Gatchalian urges efficient resource management on education over simply spending more

While an increase in education spending could help address the country's education woes to a certain extent, Senator Win Gatchalian pressed that improving the education sector's performance requires more efficient management of resources.

This comes after a recent study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) showed that underfunding in education contributes to the country's low rankings in global education indices.

Gatchalian made an example of Vietnam, a country that is in a similar phase as the Philippines in terms of economic development, but has better performance in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Vietnam's average score (468) was way above the Philippines' (353), based on 2022 PISA results.

Gatchalian emphasized that in terms of education spending as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), there is not much difference between the Philippines (3.8%) and Vietnam (4.06%). The Philippines spends an equivalent of around P55,000 on average per learner every year from Kindergarten until the age of 15. On the other hand, Vietnam spends P69,000 on average per learner every year from Kindergarten from Kindergarten until the age of 15.

"As what Vietnam demonstrated, success in education goes beyond financial investment. The real key lies in efficiency," said Gatchalian, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

Even learners from Vietnam's poorest households scored higher than the Philippines' overall performance. Learners in the Philippines belonging to the bottom 10% of the Economic, Social, and Cultural Status (ESCS) distribution scored 336 on average, 91 points lower than the average score of Vietnam's "poorest" 10% of learners, which was at 427.

"While increasing resources for education spending could help our learners, it is equally important to ensure that we are efficiently spending the funds we allocate. We need to learn from our neighbors like Vietnam, where we have similar levels of education spending but learner performance far exceeds ours," said Gatchalian.

Gatchalian nanawagan ng mas mabisang pangangasiwa ng resources para sa sektor ng edukasyon

Bagama't makatutulong ang dagdag na pondo upang maresolba ang mga problema sa sektor ng edukasyon sa bansa, naniniwala si Senador Win Gatchalian na higit pa rito ay mas mabisa ang tamang paggamit ng mga resources o mas mainam na paggasta ng pondo.

Kasunod ito ng pinakahuling pag-aaral ng Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) na nagsasabing nakakaapekto sa mababang ranking ng Pilipinas sa mga international large-scale assessment ang mababang pondong inilalaan ng bansa sa edukasyon.

Ibinahagi ni Gatchalian ang halimbawa ng Vietnam na halos nasa parehong estado ng Pilipinas pagdating sa paglago ng ekonomiya. Lumabas kasi sa resulta ng 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) na mas mataas ang average na marka ng Vietnam (468) kung ihahambing sa Pilipinas (353).

Pagdating sa paggasta sa edukasyon bilang porsyento ng Gross Domestic Product (GDP), hindi nagkakalayo ang Pilipinas (3.8%) at Vietnam (4.06%). Tinatayang umaabot sa P55,000 ang average na nagagastos ng Pilipinas kada mag-aaral taon-taon mula Kindergarten hanggang sa edad na 15, habang umaabot naman sa P69,000 ang average na ginagasta ng Vietnam kada mag-aaral taon-taon mula Kindergarten hanggang sa edad na 15.

"Tulad ng nakita natin sa Vietnam, hindi lamang mas mataas na pondo ang susi sa tagumpay ng edukasyon. Kailangang tiyakin din natin ang mabisang paggasta at paggamit ng mga resources," ani Gatchalian, Chairperson ng Senate Committee on Basic Education.

Mas mataas din ang performance ng mga tinaguriang poorest households sa Vietnam kung ihahambing sa mga mag-aaral ng Pilipinas. Ang mga mag-aaral sa Pilipinas na kabilang sa pinakamababang 10% ng Economic, Social, and Cultural Status (ESCS) ay nakakuha ng average score na 336, mas mababa ng 91 puntos kung ihahambing sa average score na 427 ng mga poorest 10% na mga mag-aaral ng Vietnam.

"Kailangang matuto tayo mula sa halimbawa ng Vietnam na halos kapareho natin pagdating sa gastos sa edukasyon, ngunit may mas mataas na antas ng learner performance," ani Gatchalian.