SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday hailed a new law that seeks to create the Second Congressional Commission on Education or EDCOM II.

Gatchalian called the development a significant step forward in addressing the country’s education crisis.

“Napapanahon na ang pagtatatag ng EDCOM II upang wakasan ang krisis sa sektor at tiyakin na natatanggap ng ating mga mag-aaral ang dekalidad na edukasyon,” Gatchalian said.

Republic Act 11899, which lapsed into law last July 23, creates the EDCOM II to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the Philippine education sector’s performance.

The national assessment will recommend transformative, concrete and targeted reforms to make the Philippines globally competitive in both education and labor markets.

It will also recommend specific, targeted and timebound solutions to enable education agencies to improve their performance vis-à-vis measurable indicators and deliver accessible, inclusive and quality education that is at par with world standards.

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, Gatchalian will be one of the commission’s co-chairpersons.

“Titiyakin nating ang Komisyon ay magdudulot ng mga mahahalagang repormang mag-aangat sa kalidad ng edukasyon sa bansa, at tiyaking handa ang ating mga mag-aaral na makipagsabayan sa ibang bansa,” he said.