Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics 2019: Upgrade Teachers’ Knowledge and Skills to Deliver Quality Education for All Filipino Children

Teachers play a central role in the education system by ensuring high quality instruction so that all children attain desirable learning outcomes. In this sense, it is critical that teachers are well-equipped with appropriate subject-matter and pedagogical knowledge and are deployed in areas where they are needed most. 

In the Philippines, teacher candidates must earn a four-year degree diploma and pass the Board Licensure Exam for Professional Teachers (BELPT) to be eligible to teach in public schools. However, pre-service teacher preparation alone does not necessarily equip teachers with sufficient knowledge and skills to teach in the classroom. To fill the weakness of preservice training, the reskilling and upskilling of teachers are a key component of Sulong Edukalidad, which is a nationwide initiative formulated in 2019 to improve the quality of education. While teachers do not have an organized professional development program, the Department of Education (DepEd) works with the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) to strengthen continuing professional development for teachers.