Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Rex Education and PPCRV call for voters to discern well, vote according to our values, and be Maka-Pilipinas

With the National Elections just within reach, Rex Education and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) are working together to help educate voters about the values we should be looking for in the leaders we will elect.
“How the Philippines will come out of this pandemic and handle the impending global economic recession will rely on the next 6 years. This is why it is crucial that the leaders we will elect in the upcoming May 9 elections share the heart of the Filipino people and possess the values to stand for and serve our country. We have to choose well and vote for someone who is truly Maka-Pilipinas,” said Rex Education CEO, Don Timothy Buhain.
The leader we deserve is Maka-Pilipinas Varying standards, opinions, and principles come into play in the bid for national and local positions. What matters in the end when electing a leader is that it’s not enough to choose someone wise and experienced; we must also choose a leader who embodies the virtues of a true Filipino citizen and champion. PPCRV launched the voter education program that highlights what it takes to be Maka-Pilipinas to emphasize the values that make a true Filipino leader,
To be Maka-Pilipinas is to be maka-Diyos(faithful to God), maka-tao (respects life and people), maka-bayan(patriotic), at maka-kalikasan (environmentally concerned). These are the four good citizenship core values embedded in the 1987 Constitution, which highlights these core values’ roots and importance in our culture and history.
To help Filipinos better understand what makes a leader truly Maka-Pilipinas, PPCRV broke down the four core values—maka-Diyos, maka-tao, maka-bayan, at maka-kalikasan—into 16 good citizenship values. Does your candidate tick all the boxesof this checklist?
“We believe that through the living and the sharing of these basic values—not only by ourselves, but especially by our candidates—can our national vision of improving moral standards in government and in society be achieved,” PPCRV Chair Myla Villanueva said during the launch of the Maka-Pilipinas voter education program.
A champion of the people is a champion of education
Everyone is part of the solution. As champions of education—as Edukampyons—it is every Filipino’s duty to embody the 16 good citizenship values that we wish to see in our leaders. It is also up to each of us to encourage our fellow Edukampyons to live these values, so they may also know what it means to elect a leader who is truly Maka-Pilipinas.
“Voter’s education starts at home, where values are introduced and cultivated in our families. Under REX’s Edukampyon campaign, we want to give every Filipino learner an opportunity to have a good education, stable well-being, and a future where they can be their best selves. To do that, we must have the support of government leaders who value the same things, after our own heart, and cares just as much for the development of our learners,” Buhain shared further.
To serve as a reminder to choose with discernment and vote responsibly this coming election, PPCRV created a Maka-Pilipinas comics that promote the 16 good citizenship values. A line from the comics read: “Your vote is your hope. Your vote is your prayer. Vote wisely.”
The Maka-Pilipinas comics in English can be read through the PPCRV Facebook page here. Printed copies of the comics were also sponsored by Rex Education and distributed to various schools and communities.
It is also available in various Filipino dialects: Bikolano, Bisaya, Ilokano, Ilonggo, Tagalog, and Taglish.

Monday, March 21, 2022

A Misconception: When you’re “bobo” you go with tech-voc instead of college

Towards an Improved Pinoy Technical Vocational Education and Training

● Technical-vocational education in the Philippines has always been an
unpopular choice among high school graduates because it is
perceived that getting a technical-vocational education is not
glamorous as there is no prestige, no recognition, no job security and
no professional status in working in the technical-vocational field. In
short, having a technical-vocational background is considered inferior
compared to a university degree and only the ‘bobo’ enroll in these
courses.

● This kind of notion should be eradicated because “Hindi bobo ang
Pinoy technical-vocational graduates.” If our technical-vocational
institutes (TVI) are managed and monitored well, they will be able to
produce world-class and skilled graduates who can compete strongly
against our neighboring countries. Tech-voc graduates fill an important role in different industries in the country and overseas. And
if our tech-voc graduates become job-ready and globally competitive,
they could contribute a lot to the national income and economy.

● In the Philippines, the two main agencies tasked in providing basic
education in the country are DepEd or Department of Education for
the academics and TESDA which stands for Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority, which is mandated to provide direction,
policies, programs and standards towards quality technical education
and skills development. The two bodies should complement each
other so that there will be no overlapping of roles that could create
conflicts in the implementation of their programs. However, it seems
that the curriculum from these two bodies have created some
challenges for both of them. Eversince K-12 curriculum has been
implemented, DepEd has gotten some resources from TESDA
because the tech-voc curriculum should be handled by experts in the
technical field and not by a regular teacher. So this phenomena,
which was unseen as the would-be effect of the K-12, needs to be
resolved.

● TESDA should be given complete responsibility by the government
for technical and vocational training, a separate agency from DOLE,
DTI and DepEd. However, TESDA needs to go beyond providing
instructions and training. Skills assessment should be thorough and
must meet globally-competitive criteria.

● Reshaping TESDA
It is proposed that TESDA curriculum be two tracks: meaning the
courses offered will be either Professional Tracks (service oriented)
or Livelihood Tracks (product oriented).
● TESDA should be independent from other government agencies in
terms of providing technical-vocational training and education.

However, other agencies can complement because agencies like
DepEd, help in the basic education of children, while DOLE and DTI give assistance in the employment and livelihood programs
respectively.