Rex Education and the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) are sending 14 scholars to Centers of Excellence by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) under the PEAC–REX ‘Edukampyon Iskolar Para Sa Kinabukasan’ scholarship program, an initiative that hopes to strengthen the quality of teachers in the country by seeking out and encouraging students to take education programs in Mathematics and Sciences.
“Teaching is such a noble career—it is the profession that creates all other professions. But in reality, with a lot of career options to choose from, education is not always the top-of-mind choice of students. Great teachers inspire great students. This is why we want to encourage the best and the brightest to work with us, commit to the profession, and start creating a ripple effect as we enhance teachers’ quality today,” Don Timothy Buhain, chief executive officer of Rex Education shared.
Rex’s “Edukampyon” advocacy rings true from the teachers themselves who are champions of education, as they are the closest one to the students and can directly impact their educational knowledge. It also aims to conquer, strengthen, and advance teacher education in the country.
The students who will receive scholarship grants and pursue their specialization in the Sciences field from Ateneo de Naga are Lellian Joy Alegre, Leschell Mae Llagas, Jyla Mir Dangca, April Mariella Nieves, Maia Niña Enimedez, Sheila May Ceguerra, Denise Angela Rebueno, Kazzandra Jhean Alvarez, and Ma. Bernadette Jane Aguay. While the students who will pursue their specialization in the Mathematics field from Ateneo de Naga are named as Florence Pangilinan and Jassi Mary Sayson. Additional three students will also pursue specializations in the latter field at Capitol University, and they are Jenika Rosandra Diaz, James Elvin Ipulan, and Maria Ruth Precious Lindawan.
Rex and PEAC hope that this batch of scholars under the scholarship program will be the first of many other education victors to contribute to the highest quality of teaching in the country.
“We want to champion teacher education. We want to make teaching an attractive proposition for our young. At the same time, ensure that the program will have a very strong values formation program, so that our scholars will have a very strong sense of social responsibility and contribute to nation-building,” Doris Ferrer, executive director of PEAC said.
An effort to address the educational sector’s challenges
The PEAC–Rex “Edukampyon Iskolar Para Sa KinaBukasan” is one of the many efforts and collaborations the learning solutions provider has initiated to help address the challenges faced by Philippine education.
“We all agree that the quality of teachers facilitating learning has to do a lot in making sure that the quality of education itself is also improved. So any intervention that is designed to provide the Department of Education (DepEd) with better inputs in terms of teachers will truly be a welcome contribution,” Diosdado San Antonio, DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction said.
International competitiveness reports and activities participated by the country in 2018 to 2019 suggest a big gap in quality that should compel critical attention from the government and the educational sector.
In a 2018 study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 81 percent of 15-year-old Filipino students surveyed scored below minimum proficiency levels in Reading, Mathematics, and Science when compared to the majority of countries that participated. Fourth grade students in the 58 countries surveyed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement’s (IEA) Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2019 had the lowest scores in Mathematics and Science.
While limited resources and a challenging learning environment are realities many Filipino learners have to deal with on a daily basis during the new normal, there is much to improve in terms of uplifting the quality of education that students receive. Quality teachers who nurture students at the basic education level can have a ripple effect in improving our education.
“Improving teacher quality in schools will mean attracting and selecting the best candidates into the teaching profession. To strengthen teacher quality, [we] should begin from selecting the right people into the profession. Policies in teacher recruitment and hiring should be aimed at increasing the attractiveness of the career, such as incentivizing high achievers to pursue teacher training and eventually enter into the profession,” the World Bank Philippines Report 2021 said.