DAVAO CITY — Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Thursday said it is important to avert the further deterioration of the Philippine education system in order to save the future of the children and the country.

“Our collective mission — and this means, including our registrars here today — is to ensure that we are able to avert the further deterioration of the Philippine education system,” Duterte said during the Association of Registrars of Schools, Colleges and Universities — Technical Vocational Training Institution (TVTI), Region XI Annual Convention and 22nd Mindanao-wide Invitational at the Grand Men Seng Hotel here.

“If we are able to do this successfully, we will be able to save the future of our children and the future of the Philippines,” she added.

Duterte, who is also Secretary of Education, said if people in authority and responsibility in guiding learners only give half of their efforts, the country will continue to harvest Filipino children who are struggling in the field of education.

“The kind of hard work that we exert, that we put into our jobs — being adults that children look up to — is supposed to be the kind of hard work that should spark the fire that will inspire them to work harder and harder to achieve their dreams,” Duterte said.

“May I reiterate this — success can only be had with hard work,” she added.

Duterte also cited the recently launched program of the Department of Education, the “MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa,” to set the new direction of the agency and stakeholders in resolving basic education challenges.

She said the project seeks new pathways to resolve the challenges that the sector faces to ensure the delivery of basic education to learners post-COVID-19 pandemic.

The MATATAG agenda was launched on January 30, where Duterte delivered her Basic Education Report (BER) and laid down the challenges and recent accomplishments of DepEd.

Duterte lauded the Association of Registrars of Schools, Colleges and Universities — TVTI Region 11 for initiating the gathering which, according to her, “devotes primary attention to the advancement of all school registrars in both our basic and higher education institutions in Mindanao.”

“The result of your hard work is a beautiful tapestry of lessons learned, knowledge stored, technical and life skills developed, and emotional intelligence sharpened because you are there and will always be there, from beginning to end, for the student and the student’s future,” Duterte said.

OVP MEDIA