QUEZON CITY, February 14, 2020 — With the future uncertain due to the rise of advanced technologies, Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones on Wednesday cited Sulong EduKalidad program as the DepEd’s move to innovate Philippine education in response to a ‘world drastically changing.’

“Civilization can only move forward through innovation. We should start [teaching] innovation not in the university level, but in the basic education level. The notion of innovation, the desire for knowledge, of creating something helpful out of what is going on around us have to be inculcated to our learners,” Secretary Briones said at the 2020 Innovation Forum: Innovation in Basic Education hosted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) at the PHIVOLCS Building, Diliman.

“We have to change the way we teach our learners. We have to prepare them for a world that is drastically changing,” Briones emphasized.

The Education chief underscored the importance of the ongoing DepEd innovation in raising the quality of the country’s basic education to address the challenge to change the way learners are taught; to produce new breed of learners; to upgrade capacity of teachers; and to improve facilities and equipment.

Sulong EduKalidad focuses on four aggressive reforms in basic education: (1) K to 12 curriculum review and update, (2) Improving learning environment, (3) Teachers upskilling and reskilling, and (4) Engagement of stakeholders for support and collaboration.

Briones noted that the Department has started changing its learners assessment approach from fact-based questions to real world problem solving and application.

“The only constant in education is change. The more we prepare our learners before going out to a world where practices and principles are already different, then they will be in a better position to accept and look for innovation,” she said.

On DOST’s part, Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña reiterated his agency’s support to DepEd’s advocacy to equip Filipino learners 21st Century skills.

“We support the two current programs of DepEd; the Last Mile Schools, which is more on access, and the very important Sulong EduKalidad, where I think these innovations in basic education will fit very well,” Sec. Dela Peña said.

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