VP Sara calls out PH schools for lagging in modernization

Vice President and former Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte warned that Filipino students are being left behind as the country’s schools remain tied to “paper and pencil” while children abroad are already learning robotics and coding.

During the “Hakbang ng Maisug” event in Kuwait on August 15, Duterte emphasized the rapid modernization of other nations compared to the slow pace of Philippine education.

The vice president described how children as young as three or four in other countries are introduced not only to reading but also to technology that prepares them for the future.

“In other countries, their children are already learning about robotics and coding. At age three and four, they already know how to read. While in our country, there are high school students who still do not know how to read,” she said.

Duterte also noted how this shows much work remains to ensure that no child is left behind.

Her remarks echoed the alarm raised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which has long described the Philippines as facing a “real and widespread learning crisis.”

According to a 2019 UNICEF study, nine out of 10 Grade 5 Filipino students could not read at their expected level, while eight out of ten struggled to perform even basic math.

DepEd has since committed to stronger interventions in the early grades, focusing on Kindergarten to Grade 3, where the foundations for reading and numeracy are first built.

Duterte then highlighted that without urgent reforms, Filipino children risk being left even further.

“That is why I have always said that [Filipinos] should leave the country because they want to leave. They should not leave because of the reason that they could not find adequate jobs. This is the most important thing that we could do for our countrymen,” she stated.

The vice president also called for more relevant teaching methods, wider access to technology, and stronger literacy support so that every Filipino student has the chance to keep up and thrive.

“What I have noticed is that in our country, it takes a long time before we are able to catch up with modernization. In other countries, they are so modern,” Duterte noted.