailangan busisiin ang bagsak na performance ng Department of Education at tumitinding krisis sa edukasyon sa ilalim ng kanyang panunungkulan,” reads Brosas’ statement.
Aside from Duterte, the militant legislator finds it rather necessary for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to make a public admission for being remiss of the education sector by appointing a non-academician to a government position requiring stiff qualifications.
“At syempre, hindi rin ligtas ang administrasyon ni President Marcos Jr. Imbis na isama sa mga prayoridad ang pagsasaayos ng sistema ng edukasyon, Charter change ang pilit na sinaksak sa lalamunan ng mga Pilipino,” she added.
On Wednesday, the Presidential Communications Office announced Duterte’s resignation as Education Secretary and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Following the Palace confirmation that Duterte stepped down as DepEd chief, ACT Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro chided the Vice President for a resignation that should have been done a long time ago.
Another congressman – Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman, for his part, welcomed the development, for which he believed as Duterte’s indirect admission that her stay at DepEd was a liability to the education sector.
Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, meanwhile, called on the Palace to freeze the implementation of Duterte’s Matatag curriculum, which he claimed was limitedly focused on “brainwashing” public school students. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
