Speech by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Recognition of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Participating Schools and Education Partners

Maraming, maraming salamat sa inyong lahat sa napakalakas ng palakpak at saka napakainit ng salubong na ibinigay niyo sa akin. Pero ang katotohanan, ako ang dapat pumalakpak sa inyo, sa inyong ginawa at sa naging achievement — [please take your seat] — sa naging achievement natin dahil napakahalaga talaga na makita natin na ang ating mga pinaghihirapan na pagandahin ang sistema ng edukasyon dito sa ating bansa ay nagkakaresulta naman.

At ang maganda riyan ay talagang nalalaman ngayon natin kung ano sa mga ginagawa natin ay talagang nagbibigay – nagbubunga ng magandang resulta. At kaya naman ay tayo naman ay tuwang-tuwa at effective ang ating mga ginagawa.

Before I continue, allow me to, of course, greet the distinguished guests who are here with us today.

Pasay Congressman Tony Calixto; Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano; the officials and employees of the Department of Education; and, of course, the most important group that is here today, our teachers, our parents, and our learners; the participants of the Program for International Student Assessment; my fellow workers in government; ladies and gentlemen.

Good morning.

A few weeks ago, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, released the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment, or the PISA 2025.

This assessment provides us with a clear picture of what our fifteen-year-olds can do with what they have learned. After all, education is not just about what students know and what they learn. We want our children to understand what they read, apply mathematics to solve day-to-day problems, and use science to improve their lives.

And that is why it was very gratifying. I was talking to some of the teachers before we came here, at tinanong ko sa kanila, “ano ang bago na ginagawa natin na hindi natin ginagawa noon?”

Ay dahil, ang sagot nila, ang isa sa pinakamahalaga na sagot nila ay ‘ika nila, ngayon hindi lang natin hinihingi sa estudyante ‘yung sagot, kung ano ‘yung answer. Kailangan nilang maintindihan ‘yung tanong. Bakit natin tinatanong ‘yan? Bakit mahalaga na alam ninyo na one plus one equals two?

Why is that important? Why is it important that you know why the sky is blue? Why is that important? What is the science behind it? And that leads to a deeper understanding of the subjects that they are learning.

And that’s why compared with our results from 2022, we have seen improvements.

It was taken by over 8,072 fifteen-year-old learners from 208 schools across the country, and our scores increased by 20 points in reading, 17 points in science, and 16 points in mathematics.

Of course, this achievement was brought by years of consistent guidance, encouragement, and support, of course, from our teachers, the families, schools, communities, and all our partners.

That is why today, we are here to recognize the people and the institutions that helped make all this possible.

We thank our participating schools, our school leaders, the learners, of course, their parents, local government partners, everyone who contributed to this milestone.

We appreciate our teachers who have spent long hours in the classroom, guiding our learners so that they can perform well in this assessment.

And not only within normal school hours, dinadagdagan pa ng Sabado, dinadagdagan pa ng isa pang oras o dalawa pang oras para matiyak na ang ating mga estudyante ay up to standard. O kundi nahihirapan man sila, ay natuturuan sila para maunawaan nila kung ano ‘yung kanilang mga leksyon.

So, let us also acknowledge our partners who work with us to prepare for PISA 2025. Amongst those are Frontlearners, [applause] the Khan Academy Philippines, ConnectEd by Her Legacy, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, Rebisco Global Food Ventures, and One Meralco.

As we move forward, we need to make sure that more learners benefit from this Administration’s initiatives.

Education remains this Administration’s highest priority. This year, the education budget reached its highest level in the history of the Philippines.

The ARAL Program helps learners from Kindergarten to Grade 10 to catch up in reading, mathematics, and in science.

And along with this, the revised K to 10 Curriculum enables schools to give more attention to the literacy, numeracy, and foundation[al] skills of our learners.

We are also supporting children even before they enter school. Through the First 1,000 Days Program, we champion maternal and child health and nutrition.
Ito po ‘yung ating – First 1,000 Day Program is the support that we give to parents and – well, sanggol pa ay tinutulungan na natin. First 1,000 days that covers, that starts on conception.

So buntis pa ‘yung mother ay tinutulungan na natin sa nutrition, tinutulungan na natin sa pagamot, tinutulungan na natin sa lahat ng bagay para maging ligtas at maging malusog ang kanyang anak.

Patuloy ito hanggang nakapanganak na at we continue this for the next two and a half – two and plus years after birth.

And after that, ang sasalo naman sa kanila ay ‘yung ating mga feeding program. Mayroon po diyan ‘yung Walang Gutom Food Program. At sa mga eskuwela, mayroon talaga tayong feeding program na dati Kindergarten hanggang Grade 1 lang ay pinalawak natin para lahat ng mga stunted, lahat na masyadong payat ay nabibigyan natin ng sapat na pagkain.

So as we support our learners, we also support the people who guide them.

This Administration continues to increase teaching positions, provide opportunities for career advancement, and hire more non-teaching personnel. This way, our teachers can spend more time teaching our youth.

Dahil tapat ang aking paniniwala: hindi natin mapapaganda ang sistema natin sa edukasyon kung hindi natin tuluyang talagang solid na support sa ating mga guro.

