Marcos Jr. prods return of mandatory ROTC
Despite the controversial responses received from the public, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Congress to include mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in the senior high school curriculum (Grades 11 to 12) in hopes of fortifying the country’s disaster risk reduction and response amid emergencies.
During his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) as the 17th president of the Philippines, Marcos listed the approval of mandatory ROTC and National Service Training Program (NSTP) for senior high school students as priority measures in his management.
According to Marcos Jr., reinstating the ROTC program, as early as senior high school, would better equip the youth with skills in civic education and defense preparedness.
“This seeks to reinstitute the ROTC program as a mandatory component of senior high school programs (Grades 11 and 12) in all public and private tertiary-level educational institutions. The aim is to motivate, train, organize and mobilize the students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations,” he stated.
In college education, ROTC has been an optional program since the death of the University of Santo Tomas student Mark Chua, whose cause of death revealed gaps and faults in the implementation of ROTC.
Back when it was mandatory, Chua stated that corruption within the system was prevalent as students paid their officers to receive a passing grade without undergoing the program.
Only one out of the three NSTP components, namely Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS), Literacy Training Service (LTS), and ROTC, is required for completion in order to graduate.
Digital shift in PH education
Aiming to improve the quality of education and learning competencies among Filipino students, Marcos also set plans on establishing key changes in the education system to cope up with the advancing technological world amid the pandemic.
“In the longer term, we are instituting a program of refresher courses and re-trainings for our teachers so they can stay abreast of the rapid growth in technology, especially in this post-pandemic world,” he remarked.
Additionally, Marcos Jr. highlighted that materials for digital education, such as devices and stable Internet connection, should be a top priority for academic institutions in order to fully maximize quick communication within the country and abroad.
“These skills and this knowledge are necessary for our young people to be able to compete in a highly technological and competitive world,” he added.
Aside from the importance of e-Learning in connecting students and teachers during the pandemic, the president also cited its role in promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and developing digital literacy among Filipino learners to target higher education ranks internationally.
