School Governing Councils or SGCs are important channels for reformand change in our educational system.
As part of the mission of Synergeia Foundation to raise the capability of SGC to develop and implement need-based educational programs and projects for our children, our Synergeia Mentors – Dr. Rey Aquino, former Mayor of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga and Mr. Jay Jalandoni, former Vice Mayor and current Governor of the Philippine Red Cross, brought together the members of the SGCs in the Municipality of Balindong, Lanao del Sur through these workshops to assess and plan for what works best to offer more effective solutions and actions toward addressing the future needs and goals for the children of the municipality.
Dr. Milwida Guevara, President and CEO of Synergeia, emphasized that at the core of the SGCs are communities of mission and action which need to be strengthened sustainably through these workshops, in keeping with our belief that “It really takes a village to educate a child”.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) is a national commission tasked to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector.

 The Philippine Education Sector faces a learning crisis. Based on the World Bank’s 2022 report on the State of Global Learning Poverty, the Philippines’ learning poverty ranks among the highest in the Asian region, at 90.9%. The country fared the worst among the ASEAN countries, with the exception of Lao PDR (97.7%) and Brunei (no assessment). This means that nine in every 10 Filipinos aged 10 years old need to be taught how to read and to develop their reading comprehension.

Objectively measured, the quality of Philippine education fares no better. In 2019, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results showed that 80% of Filipino learners have not reached the global minimum competency levels for education. The country scored the lowest in reading, and second lowest in math and science among the 79 participating countries. PISA is a worldwide study, done every 3 years, that evaluates education systems in nations around the globe.

To address this learning crisis, the Eighteenth Congress created EDCOM II to provide for an objective assessment and examination of our education system.