Jose Carillo's Forum

NEWS AND COMMENTARY


Philippines:

Guidelines for selecting honor students in Philippine schools revised

MANILA (PNA)—The Department of Education (DepEd) has revised its guidelines in the selection of honor pupils and students in public elementary and secondary schools, for the current school year that ends in late March 2010.

The guidelines issued recently by Education Secretary Jesli A. Lapus stipulate that candidates for honors at any elementary grade or high school year level shall be chosen from among the top 10 pupils or students of the school. They must not have a final rating lower than 80 percent in any subject or learning area.

Under DepEd Order No. 92, series of 2009, it is mandated that the top 10 pupils or students, who must be of good moral conduct, shall be determined through ranking using the 7-3 point system where 7 points represent academic performance and 3 points co-curricular activities.

In the ranking of honors for graduating elementary pupils and high school students, only the grades in the current curriculum year shall be included, thereby disregarding their ratings in the previous curriculum levels.

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Civil society group reports that 15 million Filipinos can’t read, write

A total of 15 million Filipinos are illiterate, with 11 million of them suffering from functional illiteracy and four million have no basic literacy skills.

This survey finding was announced recently by The Civil Society Network for Education Reforms (E-Net Philippines) and is now urging the government to focus more resources on addressing the issue by strengthening the alternative learning system (ALS). The survey was conducted by the Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS).

According to E-Net Philippines, the illiteracy figures will keep on rising in the coming years.

“We expect the illiteracy rate to further increase as more children are unable to go to school due to various factors such as economic hardship and with those already in school dropping out,” said Edicio de la Torre, E-Net Philippines president.

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Private sector urged to give more IT support to Philippine schools

MANILA—The private sector has been urged by the Philippine Department of Education to provide more information technology support in the effort to modernize the country’s educational system.

During the turnover of computers to a public school recently, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus appealed for more participation by private sector firms in the Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School program. Since 2006, the department has received P12 billion worth of assistance from private firms and individuals under the program, which provides its partners with tax incentives of up to 150 percent.

Lapus said that more schools need computers so they can enhance learning among the children attending them.

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United States:

States lead effort to arrive at common US math, English arts standards

WASHINGTON—Draft common education standards in English-language arts and math released Monday advance a long-sought, yet elusive goal to measure American student achievement according to national benchmarks.

The still-embryonic state-led effort is "potentially game changing," said Scott Montgomery, deputy executive director for the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), which is leading the Common Core State Standards Initiative with the National Governors Association (NGA).

The final version of the high school graduation standards isn't expected for a few months, Montgomery said, roughly the same time that potentially more significant K-12 standards are set to be released.

The advent of the Race to the Top (RTT) fund, a $4.35 billion grant program created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, "is a complicating factor for states," he said, because it's made the timeframe "extremely aggressive" for states to adopt common standards.

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United Kingdom:

More music lessons seen to improve memory, intelligence, and behaviour

Learning a musical instrument at school improves children's behaviour, memory and intelligence, a government-commissioned study has found, as ministers launch the first National Year of Music.

Professor Susan Hallam, of the Institute of Education, University of London, analysed scores of researchers' studies on the benefits of music to children.

She found researchers had discovered that learning to play an instrument enlarges the left side of the brain. This leads musically-trained pupils to remember almost a fifth more information.

Hallam's research review was commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families as part of a drive to persuade more children in England to play a musical instrument.

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