SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian expressed elation over the Marcos administration’s commitment to provide quality teacher education and training as part of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.

Gatchalian refers to the full implementation of the Excellence in Teacher Education Act, which was signed into law last year, and highlighted in PDP 2023-2028.

The law revamps the Teacher Education Council (TEC) by strengthening the coordination between the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and the Professional Regulation Commission.

Under the law, the TEC is mandated to set basic requirements for teacher education programs and ensure the coherence of teacher education and training from pre-service to in-service.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education emphasized the role of the teacher as the most crucial factor in education.

Gatchalian lamented, however, the poor performance of Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) over the past years.

From 2014-2022, the average passing rate for LET takers at the elementary level was only 34 percent while at the secondary level, the average passing rate for the same period was only 40 percent.

The World Bank’s Philippines Public Education Expenditure Tracking and Quantitative Service Delivery Study also showed that elementary and high school teachers in the country are inadequately trained to teach considerable portions of the K to 12 curriculum.

With the exception of English elementary teachers, the average elementary or high school teacher could correctly answer fewer than half of questions on subject content tests.

“Kasabay ng pag-angat natin sa kalidad ng edukasyong natatanggap ng ating mga kabataan, mahalagang tutukan din natin ang edukasyong natatanggap ng ating mga guro. Ngayong meron na tayong batas para sa pag-angat sa kalidad ng teacher education, kailangang tiyakin natin na maipatutupad ito nang maayos dahil ang ating mga mag-aaral ang lubos na makikinabang dito,” the lawmaker said.