With the slow decline in population growth, the country must contend with continually rising demands for educational and employment opportunities, other basic human rights-based entitlements, and a more extensive participation in the era of internationally-shared human resources. The national education and other learning systems must respond to the above challenges, even as it attends to the socioeconomic requirements of a peaceful and progressive nation and a globally competitive economy.
The following policies and strategies shall be pursued:
1. Reaffirm the highest priority for basic education as a right that should be enjoyed by all Filipinos;
2. Harness private-sector resources in the delivery and monitoring of, social marketing and advocacy for education, especially higher education;
3. Make education and training truly inclusive and expand opportunities for lifelong learning through: (a) better and broader provision of basic educational inputs, especially in traditionally lagging areas by using ADMs in formal education and ALS for out-of-school youths and adults; (b) maximal learning opportunities for mentally challenged individuals (e.g. autistic, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc.) by providing special instructional services and facilities; (c) improved and safe school buildings and facilities, to ensure accessibility of PWDs and consider disaster risks; and (d) strengthened Madrasah, education of IPs, and other vulnerable groups;
4. Accelerate the implementation of the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda's five key reform areas towards the attainment of the goals of EFA and the MDGs: (a) school-based management (SBM); (b) national learning strategies; (c) quality assurance and accountability; (d) complementary interventions; and (e) institutional culture change. The SBM system shall be fully operationalized to ensure direct access to resources of public schools as a means of achieving educational devolution and decentralization;
5. Enhance learning efficiency in the early grades through the use of the mother tongue as the language of learning, and improve student retention, completion and achievement rates, with strong support from parents, the community, and civil society;
6. Pursue a focused program for the health, nutritional and physical well-being of learners as the foundation of improved attendance and performance, in coordination with the expanded CCT Program;
7. Align the pedagogy of science and mathematics education with the requirements of the global environment; strike a strong balance between technology and livelihood education on both elementary and secondary levels; and expand the use of ICT in technology-based student learning packages to enhance the teaching-learning approach in basic education (e.g., indexing of curriculum concepts and competencies for systematic development of e-learning materials);
8. Ensure that the structure and program of formal basic education, within the framework of Kindergarten to 12 Years (K+12) Basic Education Program, are adequate and sufficiently responsive to: meet legal and other formal requirements of employment; pass the test of global comparability and prepare students for employability and for higher levels of learning; and reinforce career consciousness among students, and provide guidance and counselling throughout the K+12 Basic Education Program;
9. Strengthen, streamline, and improve the learner assessment system based on the expanded definition of Functional Literacy, utilizing it as a mechanism for: (a) a more comprehensive measurement of system performance; (b) curriculum development and instructional delivery; (c) further learning and training enhancement; (d) career and skills aptitude and job readiness; and (e) actual entry into employment;
10. Institutionalize preservice education, in-service training, hiring, licensure, promotion and performance assessment of teachers, fully anchoring on the National Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS) and the expanded definition of functional literacy as firm foundations of all quality enhancement and professionalism; and establish an effective system for the two-track career paths of teachers (teaching and management) that guarantees attractive remuneration and professional growth, alongside awards, incentives and recognition that may be provided through PPPs;
11. Support and institutionalize cultural and values-oriented projects on TV, radio, print and Internet through partnership with media and other private-sector and civil society entities; produce TV documentaries and infomercials, to highlight positive Filipino values and promote sustainable development, peace and human security, good governance, disaster-risk reduction and climate-change preparedness. The development communication policy framework of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) shall be adopted, with the convergence of traditional and multimedia platforms, as well as online and social media, in engaging wider clientele and audiences at all levels;
12. Embed the development communication approach espoused by the PIA in all government information programs and projects, from policy formulation to implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The private media, academe, civil society organizations and business sector shall be encouraged to join in the various development communication efforts of government, to inspire the citizenry and instill in them an active commitment as stakeholders in building better citizenry and stronger and self reliant communities;
