Education: A Leadership Issue

(May 13 - 25, 2007)
by Henry Abella

Henry “Jig” Abella

In most workshops, perhaps the most important practice is to set the parameters for participants to establish their discussions on. As expected, the definition of liberalism was first made. It is interesting to note the observation of the facilitator that most definitions leaned towards freedom and rights; there was little or no mention of responsibility.

My academic training was on economics. Thus, most people would surmise correctly that I would apply the supply and demand argument to the topic of education systems and the delivery. The Philippine system is already experiencing characteristics of this; however, the discussion should not end with a supply and demand analysis but with identifying key persons who will be responsible for the delivery of education systems.

The Education workshop in Gummersbach last May 2007 provided a lot of varying perspectives. Most notable were the aspects of funding the system, deciding on what to include in the curriculum and searching for alternative forms of education systems.

Who Should Pay for Education?

There is a large debate on who is responsible for funding education. One that can be considered is the private vs. public debate. In the Philippines, 16.4 percent of basic education institutions are private, with an enrolment share of 11.5 percent. However, it is also important to mention that this enrollment has decreased from 11.9 percent in 2000.

It was interesting to know that there are countries that have a regime where the government is funding the entire educational system. The German system is first on the list. All the levels of education (pre-school, elementary, secondary and tertiary) are funded by the government, and there are varying levels of responsibility and jurisdiction per level of the bureaucracy.

It was also interesting to learn that in less developed countries, there are documented accounts that financially challenged families would choose to skip meals to send their kids to private schools because of the teaching quality. Here, the shift to private education is driven by the absence of quality in the current supply.
While there probably will be no global agreement on whether a public or private system is better, the critical issue would be what the government can supply. Considering the limited fiscal resources of most of the developing world’s governments, they can only provide up to a certain level. After that, there would be a need for participation from the private sector in terms of funding. The key role would lie on the ability of the government to provide responsible leadership on what characteristics and capabilities would have to be present in students who will inherit the country.

What Should be the Curriculum?

The intellectual debate at the Academy on what should be included in the curriculum always ended with no clear majority. There was a clear absence of a consensus in most cases. However, almost everyone agreed that the curricular design should be based on the values a country would want to instill in its youth and future citizens, on how its leader envisions his or her countrymen.

The first contentious debate involved whether to include “citizenship” as part of the curriculum or not. The main argument of those against it was that it was prone to abuse. The danger seen was the use of the subject as a vehicle for propaganda. On the other hand, those of us who were in favor were not totally in agreement that it should be a separate subject, but were more for including citizenship in each subject. We believed that citizenship could be fused into each of the subjects.

The second contentious debate was whether to include the subject of “religion” or not. Similar arguments to that of citizenship were raised. Those of us in favor proposed that it be taught in the form of history. By doing so, it should attempt to cover most – if not all – the major religions.

While many interesting points were raised, I thought the most important issue was how to integrate the subjects into one unified curriculum aimed at developing students who are literate and have the capacity for continuous learning and the ability to delve into new areas of study. These characteristics of a student should be founded on responsible citizenship and conscientious values — which our country currently needs.

What are Alternative Forms of Learning Systems?

Germans are known for their precision; how it became part of their culture is perhaps given light by their educational system. Their system of education is a model worth looking into. Initially it was the funding that surprised me; as the workshop progressed, I became even more surprised about the levels of learning. I particularly noted the technical-vocational (Tech-Voc) system and the qualifications for entry into college.

I was particularly impressed to learn that applicants for college are required to undergo technical-vocational training, unless they had posted impressive ratings in the earlier levels of education.

The Tech-Voc system is a partnership between the government and the private sector. The government shoulders the expenses of running a Tech-Voc school, and corporations conduct the training. Our visit to the Jenoptik Lab introduced us to the strength of the relationship between their government and the private firms. It is in these schools that students are given practical, hands-on training similar to a mentoring setting. Qualification for college also includes military service. Thus, although a bit later than other countries, Germans enter college at the age of 22.
In the Philippines, the education system appears to be highly driven by the private sector. The majority of public institutions, on the other hand, are lagging behind the current demands and are lacking in technology. While there is a recognized need to finish school soon, the skills of a large share of graduates entering the labor force are not matched to the needs of the workplace.

While there are many models to be considered, one important aspect that is lacking in the current educational system is leadership. Specifically the direction to be provided by the nation’s leaders as to where the country should be and what kind of graduates do we need to get there. Our education sector is filled with varying systems adopted by default and not by design. The challenge is for a leader to enact change and to provide the direction for the country, and to design the educational system to achieve this goal.

Ending thoughts

It is always easier to say things than to actually do it. No one said that a leadership position would be easy. The leader is given the difficult task of engaging the people on where they want to be. These would have to be measurable, to ensure that it is within reach.

In terms of funding, the available financial resources should be taken into consideration. After allocating resources, policies should be put in place to facilitate private participation in education.

In terms of content, a decision has to be reached on what are the current conditions and levels of qualifications needed by the labor force. These indicators should be the basis for the direction, as well as the vision of the educational system.

In terms of learning systems, the demands of the market would have to be looked into. What the market demands and what the country needs should be identified together with the vision for the country — a critical decision on how to match the future and the present.

There is no “best system and form of education” for a country. The most important frame of thinking is that not all things work in the same way. Attitudes and behaviors should be taken into consideration — these would provide an indication on how people would react to systems.

Perhaps a critical first step is the opportunity to have a perspective on how other countries do it, and how similar are our institutions in adapting such systems. I believe this is what generous institutions like the Naumann Foundation have addressed. The second would always have to be the other critical half — putting to action what has been learned. This is where the greatest challenge is, the need for tough responsible, leadership decisions.