Sen. Villanueva: RCTQ’s research work instrumental in legislative reform efforts on teacher education
Senator Joel Villanueva—chair of the Senate Committee on Higher, and Technical and Vocational Education—spoke as guest speaker at the Philippine Normal University annual convocation on 27 January 2021 where he commended the PNU’s role in the history of Philippine education, and lauded RCTQ’s contribution in introducing education reforms in the country.
“Your research initiatives at the PNU-RCTQ or the Research Center for Teacher Quality have been instrumental in the progress of the Senate Bill No. 1887 which seeks to enhance the quality of basic education by improving the quality of our teachers and school leaders in strengtheningthe Teacher Education Council,’ Senator Villanueva said during the virtual program streamed via the PNU Facebook. “We hope to see more research outputs from RCTQ which will support our desire to reform our country’s education system.”
SB 1887 or the Teacher Education Act is a legislation filed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian—chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture—and co-authored by Villanueva. It seeks to amend Republic Act No. 7784, the law that created the Teacher Education Council in 1994, by strengthening the TEC to ensure the link and alignment of pre-service education with in-service education, and improve the coordination between the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in order to improve teacher education outcomes.
The bill is being closely tackled through a series of Senate Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings in January and February where PNU-RCTQ serves as a resource organization. RCTQ, through Director Dr. Gina Gonong, has joined Senators Villanueva and Gatchalian in tackling the proposed amendatory bill during the series of the public hearings and TWG meetings since November last year.
At the convocation, Sen. Villanueva said that although PNU was celebrating its 29th year as university, its forerunner—the Philippine Normal School—is considered as one of the oldest institutions of learning in the country.
“Established in 1901 during the American occupation, the PNU has stood the test of time. And as the pandemic forced a host of changes in how we live and how we work, you prove your resilience and adaptability,” the senator said to an audience composed of faculty members, administrative employees, and students.
He added that the new normal “illustrated how critically important the work of PNU in ensuring learning continuity in the pandemic through the Kaway-Aralan sa Bagong Kadawyan.”
“We commend your efforts especially in helping our small private colleges cope with flexible learning through various educational consortia and engaging with policymakers through your proposals that seek to strengthen teacher education in the country,” Sen. Villanueva said.
https://www.rctq.ph/?p=2206NewsTeacher Education Council
