Know BESRA, Do BESRA,

Own BESRA!

A primer on the Department of Education’s

Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda

(BESRA) developed by the Public Services

Labor Independent Confederation

(PSLINK)

PSLINK National Headquarters at # 15 Clarion Lily St. St. Dominic Subdi-vision Congressional Avenue Quezon City

9244710 (telefax) / www.pslink.org PSLINK is on facebook! Just search Public Services Labor Independent Confederation in

facebook and click the “Like” button to receive updates!

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What in the world is

B E S R A ???

NOT

NO it is

the new villainous arch-enemy of the Panday Kids…

a four-headed evil dragon that wreaks havoc in the world of humans...

a new word invented by Jejemons...

a new brand of undergarment...

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BESRA

is

A package of policy actions that seek to create a basic education sector that is capable of attaining the country’s Education for All (EFA) Objectives by the year 2015.

Known as the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda

Led by the Department of Education (DepEd)

Conceptualized and developed in 2005 through consultations with various stake-holders

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Let’s backtrack a bit...

Did YOU know that

the Philippin_ gov_rnm_nt Philippin_ gov_rnm_nt Philippin_ gov_rnm_nt Philippin_ gov_rnm_nt

committed

to achieve Education for All

by 2015

This means that by 2015, we should have achieved the following outcomes:

⇒ Universal Coverage of Out-of-School Youths and Adults in the Pro-

vision of Basic Learning Needs

⇒ Universal School Participation and Elimination of Dropouts and

Repetition in First Three Grades

⇒ Universal Completion of the Full Cycle of Basic Education Schooling

with Satisfactory Achievement Levels by All at Every Grade or Year

⇒ Total Community Commitment to Attainment of Basic Education

Competencies for All

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However...

WEWEWEWE are lagging behind

badly!

Goal: Achieve universal primary Goal: Achieve universal primary

education by 2015education by 2015

Target/Indicator Probability of Meeting Target

Participation Rate LOW

Cohort Survival Rate

LOW

Official National Economic

Development Authority

(NEDA) Midterm Assess-

ment

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In order to achieve our EFA goals,

the DepEd is currently pursuing BESRA...

BESRA focuses on 5 Key Reform

Thrusts (KRTs)

KRT 1: Get all schools to continuously improve;

KRT 2: Enable teachers to further enhance their contri-

bution to learning outcomes;

KRT 3: Increase social support to attainment of desired

learning outcomes;

KRT 4: Improve impact on outcomes from Comple-

mentary Early Childhood Education, Alternative

Learning Systems, and Private Sector Participation;

and

KRT 5: Change institutional culture of the DepEd to

better support all KRTs

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KRT 1:

Why?

Main policy actions

● Ensure a head for every school

● Ensure a school / community process of continuous school improve-

ment

● Enable every school and its community to establish and maintain func-

tional and empowered School Governing Councils

● Enable every school to develop, implement and evaluate its School

Improvement Plans

● A school-based resource management framework

● A schools-driven DepEd representation in Local School Boards of Lo-

cal government units

School-level stakeholders

improve their own schools

continuously

⇒ The best people to improve the

quality of schools are the

people most directly affected by

the school’s operations—the

school heads, the teachers, the

parents, and other stakeholders

in the community

⇒ Supports decentralization of

education governance

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KRT 2:

Why?

Teachers raise the prevailing

standards of their profession

to meet demands for better

learning outcomes.

⇒ Improving school performance,

involves improving teacher

performance

⇒ Recognizes the important role

of teachers as driving force in

the improvement of education

service delivery and student

learning outcomes

Main policy actions

● Adopt the National Competency-based Teachers Standards (NCBTS) as

basis for teacher hiring and deployment, assessing teachers’ performance and training / professional development needs

● Maintain a rolling 5-year projection of new teacher hires

● Progressive upgrades in division-level teacher hiring practices

● Adopt the division hiring practices for all other sources of teacher hires

(ex. Local government units)

● Improve deployment of teachers / distribution of class sizes

● Teacher education and development

● Pre-service teacher education and licensing to support future higher hiring

standards

● Improve teacher (and non-teaching staff) compensation, benefits, and em-

ployment conditions

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KRT 3:

Why?

Influential social institutions

and key social processes are

engaged by DepED to support

national scale attainment of

desired learning outcomes.

⇒ Recognizes the limitations of the DepEd and focuses on ensuring wide

social support for learning in schools

⇒ Seeks to develop minimum learning standards and quality indicators that

all sectors of society will agree to and hold schools accountable for

Main policy actions

● Develop strategies to support learning in English, Filipino, Mathe-

matics and Science

● Develop a national quality assurance framework for basic education

schooling

● Institutionalize a national forum for multi-sectoral coordination in

support of basic education outcomes

● Establish a training and development institution for higher-level edu-

cation managers

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KRT 4:

Why?

Main policy actions

● Develop or improve local delivery models for cost-effective

early childhood education

● Enhance Alternative Learning Systems

● Engage the private sector in improving basic education

Providers of early childhood care

and development, alternative

learning systems, and private

sector increase their respective

complementary contributions to

national basic education out-

comes

⇒ Recognizes the diversity of

delivery modes for basic

education

⇒ Seeks to strengthen the

different learning experiences

to help students attain the

highest levels of learning

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KRT 5:

Why?

Main policy actions

● Develop a strategy for institutional culture change and integrate this

into organizational modernization plans for central, regional, and divisional offices

● Develop a new national budget framework for basic education

● Increase level and effectiveness of LGUs spending for basic educa-

tion at school and locality levels through direct mandates and cost-sharing schemes

● Integrate all other international and local project initiatives in basic

education within the overall basic education reform and operations framework

● Develop and adopt a strategy for cost-effective use of ICT in basic

education (for classroom instruction and teachers’ training in schools, as well as for use by DepED offices)

DepED changes its own

institutional culture towards

greater responsiveness to

the KRTs of BESRA

⇒ Recognizes that in order for meaningful reforms to take

place, the DepEd needs to change its centralized and

traditional approaches to improving basic education

⇒ BESRA is not just another DepEd project; BESRA reforms

are being mainstreamed in the DepEd’s regular systems

and processes

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KNOW BESRA, DO BESRA,

OWN BESRA!

This information material was produced to help raise awareness

about BESRA. Content was based on the various information ma-

terials on BESRA produced by the DepEd. For inquiries, you may

contact the PSLINK National headquarters at 9244710 or email

jill_of_pslink@yahoo.com.

Is BESRA the key to

improving the quality of

basic education for our

country’s young

generation?

Yes, but only if YOU

get involved!

What you can do!

• Get more information about BESRA by visiting the

DepEd website (www.deped.gov.ph) or the PSLINK

website (www.pslink.org)!

• Help raise awareness about BESRA!

• Be part of the School Governing Council and partici-

pate in the development of the School Improvement

Plan!

• Advocate for increased education budget !

• Urge your faculty/non-faculty union to make BESRA

part of your agenda!

• Organize or join an existing union and make BESRA

your union agenda!