Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has introduced a bill aiming to bolster the country's educational system by establishing the National Education Council (NEDCO), which will foster a culture of long-term, strategic, and collaborative planning among the country's three education sub-sectors.
Gatchalian said in a press release Thursday that Senate Bill No. 2017, also known as the National Education Council Act, will establish the NEDCO to institutionalize a system of national coordination, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and management among the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
In advocating for the bill, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education stated that the tri-focalization of the country's education system in 1994&mdash;CHED handling higher education, TESDA handling technical and vocational education, and DepEd handling basic education covering elementary and secondary levels&mdash;was intended to allow the agencies to focus on their basic mandates in order to deliver and produce the results expected of them.
He stated that the proposed NEDCO will strengthen coordination among various government agencies in order to improve educational quality.
SB 2017 aims to create a national education agenda that is based on national development plans.
It will establish the country's strategic vision for education, long-term and medium-term goals, strategies for coordinated and coherent implementation, and recommendations on corresponding investments and appropriations, among other things.
The NEDCO's powers and functions will include the implementation of an action agenda for the development of the country's capacity for and success in education, as measured by indices and measures such as the National Achievement Test, the Program for International Student Assessment, the Education Index, the Education for All Development Index, and others as appropriate in measuring the growth and development of the education sector.
The three sub-sectors, as well as concerned government agencies and stakeholders, must strictly adhere to the national education agenda and incorporate its relevant policies into their respective programs.
The proposed measure calls for the President of the Philippines to chair NEDCO, with the DepEd Secretary, CHED chairperson, and TESDA Director-General serving as co-chairpersons.
Members of the Council will also include the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and selected Cabinet members.
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The bill also states that the national education agenda must have a minimum five-year horizon and must be updated and reviewed on a regular basis by the NEDCO.

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