the business of education

Businesses move to boost quality of teachers
by Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo/BWorld/11.26.08

THE NUMBER of students enrolling in education courses may be rising but their population as a percentage of the total number of college enrollees is actually shrinking. And for a group of businessmen, the quality of students in teacher-training courses is suspect.

Concerned over the declining quality of the country’s labor force, especially when it comes to English-language skills, the business advocacy for education reforms is tracing the problem to poor school instruction, particularly at the primary and secondary levels.

It’s easy to see why: education courses are no longer attracting the best and the brightest, considering that a call center worker is paid more than a public school teacher.

Education, though, remains the third most popular college major. Nearly two decades ago, it was next to business management and engineering and technology, with 242,828 students — 18% of 1.3 million high school graduates who went to college that year — enrolling in teacher-training and education courses in 1991.

The share of education majors to the total went down to about 15% in 2005, the latest data available. Out of 2.5 million high school graduates, education and teacher training attracted 388,735, next to the 454,415 who took up medical and allied courses and 544,286 who chose engineering.

Businessmen have started to pool resources to create incentives that will hopefully lure the country’s top high school students into taking up education, and are appealing to others to contribute.

The Philippine Business for Education (PBED) notes that while the number of high school students wanting to become teachers has remained significant, the education profession has become less and less attractive.

"The business community is worried about how Philippine education has deteriorated ... Perhaps the most important [factor] is that the quality of teachers is deteriorating," Philippine Investment-Management, Inc. (Phinma) President and PBED founder Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr. said in a recent interview.

He said qualified students who really want to teach end up choosing other courses which promise a more rewarding career.

Philanthropy, Mr. del Rosario said, is key to bringing opportunities closer to poor families and enticing poor but deserving young people to pursue a career in teaching.

The PBED, composed of 69 corporations, is hoping to make a dent through the 1,000 Teachers program, introduced early this year. The program, which provides scholarships and other perks to high school graduates pursuing an education career, has so far benefited 98 students out of 294 who had applied. The PBED aims to help 1,000 a year in five years.

"This program was adopted to make the profession more appealing. We give these students the means to pursue this career," Mr. del Rosario said.

More than 20 universities have agreed to provide scholarships. The program provides a monthly stipend of P2,000 and book allowances. But graduates must commit to spend five years of teaching in the Philippines, most preferably in the community where they came from.

However, helping students finish education courses is not enough, Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philamlife) President Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said, adding compensation plays an important role in enticing students to teach.

"It’s not enough to do this (the program) but it’s a good start. The government needs to see what they can do to increase compensation for teachers," he said.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) President Aurelio R. Montinola III noted that entry-level teachers started with a P10,000 monthly salary some 10 to 15 years ago. The amount has grown to P17,000-18,000 but this is below what an entry-level call center agent earns.

"Fresh graduates can earn as much as P20,000 to P25,000 in the call center industry," Mr. Cuisia said.

PBED members Phinma, Philamlife and BPI are among the program’s biggest donors.

Mr. del Rosario said major corporations should do their part in helping to improve the quality of teachers. "We want to see Filipinos who can do good jobs and sustain them. The answer to poverty is education ... relevant education to help improve the quality of poor people’s lives."

Mr. Cuisia said the government should set its priorities straight and allocate limited resources properly.

"We see continued misuse of resources every year. The business community can only do so much like pay taxes but the government has to do its part by improving the education infrastructure," he said. —