in the Philippines (Part 1).
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by PAM
"...And as others' have talked fashionably about the importance of outcomes-based quality assurance with large letters, then outcomes-based quality assurance with small letters, then as competency-based education, we have been content to stay with the simple word "accreditation," knowing that good outputs are possible only on the basis of good inputs, that faculty must be academically qualified to teach well and search for truth freely, that facilities and libraries and laboratories must be in place for any quality results, that administrators must be competent and institutions healthy - and that the eros to go beyond the minimum Policies, Standards and Guidelines of CHED (Commission on Higher Education) is not just a matter of articulating horizontal types and vertical values, but of peers encouraging peers to freely improve, of peers being inspired by the successes of peers, of peers freely taking on the challenges of responding to the need for improved education in the global world.
"...(PAASCU) clearly recognized the right of the government to regulate, but it was motivated by an eros to achieve such quality in education that it did not need regulation. It was based on the dynamic norms of ongoing voluntary autonomous quality improvement that we imposed on ourselves - in a type of honors' system that didn't need policing.
"This has been and continues to be important because the missions of our schools cannot be compromised by any real or virtual subordination of their finalities to ends that are not our own."- Fr. Joel Tabora, S. J.
Keynote Address, PAASCU General Assembly
November 23, 2012, Century Park Hotel
And so, the push for reforms in the Philippine Educational system continues, as the country gears up to confront the ASEAN Integration challenge of 2015, and asserts itself in the global arena with determined vigor and greater purpose. As change envelopes us, various models are emerging as Educational Institutions plan their strategy for survival, leveraging the call for reforms to re-shape their identity. Many shape their plans to match job projections proposed by
Gearing up...various market sectors with specific interests. It is expected that some will glow with coats that match the global spotlight more aptly - but not necessarily with true relevance to the Philippine scenario. Some will perish as their thick coats that resisted market influence for a long time finally melt from the unforgiving heat of the global spotlight that promises progress - now - which, I must say, is not necessarily the healthiest of prescription to the Philippine societal physique - for a long-term progress.
Where to go? What to do? It seems that the Academics are not the only ones contemplating these questions, because the Congress passed the K-to-12 Bill only early this week, and it is yet to be debated on in the Senate. Meanwhile, the K-to-12 wheel started to turn in the DepEd sphere and has been causing a stir in the Higher Education sector as change crawls its way up - a rather disruptive stir, I must add. While Academics do not resist reforms, in fact, they welcome reforms, they are struggling to assert themselves in a scenario that would potentially turn the hallowed ground of Philippine Education to a market-driven diploma machine, where instructions are based on what the global market needs - now - rather than on the development of robust values and
...for future leadership.skills among our graduates that will allow them to respond to any sort of change - anytime. Keeping the Philippine Education firmly planted on hallowed ground is, in part, the task of the local accrediting agencies that employ peer evaluation, which espouses collaboration rather than cut-throat competition.
As various models are designed to cope with the K-to-12 challenge, the government must look to preserve the integrity of the Philippine Education System first and foremost. While proving ourselves as worthy as our counterparts in the global Education circle by satisfying international standards cannot be overemphasized, allowing the local accreditation agencies to participate in the debates on Education reforms in the country is necessary to keep the integrity of our system. While constant market/industry inputs via mutually beneficial dialogues/partnerships with the education sector are necessary to assure relevance of Instructions in our schools to global market/industry demands that leads to national growth, the government should not allow the Education Sector to be shaped by market/industry needs alone. These needs change so fast as one bubble bursts and another grow to another potentially violent burst, hence not a reliable basis for reforms. Also, the creativity and drive of the people in the industry/market now are borne by the highly disciplined training they get from an Education System that is centered on values formation and transformational learning experiences - and not on limiting market-driven training centered on the "now culture" that would potentially render our Education System obsolete every three years or so.
Therefore, accreditation based on a standard that befits our national scenario is still relevant... and necessary in order for us to define our identity in the global arena. It is a way of being sufficiently independent and maintain self-reliance while we respond to the global challenge, capable of asserting ourselves on equal footing with our global peers rather than merely supplying the global market's needs - now - for adequately trained manpower, and therefore vulnerable to the economic scenarios of the global nations.
Let's go global, sure thing! But we must maintain and assert our independence as a nation - by shaping our own Educational System based, for the most part, on our needs and national identity.
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