PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday ordered 37,000 public school teachers to take refresher courses in English, math and science this summer to increase their proficiency in those subjects.
Less than 20 percent of 53,000 state educators passed a government-administered English proficiency test in 2004 and most fare poorly in math and science.
As a result, the President gave the order to the education department as she inaugurated the new building of the National Educators Academy of the Philippines in Baguio City.
“So that our young people can survive and flourish in the world of the 21st century, I have asked [Education] Secretary Fe Hidalgo to make the training program for this summer,” she said.
She ordered the release of P500 million for the refresher courses, adding she considered teacher training an essential part of education.
“The bulk of the refresher courses will take place this summer and about 37,000 teachers will be undergoing refresher courses,” the President said.
“Let’s make sure, Fe, that we are concentrating on math, science and English.”
The results of the 2004 Self-Assessment Test for English showed that only 19 percent of 53,000 public high school teachers scored 75 percent or higher.
Last year, the Philippines ranked third to last among 38 countries in a global assessment of performance by high school students in math and science. It placed 36th in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which sets the yardstick on the competence of local secondary students against the rest of the world.
President Arroyo also ordered the heads of state universities and colleges to offer discounts to public teachers wanting to take refresher courses this summer.
“I called up [Commission on Higher Education] Chairman Carlito Puno today and I asked him to enforce these instructions provided that the short courses or graduate studies are in math, science or English,” she said.
She ordered Channel 4 to team up with the education department in televising math, science and English courses so more public school teachers could benefit.
“Each prototype class for each subject can be recorded or beamed live from the University of the Philippines because UP is very close geographically to the studios of NBN,” she said.
“This way, our teachers learn from the comforts of their own living room if, for some reason or another, they find it inconvenient to go to a class setting.”
Teachers to undergo refresher courses
Originally Posted by slakker
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