Following the signing of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Excellence in Teacher Education Act (Republic Act No. 11713), Senator Win Gatchalian urged the government to ensure the law’s full implementation so that teachers can receive quality education and training.
The Excellence in Teacher Education Act, which Gatchalian authored and sponsored, revamps the Teacher Education Council (TEC) to strengthen the coordination between agencies involved in teacher education and training: the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). This will ensure coherence of teacher education programs from pre-service to in-service.
The law mandates the TEC to set and mandate basic requirements for teacher education programs. The TEC will also ensure a strong and transparent link between the outcomes of teacher education programs and the professional standards for teachers and school leaders, research, and international best practices.
The TEC is further mandated to establish a roadmap for teacher education, which shall be submitted to the CHED for inclusion in the national higher education roadmap. This roadmap will guide the design of relevant, responsive, innovative, creative, and collaborative programs.
“Sa pagsugpo natin sa krisis na bumabalot sa sektor ng edukasyon, mahalagang tiyakin nating handa at may sapat na kakayahan ang ating mga guro, bagay na magagawa natin kung mabibigyan natin sila ng dekalidad na edukasyon. Ipinasa natin ang Excellence in Teacher Education Act upang makamit natin ang layuning ito at kailangan nating tiyaking ganap itong mapapatupad,” said Gatchalian.
The TEC is also mandated to designate, identify, establish or develop Teacher Education-Centers of Excellence (COE) in all the regions of the country. Teacher Education-COEs are public or private colleges, institutes, schools or agencies that established and continue to maintain an excellent track record in teacher education and have produced top caliber graduates.
Gatchalian lamented the low passing rates among takers of the Licensure Examination for Teachers. Based on the Philippine Business for Education’s (PBEd) study on the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (BLEPT) from 2010-2022, the passing rate for overall takers at the elementary level is only 37% and 40% for the secondary level.
