026 Meeting Fe Hidalgo (2)
It was a spoil sport moment. There we were, tired yet jubilant that our school year opening preparations Oplan Balik Eskwela was a resounding success. At the same time, I had to bring up a problem—on that day—that would take away some of our jubilation.
Just minutes earlier, I had shown Education Undersecretary Fe Hidalgo a newly minted department issuance that I thought was amiss. She confirmed my hunch the minute I showed her the erring paragraph, when she asked if she could see Secretary Butch Abad unannounced that very moment (I knew it was a big deal since, up until that night, I’ve never seen her go up to the Office of the Secretary on the second floor).
She was in Abad’s office for a good 10-15 minutes, a long time considering the fact that I already informed Abad about the issue, so Hidalgo need not explain the details of the issue too much. All they had to do was to talk about what to do next.
The department issuance in question was quite straightforward. It was a simple opening of the school year kind of thing that would offer guidance to schools on policies and procedures that would address issues that normally crop up during this critical period in the academic calendar (I don’t even remember if it was a department order or a simple memo).
What I found disturbing was that hidden in the second page of the issuance was this paragraph—innocent looking at first glance—that said principals are reminded that they should prepare for the standardized test to be conducted in February of that school year, for second year high school students, that would determine who would be promoted to third year.
In an ideal world, this shouldn’t be a problem. But in the context of Philippine education, in my mind, it was a big one—at least, it was a major public relations disaster for the department (which was the concern of our communications team).
It was obvious enough for me to recall and invoke the recent Bridge to High School debacle of the department, wherein a great number of graduating grade school students were required to enter a one-year bridge program since, based on a test, it showed they weren’t ready for high school. Too many students, in fact, failed that test, that too many parents were up in arms against this policy, since this meant that their children would have to spend another year in school (and because of this public clamor, the whole idea was scrapped and replaced with a non-compulsory bridge to high school option).
So my assumption was that we’d have the same problem with this February test, which can be expected to be a virtual Bridge to Third Year High School for so many would-be test takers. And, as far as I was concerned, it would be a colossal communications nightmare for the department, and more so, for my boss, Abad.
The objective was good, of course. Quality. It’s performance-based. And yes, if students don’t acquire the foundational knowledge in earlier years of schooling, it would be difficult if not impossible for them to succeed at the higher levels. And you know most of these students would fail (Unless, of course, you make the test too easy that more students would pass!).
Hidalgo shared the same fear, from her programs and projects perspective. And that’s why she was on this impromptu one-on-one meeting with Abad that fateful night.
(To be continued)