13. Sustain heritage conservation approaches to nurture country's history and preserve the patrimony of bio-cultural diversity;
14. Develop a sporting culture that views grassroots and mass-based sports as an important mechanism in promoting human development and peace, and as a source for development of athletes by: (a) strengthening the national centerpiece program for grassroots and sports for all; (b) harnessing high-level training towards developing Filipino athletes who will be at par with the world's best; and (c) enforcing the mandates, responsibilities and accountabilities of major sports stakeholders, to encourage partnerships and good governance;
15. Pursue an integrated system of all publicly-funded forms of student financial assistance in post-basic education to achieve the following: (a) increased student purchasing power and freedom of choice; (b) improved targeting and selection system; and (c) rationalized financing. The bulk of public resources for post-basic education shall be channeled directly to students through efficient and effective governance and clientele targeting of financing schemes (e.g. voucher system, expanded scholarships, student loans), and other forms of student assistance, in order to promote the matching of and demand for critical skills and professions;
16. Rationalize the governance of middle-level skills development by strengthening TESDA and focusing on development planning, resource allocation, standard-setting and quality assurance; and encouraging LGUs and industries to directly participate in the delivery of TVET skills development programs;
17. Work for highly accountable higher education subsystem and institutions with strong external governance, management, and financing (including locally-funded and maintained institutions), thus demonstrating desired socioeconomic impact, responding to the imperatives of globalization, and at the same time reaching out to politically-challenged areas and communities. HEIs shall be encouraged to incorporate the promotion of peace, sustainable development, gender equality, and women empowerment in appropriate parts of the curriculum and in agendas for research and extension;
18. Rationalize the number, size, and roles of HEIs through systematic interventions, including amalgamation, phase-out or closure of nonperforming HEIs and redundant programs, and harmonization and complementation of offerings;
19. Enhance the cross-level mobility of students between higher education and middle-level skills development based on the Philippine National Qualification Framework (PNQF) through ladderization, the expanded tertiary education, equivalency and accreditation program (ETEEAP) and other modalities;
20. Devise a transnational education (TNE) strategy in programs and services for both inbound and outbound students and workers, including mutual recognition/ accreditation of skills and professional development of Filipino workers vis-a-vis neighboring countries. Reasonable and mutually beneficial supervision and regulation of TNE should lead to quality assurance and management of foreign providers, as well as the integrity and competitiveness of Filipino providers;
21. Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the demand-supply match for critical skills and high-level professions by: (a) addressing the problem of job-skills mismatch through tighter industry-academe links and better dissemination of labor market information (including career guidance and counselling); (b) emphasizing education and training in generic competencies, such as trainability, work ethics, ICT literacy, critical thinking and problem solving, and communication skills; and (c) improving levels of competencies among trainers and assessors in human resource development, including heightened gender sensitivity;
22. Integrate human rights concepts and principles in the educational system, to empower students, faculty and education staff to uphold their rights and prevent any discrimination;
23. Strengthen social cohesion and solidarity (i.e. unity in diversity) among the different ethnolinguistic groups and faith communities in the country and within the ASEAN community by enhancing awareness and understanding of common cultural, economic, and political interests; promote intercultural and interfaith dialogues alongside informal and nonformal modalities, to train communities and leaders in the art and practice of conflict resolution;
24. Balance the demands of globalization through a locally-adapted/ indigenized curricula that promote and preserve indigenous knowledge by: (a) expanding and upgrading the capacity to teach foreign languages in response to the requirements of internationally-shared human resources and emerging needs in the ASEAN region; (b) integrating balanced messages of migration and development in the Philippine education, both in the formal and alternative learning system; (c) making the education system responsive to the needs of the global community, while minimizing brain drain, encouraging brain gain and protecting the Filipino family from the social costs of migration; and (d) encouraging Filipinos overseas to remain rooted in their culture through an appreciation of Filipino languages, culture and heritage.