Press Release - EDCOM 2: PBBM approves creation of cabinet cluster for education

During the cabinet sectoral meeting held earlier today, August 13, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. approved in principle the creation of a cabinet cluster for education aimed at providing strong oversight on all education agencies, recognizing the urgent need to address the learning crisis that the country is currently facing.

"Sa bandang dulo ng meeting, sInabi na niya [President Marcos] na in principle he approves of it, and he'd like us to fastrack some of the actions dahil nakikita niya yung urgency and it is a very deep-seated problem," says Department of Education Secretary Sonny Angara, also a previous Commissioner of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).

Last June, EDCOM 2 submitted a letter to the Office of the President urging the President to create a cabinet cluster for education. This was subsequently followed by the filing of concurrent resolutions House Resolution No. 28 and Senate Resolution No. 21 filed by EDCOm 2 Commissioners Representatives Romulo, Go, Benitez, Dimaporo, Garia; and Senators Gatchalian, Cayetano, Pimentel III, and Villanueva, respectively.

In a Malacañang press briefing, Secretary Angara and EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee underscored the need for greater coordination among the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and other agencies to better align educational policies and address long-standing challenges in education, from early childhood care and development, basic education, higher education, technical and vocational and lifelong learning.

"The learning crisis is not something that DepEd could address on its own. Kailangan tulungan talaga yung agencies. And it is really the National Education and Workforce Development Plan that will anchor them all to make sure that there is one coherent direction. And that is what we proposed to the president," says Executive Director Yee.

PBBM further directed the education agencies to develop a 10-year coherent and integrated national education and workforce development strategy to ensure that education issues are tackled as a whole rather than in