Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, with members of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EdCom II), conducted a series of site visits and consultations with public and private schools in the province Aug. 26.
The initiative aims to address concerns and gather suggestions from the stakeholders to improve the country’s education policies.
The visits included demonstrations at the E.B. Magalona Elementary School, where students showcased improved literacy and reading comprehension through the help of the USAID ABC+ Language Identification and Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment Tools. Among those discussed were solutions to remediate learners, who cannot read at grade level during the school year, a press release from Benitez’s Office said.
Simultaneous focus group discussions and early numeracy initiative demonstrations were also held at South Silay Elementary School to gather insights from teachers and observe how students are learning mathematics.
These discussions are crucial so that “we can create solutions that not only look good on paper but will also work in real life,” Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, EdCom II co-chair, said.
Consultations with various public schools were also conducted. Among the topics discussed were improving performance and quality assurance, subsidies and vouchers, the issues of spiraling pedagogy, and a bill filed to make it non-mandatory.
Alignment of TechVoc and industry, and microcredentialing for students to complement the Philippine Qualifications Framework were also discussed, the press release said.
Benitez underscored his strong commitment to productive dialogue during the afternoon session with private schools. “Any discussions brought up today will certainly contribute to our deliberations in Congress,” he said.
He further expressed openness to necessary reforms, saying, “We are willing to listen and see what kind of reforms are best,” indicating a proactive approach to enhancing educational systems.
With a broader perspective, he added, “We all are stakeholders, and what we do shapes the future of each and every one of us in a very real and material sense.”
Joining the visit aside from Romulo were chief of staff Atty. Katryn Cardiente, Adnan Ahmad Tristan Piosang from the Office of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Dr. Karol Mark Yee – EdCom executive director, USAID representatives, school officials and division superintendents of Silay, Victorias, Sipalay, and Himamaylan, and private schools representatives, among others. ||
