Pandemic made it tougher for new grads to get jobs — solon
A party-list solon said the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the already sad state of the country’s education system.
ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro said this is the reason why fresh graduates are finding it more difficult to land jobs.
“Pinalala lang ng Covid ang matagal ng problema ng edukasyon sa Pilipinas lalo pa ng ipinatupad ang K-12 na nagsaksak ng sangkatutak na mga asignatura sa kurikulum pero tinanggal naman ang mga dapat na nalalaman ng mga bata tulad ng Araling Panlipunan at Filipino na magtuturo sana sa kanila ng kritikal na pag-iisip at kung paano ang pagharap sa kapwa,” Castro said.
“Now when the pandemic struck this flaw was further aggravated because there are no more face to face classes and many students lacked “soft skills” — or those related to empathy, creativity, resilience, and communication — as well as practical job skills,” she added.
The lawmaker is proposing the review and possible to overhaul the K-12 program to determine if this is helpful or effective to the learning system.’
A recent situational report by the Commission on Human Rights found that fresh graduates are finding it more difficult to find employment due to the lack of “soft skills” and practical job skills that could have been honed in face-to-face classes.
The CHR’s findings were taken from various focus group discussions with officials of the national government, prospective employers, school teachers, administrators and principals, and the youth.
The report also found that new graduates tended to experience a “culture shock” upon entering the workplace “because their expectations differ[ed] from what they were taught at school.”
It also noted that many graduates “lack job readiness,” as most students have had to undergo their internships virtually, thus, the skills they learned online “could not be translated into actual practice.”
