Angara’s Educational Circus: Applauding Kamote While Kids Can’t Read

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo++ July 11, 2025

IN THE dazzling spectacle of Philippine governance, Education Secretary Sonny Angara stars as the ringmaster, waving off a “learning crisis” with the flair of a magician dismissing a disappearing act. UNICEF’s dire warnings and a PISA ranking of 77th out of 81 countries—a global humiliation—don’t faze him. Why declare a crisis when President Marcos has “taken the bull by the horns”? Cue the applause as Marcos wrangles this educational beast, while 91% of 10-year-olds can’t read a simple sentence. Bravo, Secretary, for spinning failure into a standing ovation, with kamote patches as your grand finale.

1. Hailing ‘Progress’ While the System Burns

Angara’s celebratory tone is a masterclass in delusion. “Taking the bull by the horns” sounds heroic until you realize the bull is trampling the futures of 24 million functionally illiterate Filipinos. The 2022 PISA results are a national disgrace: 75% of 15-year-olds failed competency tests in math, science, and reading, yet Angara touts the “Gulayan sa Paaralan” program—school gardens growing kamote—as a triumph. Yes, because nothing screams academic excellence like a prize-winning sweet potato. Meanwhile, 80% of Grade 5 students struggle with basic literacy. Perhaps we should plant more kamote to boost algebra scores? Angara’s optimism isn’t progress—it’s a fantasy where root crops outshine functional classrooms.

2. Smoke and Mirrors: The ‘Whole-of-Government’ Charade

Angara’s “whole-of-government” approach is a bureaucratic sleight of hand, distracting from the system’s rotting core. He brags about partnerships with the Department of Transportation for 50% student rail discounts and “dedicated student lanes.” How heartwarming—nothing says “world-class education” like a half-price train ride to a school without electricity. Speaking of which, 5,000 schools lack power, and 10,000 have no clean water, but Angara promises “100% school connectivity” by year’s end. Connectivity for what? To stream AI curriculum videos to kids who can’t divide fractions? The Department of Information and Communications Technology must be thrilled to wire up schools where one computer serves nine students. And don’t miss the police partnerships for “security.” Behold the “conversion strategy”—because nothing solves illiteracy like a cop patrolling the lunchroom. These aren’t solutions; they’re photo ops dressed as policy, with kamote as the mascot.

3. K-12: A Glittering Shrine to Elite Oblivion

Angara’s defense of the K-12 program is a cruel punchline for Filipino youth. He frets that reverting to a 10-year system might mean “lower salaries” for engineers and architects abroad. How noble to shield the elite while 40% of senior high graduates drop out of college, their diplomas as useful as origami. Teachers, meanwhile, buy chalk and paper with their own salaries—PhilHealth premiums fund more pencils than DepEd’s budget—while many flee to teach in Thailand or clean houses in Dubai. Angara’s concern for overseas engineers ignores the 62% of teachers forced to teach untrained subjects, like science or math. The K-12 system, a bloated monument to mismanagement, churns out graduates unfit for global competition, yet Angara clings to it like a shipwrecked sailor clutching driftwood. His 889 pilot schools for a “strengthened” senior high? Lipstick on a collapsing bridge, not worth a single kamote.

4. The Poor Get Screwed, as Usual

Imagine a 12-year-old in Mindanao, sharing one dog-eared textbook with 10 classmates, dodging bullies who drive her to drop out. This is the human toll of Angara’s refusal to name the crisis. Six out of 10 Grade 5 students face bullying monthly—double the global average—yet DepEd touts “dedicated student lanes” as if safer commutes fix hostile schoolyards. The economic cost is catastrophic: illiteracy drains $4.72 billion annually from GDP, a scandal dwarfing any corruption headline. Poor families, reliant on remittances, watch their children trapped in a system producing credentials without skills. In disaster zones, students lose 48% of school days, their education washed away with the floods while Angara boasts of “holistic” fixes. Spend a day in a Tondo classroom, Secretary, where 55% of schools lack principals—leadership so absent, even the roaches have given up. Then tell parents it’s not a crisis, while you hand them a kamote as consolation.

5. Barok’s Battle Cry: Stop the Charade, Save the Kids

Secretary Angara, what’s your breaking point? When 100% of kids fail PISA? When the last teacher bolts for Saudi Arabia? Your rosy denial insults the 10.5 million poor children trapped in this educational dystopia. Fire half the DepEd bureaucrats—those paper-pushers who “oversaw” 192 of 5,133 funded classrooms built in 2023. Double teacher salaries to stem the exodus. And lock up the officials who’ve turned textbook procurement into a $12.6 billion black hole, with only 27 textbooks delivered since 2012. This isn’t reform; it’s survival. Stop planting kamote and start planting fates. The Philippines deserves an education system that lifts its people, not one that buries them in denial.

Overheard in Malacañang: A Cynic’s Sidebar

“Secretary, if we call it a crisis, who’ll invest in our offshore wind farms?”
“Priorities, Juan—illiterate kids don’t bankroll campaigns.”

The tragedy isn’t just the crumbling schools; it’s the leaders who survey this wreckage and call it a masterpiece. Angara’s refusal to name the crisis isn’t just dodging accountability—it’s betraying a generation.

Key Citations

PISA 2022 Results: OECD PISA 2022 Results (Volume I) – Details the Philippines’ ranking of 77th out of 81 countries, with 75% of 15-year-olds failing competency tests in math, science, and reading.
World Bank on Learning Crisis: Philippines: Addressing Learning Gaps Urgent to Make Education System Resilient – Reports 91% of 10-year-olds unable to read simple texts and 80% of Grade 5 students struggling with literacy.
Development Aid. (2025, May 22). The cost of illiteracy: Why the education system in Philippines is failing millions: Reports 91% of 10-year-olds unable to read simple texts and 80% of Grade 5 students struggling with literacy.
BizNewsAsia on Education Crisis: The Crisis in Philippine Education – Provides data on 24 million functionally illiterate Filipinos, $4.72 billion GDP loss, 40% college dropout rate, 55% of schools without principals, and other systemic failures.
Philstar News Report: Angara: No Need to Declare Education National Crisis – Quotes Angara on the “whole-of-government” approach, K-12 defense, and initiatives like student transport discounts.