Ito ay hindi lamang sa pagtulong sa kanilang… At nagsimula sa pag-iisip ko ito noong gobernor ako ng Ilocos Norte, nag-iinspeksyon ako ng eskuwela. Pagpasok ko sa – mga surprise visit, nakikita ko ‘yung teacher kung ano-anong ginagawa. Kung ano-ano ang ginagawa. Binibentahan ‘yung bata ng kung ano. Alam niyo na, nakangiti kayo, alam ninyo lahat ‘yan.

So nagtanong ako sa kanila. Sabi, tinanong ko, “ba’t niyo ginagawa ‘yan? Eh dapat teacher kayo, dapat nagtuturo kayo?” “Dahil hindi pa dumadating ‘yung suweldo namin, lubog na kami sa 5-6, kaya’t kailangan naming gawin ito.”

Doon talaga sabi ko, bakit…? Eh papaano magtuturo ‘yung tao kung inaalala niya kung papaano niyang pakainin ‘yung kanyang mga anak, kung papaano niya babayaran ‘yung utang niya.

And so, immediately, that was the first part that we took care of na lahat ng suporta para sa mga guro. Hindi lamang sa pagiging on-time ng kanilang suweldo, kung hindi pati sa suporta sa mga retraining dahil sa dami ng mga pagbabago.

I think you will all remember, a few years ago, there was a case of a teacher who was teaching a certain subject. And she was asked to write the exam on that subject. She failed the exam. And why? Because she hadn’t been taken through refresher courses to be taught the new technologies, to be taught the new knowledge that we have been…

And that is not the fault of the teacher. It is not the fault of the teacher. It is the fault of the supporter. It is a failing of the support that the teacher receives. And that is why we have tried to remedy that by doing all of these things.

We have hired 10,000 school counselor pa associates for this school year. [applause] We are promoting a safe and positive learning environment for our students.

Hindi katanggap-tanggap ‘yung mga pangyayari na nakita natin sa Tacloban, sa Zamboanga, sa South Cotabato. At ito talaga ay dumudugo ang puso, hindi lamang ng mga pamilya, kapamilya ng mga nasawi, kung hindi ang buong bansa. Dahil ayaw na ayaw natin nakikita na hindi tayo nakakasiguro, hindi tayo nakakatiyak na ang ating mga eskuwelahan ay ligtas at ‘yung ating mga kabataan ay sila ay nasa environment na kaya nilang mag-aral nang mabuti.

So be assured that the government is working closely with our teachers, parents, barangay worker, and other stakeholders to make our schools more secure.

We are committed to providing our youth, our parents, and communities with the knowledge and resources to prevent and respond to school violence.

We have improved from 2022, but we have a [long] way to go to catch up with our neighbors in the region, with the rest of Asia, [and] with the rest of the world. But given the right support and the proper opportunities, Filipino students can compete on the global stage.

And that is why my initial reaction noong nabalitaan natin na gumanda ang PISA score natin, ang score natin sa PISA, ang naisip ko kaagad, ang pumasok kaagad sa kaisipan ko ay sinasabi ko na sa inyo, magagaling ang mga estudyante natin basta tama ang pagkaturo. [applause]

Sinasabi ko sa inyo, magagaling ang mga guro natin basta sila’y suportado. Ang mga magulang natin, napakalaking binibigay na sakripisyo para tulungan ang kanilang mga anak, tulungan din natin sila.

And so it is a whole system that has to come together. And that is why some people might be surprised, bakit ‘pag pinag-uusapan ang edukasyon, napapag-usapan ang mga feeding program, napapag-usapan ang YAKAP Program. Dahil kasama lahat ito upang ang ating mga guro, ang ating mga magulang, ang ating mga mag-aaral ay suportado nang mabuti upang pagpasok ng bata, pagpasok ng estudyante sa eskuwela, nasa kanya ang lahat ng kanyang pangangailangan upang matuto ng mga mahahalagang leksyon na makukuha niya sa kanilang guro, sa kanilang eskuwelahan.

So to our teachers and to our parents: Continue nurturing our children’s curiosity. Encourage them to discover the world beyond the classroom. Guide them in using our technology so that it becomes a tool for learning.

To our learners: Keep asking questions. Look at things from different points of view. Do not be afraid to change your mind when you learn something new.

There is a very important saying that kung minsan ay sinasabi natin pagka may kinakausap tayo, nagpapaliwanag tayo, hindi matanggap-tanggap ang tinuturo.

Well, you should remind whoever that is that you are talking to that tama ‘yung kasabihan: To change one’s opinion, to change one’s view is the prerogative of an intelligent mind.

So let us teach our children to be intelligent. Let us teach our children to question. Let us teach our children to understand.

Because their discipline, their curiosity, and their love of learning will help shape…I’ll take that back. Their love of learning, their curiosity will not help shape, it will shape the future of our country.

What you see, these students that we see here, this is nothing less than the future of the Philippines. And how that is the most important thing, the most important contribution that we can make to our country, to make to the future of our country, and to make to the future generations of Filipinos is to provide them with a good education.

So let us build a Bagong Pilipinas where every Filipino child can learn. They can grow and become the absolute best that they can be.

Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay po kayong lahat.

Mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas. [applause]

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