027 Meeting Fe Hidalgo (3)
It had been less than an hour since I had the opportunity to meet Fe Hidalgo, then the Department of Education’s undersecretary for programs and projects, and within minutes of that encounter, I said to myself that she was one smart educator.
With a cursory reading of one passage in a recently released department issuance, she immediately saw what I had seen, and feared, which led us up to the office of the education secretary that evening. That she was the first and only person to confirm my suspicion spoke volumes of her understanding of education governance. That she’s head of programs was a relief to me—she was exactly the champion I needed to resolve this problem, judiciously and with a sense of urgency that it deserved then.
Our celebratory dinner for the success of the maiden edition of Oplan Balik Eskwela had to wait a bit longer, since Hidalgo had to speak with Secretary Butch Abad about this urgent matter (It didn’t help that Abad was to leave for the United States the next day).
Yes, we were all hungry. And yes, we were all tired from weeks of school opening preparations. But we all eagerly awaited what would transpire from that unscheduled meeting.
Minutes later, the door opened and out came Hidalgo who, upon my query, replied with a small grin—
“He said fix it!”
POSTSCRIPT
The February test never materialized even though the department issuance was never recalled or amended. It just didn’t happen.
Having been caught up with the work we were doing at that time, I just forgot all about it. I don’t even know—up to now—if Hidalgo made a deliberate effort to abandon the test (she had by then replaced Abad at the helm of the department when he resigned in protest of the Hello Garci election scandal).
What would have happened if that test had pushed through? Well, a year later, we conducted the first National Career Assessment Exam (NCAE) for fourth year high school students and this resulted in dismal scores in the general scholastic aptitude section of the test. How bad? Out of 1,305,211 examinees, only 44,936 got a score of 75% and higher—that’s 3.44%—which would likely mean we’d have gotten similar dismal results for the aborted February 2006 test for second year high school students (the only difference, of course, is that in NCAE, you’re not prevented from moving up to the next level even if you fail). That’s just a theory, of course.
What I’m sure of is that my respect for this woman, this educator Fe Hidalgo, was reinforced as I got to know her more. Beyond her knowledge about education and education governance, I got to see her integrity—as a person, a teacher and a public servant.
We fought so many battles with her in the 11 action-packed months that she was in charge of the education bureaucracy. We continue to remain friends to this day (I appreciate the fact that I’m one of the blessed few invited to her house on her birthday). And we certainly continue to share the same passion for reforms in education, especially in terms of teaching and learning in the classroom (and I continue to get guidance from her on all things education).
June 6, 2005 was the day that I was destined to meet this remarkable lady. To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, that was the day that marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship.