Senators urge Marcos Jr. to create Cabinet Cluster for Education

On Tuesday, senators adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 21, urging President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to create a Cabinet Cluster for Education to address systemic inefficiencies and improve learning outcomes.

Sponsored by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the resolution aims to establish a high-level inter-agency mechanism that will coordinate policies across education agencies such as DepEd, CHED, and TESDA, ensuring cohesive implementation of educational reforms.

Gatchalian emphasized that the Cabinet Cluster is crucial for solving the education crisis by aligning efforts and holding agencies jointly responsible for outcomes, stressing the need to unify fragmented leadership in the sector.

The proposal seeks to develop an integrated national education and workforce development plan aligned with labor market needs and national priorities, addressing coordination challenges and gaps in strategic planning within the education sector.

Co-sponsors Senators Loren Legarda and Joel Villanueva highlighted the urgent need to coordinate efforts among agencies, citing inefficiencies that disproportionately affect the country's poorest learners.

Villanueva also pointed out that 5.58 million high school graduates and 19 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 lack functional literacy skills, stressing the importance of working together to address these issues.