Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) has urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to tackle the issues of mass promotion and inadequate assessment in schools before his State of the Nation Address, citing their detrimental effects on employment and industries.
PBEd emphasized that the learning gap resulting from these practices leads to a lack of proficiency in essential skills among students, hampering their employability upon graduation.
During PBEd’s annual membership meeting held at Shangri-La The Fort, Executive Director Justine Raagas highlighted the organization’s state of Education report, which was based on roundtable discussions and consultations with education stakeholders nationwide.
The report revealed that many participants misunderstood the “No Child Left Behind” concept, leading to teachers promoting all students irrespective of their grades and competencies, even in the absence of an official mandate from the Department of Education.
PBEd’s report highlighted the practice of mass promotion not only hinders students’ mastery of fundamental skills but also contributes to behavioral issues such as disobedience and recklessness.
Raagas emphasized the need for a learning recovery approach to address learning gaps. PBEd urged the government to provide teachers with the necessary resources and support to effectively engage in reteaching and remediation.
Furthermore, the lack of proper assessments impedes these interventions, preventing accurate evaluation of student performance.
PBEd stressed the importance of implementing effective evaluation mechanisms that promote merit-based progression, ensuring that students acquire the essential competencies to advance to the next grade level and secure employment.
