The Behest for Best Practices: An Assessment of the City of Makati's Education during the Mayoralty of Jejomar Binay

Abstract

This study was aimed to assess the educational programs of former Mayor Jejomar Binay for Makati, specifically, to look into the role of education in a political system, its best attributes and expected outcomes; to provide a detailed description and analysis of Jejomar Binay's programs for students of primary, secondary and tertiary levels, OSY (out-of-school youths) and OSA (out-of-school adults); to discover the stakeholders', particularly high school students*, perceptions of his implementation; to analyze whether his goals have been attained and to give recommendations on the improvement of educational programs. The study evaluated the governance of Jejomar Binay in the education sector. Characteristics of which included accountability, transparency, responsiveness, equitability and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, consensus oriented compliance to participatory governance and adherence to the rule of law. In order to assess Binay's governance given the indicators which were identified by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the researcher made use of two methodologies: the key informant interview which was conducted to officials from the Department of Education and former students of Makati Science High School and a survey questionnaire administered to one hundred students of Makati Science High School, school year, 2010-2011. The results were obtained using descriptive statistics, in particular, frequency distributions and percentages. The results of the study revealed that the following indicators of good governance in the City of Makati were realized; accountability, responsiveness and equity and inclusiveness. On the other hand> the following characteristics were not manifested to its full extent; participation, submission to the rule of law, effectiveness and efficiency and accountability. The study recommends that a survey which is directed to other public schools in the City of Makati be accomplished in order to provide a deeper analysis and treatment of the subject matter. It is recommended that the City Government of Makati intensify its efforts in providing good education through quality teachers to its constituents.