The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) has started its three year-long assessment of the current education system in the country as mandated by Republic Act 11899. The end goal of EDCOM II is to come up with a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the education sector and its performance as well as recommendations by 2025.

Initially, EDCOM II — which is composed of five senators, five congressmen, academe, industry, government agencies, local governments and civil society organizations — has identified too much politics, red tape and overregulation as the problems hounding the education sector thus preventing the implementation of education policies and reforms.

With six months into the three-year assessment, they have agreed that politics which include them has created problems that resulted to non-implementation of necessary reforms and even policies. Of course, politics simply has done and will continue the trick as changes in the administration or even political alignment in a current administration means changes in the leadership of the education department which will result to new and unstable programs on education. The most common practice of accommodation in appointing education department officials is the best example. Without underestimating the capability of the current secretary of education Vice President Sara Duterte, the question is plain and simple. Is she the most qualified? Politician members of EDCOM II agree that they are partly to be blamed as they are a part of the problem but have no choice since the structure of the government entails the education department to beg for mercy from the politicians in order to fund its programs. It’s hard to fathom such stupid admission.

Overregulation plays a role as the education leaders do not really trust their teachers and other field workers. The atmosphere is more on an assumption that these teachers will not do their jobs properly those several layers of regulations must be put in place. Unfortunately, the mistrust is logical for the many and there is a need to look deeper into the situation of field workers and the working atmosphere they are in. Corruption is actually rampant up to the practice of tasking students to bring laundry powders, floor wax and all other household stuffs as “voluntary requirements”.

While red tape was mentioned, the process like in the hiring of school personnel is not exclusive in the education department. It is actually the general practice in all agencies and it was only during the Duterte administration that an attempt was made to streamline government processes.

While there were initial recommendations from EDCOM II, it should be noted that an emphasis on the degrading quality of education must be done during the on going assessment. A huge majority of the primary and secondary education graduates of today do not have the necessary writing and reading comprehension skills. Worst, teachers are no longer allowed to fail non-performers. These problems will eventually reflect in the economic performance of the country and these for me should be the primary focus of EDCOM II instead of listing problems that they know for a fact can be resolved by their own selves.