A lawmaker on Monday called for a ‘one education system’ in the Philippines to help address gaps across all stages of schooling, including students’ job readiness and teacher shortage.
“All stakeholders should be answerable for the quality of education, whether it comes from K-to-12 or whether it comes from tertiary level,” Pasig Rep. Roman T. Romulo said in a panel discussion.
“It should be one system, whether there’s lack of quality in basic education, higher education, or TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) skills, that should be a problem of all education stakeholders in all levels,” he added.
Different agencies handle education at various levels in the Philippines. The Department of Education (DepEd) manages basic education, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) leads tertiary education, and TESDA focuses on technical-vocational education and training (TVET).
With many agencies involved, Mr. Romulo flagged that the lapses in coordination and cohesiveness within the education system create further challenges for students.
“Because we chopped it up into many agencies, each one has its own turf,” Mr. Romulo said. “There are private interests involved, there are public interests involved.”
“Whatever basic education lacks, higher education will fill in; that’s not how we will succeed in this country,” he added. “Let’s go past the division… There’s only one education system in the Philippines.”
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) previously noted that the absence of a central coordinating mechanism in the sector has led to misaligned priorities, inefficient use of resources, and discontinuity in reforms across administrations.
Under the proposed House Bill No. 9006, or the “National Coordinating Council for Education (NCCE) Act”, the bill seeks to create a permanent inter-agency body under the Office of the President to ensure mandates, priorities, funding, and implementation are all aligned across all education agencies.
“All the education heads should be able to have a discussion and have one direction and be able to have programs and plans which are cohesive,” Mr. Romulo said.
He added that a unified approach to education will also help address the nationwide teacher gap.
“Without sacrificing the prestige and economic pay of our professors in college, I think its high time that we find a way that they are also able to complement teaching in our basic education,” he said.
“We really need help because we lack a number of teachers, we lack specializations, and that is one thing that college faculty can provide,” he added.
Data from DepEd showed that the country has a 14,274-teacher backlog as of 2025, which costs around P4.29 billion. The agency seeks an additional P49.16 billion in its 2027 funding to hire more teachers and school personnel, including school principals, administrative assistants, and project development officers. — Almira Louise S. Martinez