THE COMMITTEE on Basic Education and Culture of the House of Representatives approved the amended substitute bill that seeks to create a Congressional Oversight Committee on Education.

Under the bill, the COC on education will be composed of five members of the House of Representatives and five from the Senate.

The measure will address problems, challenges, and issues faced by the educational system and harmonize the policies and programs of the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

The COC will review and assess the state of Philippine education, and recommend policy reforms to harmonize and enhance the policies and programs of basic, technical-vocational, and higher education.

The chairpersons of the Senate Committees on Basic Education, Arts and Culture and on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, as well as the heads of the House Committees on Basic Education and Culture and on Higher and Technical Education, will serve as co-chairpersons of the COC on education.

The bill aims to institutionalize educational reforms necessary to meet the new challenges to education, such as the implementation of blended learning for basic education and flexible learning for higher education and postsecondary tech-voc education and training as part of the adjustments and responses to the global pandemic.