by Jes Tirol
Bohol Chronicle
Proem
Last Friday, September 30, 2011 the Rotary Club of Upper Tagbilaran, of which I am a member, made a visit to our adopted school which is the Primary School of Malayo, Cortes, Bohol. We distributed slippers and fed the school children. In previous visits, the RC of Upper Tagbilaran gave books for the library and a television set for the school.
While waiting for the program to begin I interviewed the Grade I teacher. From my interview with the Grade I teacher, it came to my mind that there is really much wastage in our educational system.
Old UNESCO Report
I had been reading an old (1972) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) report regarding wastage in school. This report lamented the fact that throughout the world the failure and repetition in grades was very high. It varied from 20 to 44% for every level in the elementary grades.
This report caused an extreme reaction in the Philippines that the procedure of “Mass Promotion†was instituted. Everybody was promoted to the next grade level even if the pupil did not know anything. Even today the policy of blaming the teacher for the failure of a pupil still remains.
The result was a disaster. The mass promotion produced graduates in the elementary wherein half of the graduates did not know how to read and write. But then our education officials could claim that there was no wastage in Philippine schools.
Present Situation
When I interviewed the school teacher I noticed that she was using English as a medium of instruction in Grade I. Aside from knowing how to read and write, the pupils learned lessons that are not related to their daily life. Basically the pupils “learned†their lesson without understanding.
I asked the teacher if she did not feel that her pupils were disadvantaged in terms of learning lessons. They were taught about things they do not know using a language that they also did not know. I asked the teacher how she would feel attending a class in which the language of instruction was German or Spanish, languages that she did not know. The teacher responded that of course she would not learn the lessons.
I asked why she did not use Sugboanon Bisaya in teaching. She said sometimes she used Binisaya, but then she did not know how to do it because she was not trained to teach using Binisaya. She did not know the difference between “Kinsay imong ngalan = Who is your name†and “Unsay imong ngalan = What is your name.†[Note: In “Kinsay imong ngalan†only the person asked could answer, while in “Unsay imong ngalan†anybody could answer.]
She heard that some teachers were already trained how to teach using the mother language or Binisaya. Yes, I know about the training because the Akademiyang Bisaya was advocating for the training. However, it was a queer kind of training. Instead of the Akademiyang Bisaya conducting the training, the ten (10) teachers in Bohol and those from Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor were sent to Tagaytay City and trained by “experts†who know nothing about the Bisayan language. I have a copy of the training output and it’s all written in English and Tagalog and nothing in Binisaya. And the teaching approach is in English, which is very different from Binisaya.
Wastage in Education
It is a fact in our educational system that out of 100 pupils who start grade I, only 20 will graduate in High School. The 80 pupils will drop out along the way.
Of the 80 that fall along the wayside, of what use will be the little education they obtained? The foreign languages they know are not applicable to their community situation. The lessons taught in school has no relation whatsoever to the needs of the community.
The 20 who can proceed to college will learn a foreign language; read books that are foreign bias, and think of serving in foreign countries.
Maybe the 20 that proceeded to college can be thought of as a success measure in our educational system; but what about the 80 that did not make it? We can say that it was wastage of education. What little they learned is useless in their communities. They were not taught how to apply their mathematics and science using the mother language used in the communities.
To Remedy The Situation
The best remedy is to train the teachers how to teach using his mother language aside from teaching using English and Filipino.
Beginning next school year, the Teacher Education students of the University of Bohol will study their mother language.
For those graduating this semester, three (3) weekends are allotted for their training how to teach using the Binisaya. It would seem that there is no difference in the teaching approach whether using English or Binisaya. Consider this for an eye opener; English starts with the particular like what, how, when, where, etc. and seldom is why being asked. In Binisaya you start with the general approach by asking why and then go to the particular by asking what, how, etc. Add to it the vocabulary in Binisaya, and you have a lot to learn.
If other schools are interested to involve their students in learning how to teach using Binisaya, the University of Bohol is willing to assist other schools. We have already trained the school teachers in Cordova, Cebu and they are now the ones teaching the other teachers in Cebu.
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Topic: Wastage in Education - Philippine Perspective (Read 1731 times)