A party-list lawmaker is pushing a bill that aims to resolve the persistent problem of inadequate textbooks for students in public schools with “future-proof” learning materials in the country’s basic education system.
Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan said the enactment of Resources Plan as provided under House Bill (HB) 10734 will strengthen the partnership between the Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Book Development Board (NBDB) which would be jointly tasked to formulate and implement a National Textbook and Learning Resources Plan.
Yamsuan said he filed the bill after the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom II) established that students in public elementary and high schools struggled to learn for about a decade with incomplete or no textbooks at all.
“Our bill provides the answer to the long-standing problem of our public school learners who find it hard to study because of the lack, and even the complete absence, of textbooks. This has a big negative impact on their ability to study efficiently, especially in the subjects of Math, Science and Reading, where Filipino students have logged low test scores,” Yamsuan said.
He cited the 2022 findings of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which showed that Filipino students were among the weakest in the subjects of Math, Reading and Science, and even in creative thinking skills compared to learners from 81 countries that took part in the global study.
Another research—the Southeast Asian Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM)– discovered that learners who shared the use of textbooks and those who did not have these learning materials scored significantly lower than those who had their own textbooks.
Yamsuan pointed out that despite having the budget available to buy textbooks, the DepEd procured only 27 types of textbooks for Grades 1 to 10 since 2012. Moreover, since the K-to-12 curriculum was introduced, only textbooks for Grades 5 to 6 have been acquired.
The delays were traced to various factors such as insufficient period given to the DepEd to develop textbooks, prolonged review processes, high participation costs for bidders, and pricing issues, according to the Edcom II findings.
Yamsuan said these problems could be resolved by amending the provisions of the NBDB Charter under Republic Act 8047.
His proposed measure–HB 10734—gives the NBDB a more active role in the preparation and production of textbooks by mandating the DepEd to jointly work with it in preparing the specific policies, guidelines and measures on the provision of public school textbooks and learning resources.
HB 10734 also requires the DepEd to phase out its elementary and secondary textbook publication and distribution functions within a three-year period and support the phasing in of private sector publishers to assume these tasks, Yamsuan said.
To “future-proof” public school textbooks, the measure redefines the meaning of the term “book” to include electronic publications.
Yamsuan said the National Textbook and Learning Resources Plan under his bill also champions inclusive education, as it directs the establishment of consultative mechanisms among the DepEd, the NBDB, and players in the book publishing industry to provide learning materials for persons with disabilities.
The bill also creates a Textbook Review Committee primarily tasked to evaluate and select textbooks and teachers’ manuals for use in public schools.
“This dedicated committee will guarantee that the quality of textbooks procured meets educational and industry standards. The bill requires that public school textbooks be reviewed, evaluated and revised, if necessary, every five years,” Yamsuan said.
