The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) intends to recommend to the Department of Education (DepEd) to start face-to- face (F-to-F) classes in August to prevent further losses in human capital nationwide.
In a briefing on Monday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the cost of remote learning will be felt in five to 10 years when today’s students have already entered the labor force.
Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua earlier said the human toll of purely online classes is P11 trillion over a 40-year period since only 37 percent of the learning is absorbed via online classes. (Full story here: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/09/10/human-toll-of-purely-online-classes-%E2%82%A711-trillion/)
“It’s clear that our hospitals show that we can manage the risks at this point and so there’s no reason why we should not open up schools,” Balisacan told reporters. “It’s not going to affect us now but its going to affect the future of these children, of our children when they join the labor market, 5 years, 10 years from now. They will not be as competitive as our neighbors who have already opened up,” he explained.
Balisacan said allowing remote classes to continue will only exacerbate education inequality. He said the “pandemic has been so inequitable” already given the poor access of Filipinos and many around the world to quality education. “This pandemic has been so inequitable. It has exacerbated the inequality of opportunities in education and so we should reduce, address that inequality,” Balisacan stressed.
Reducing inequality and lowering poverty are among the primary objectives of the Marcos Jr. administration, according to Balisacan. The Socioeconomic Planning Secretary said part of addressing these is through job generation, which will be the anchor of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP). (Full story here: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/06/30/job-focused-economic-blueprint-of-new-government-seen-to-cut-poverty/)
This is the compass being used to usher in the economic transformation of the country. In Neda, Balisacan laid out three priorities—pushing for necessary measures to raise the country’s economic performance; enhance the Neda’s engagement with stakeholders; and uphold a culture of openness, transparency, and professionalism.
Balisacan said Neda will also expand its reach to include more local government units. He said Neda has yet to discuss how this can be operationalized as the current set up of the socioeconomic planning agency includes a reach of up to the regions only.
“The road before us seems daunting and clouded with uncertainty. It is full of known and yet unknown risks that threaten to derail our progress as a country. These challenges behoove that we are creative and strategic in our policy directions,” Balisacan said.
“As we carry on with our mandate, we practice within the NEDA family what we tell the outside world: openness, transparency, integrity, professionalism, and excellence,” he added.
Balisacan’s appointment under the current administration as Socioeconomic Planning Secretary is his second as he has also occupied the same post under the presidency of the late Benigno S. Aquino III.
Under the Duterte administration, Balisacan served as the country’s first head of agency of the newly created Philippine Competition Commission, the country’s antitrust agency.
Balisacan is also a former Dean of the University of the Philippines School of Economics and Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy and Planning. -30-