The results of national examinations given to public grade school graduating pupils and to graduating high school students show pathetic passing percentages. This raises the specter of continuous deterioration of our education vis-୶is other neighboring countries.

With basic education as the primary avenue for emancipation of countries and population from poverty and the urgent need to be ready to compete in the worldwide "knowledge industries", the education of our youth must be improved very quickly. The solution must be deliverable in the shortest possible time and should be at practically no cost to the government.

Basic Assumptions

The Teachers have the potential of doing much better than the results of the examinations. The teachers can become real educators, who can exude great enthusiasm in opening the eyes and minds of students to the beauty of learning. The teachers can be pushed to become almost like actors and showmen using creative teaching aids who will fire up the pupils' desire for knowledge.

The Pupils (even at the acknowledged low level of preparedness of the raw kindergarten and grade one pupils and the freshmen high school) can still be molded, even only incrementally, into literate, productive, and upright citizens of this country ready for the outside world, even if they fall out after high school or even after elementary school.

The Community, this vast resource, can be tapped to help out. Within the community, there are the NGOs, the temporarily-out-of-work professionals, the between-assignments OFWs and the retired professionals. Then there is the PTA. The parents should be tapped to provide volunteer work as they are directly involved in the welfare of the students. Both the community and the PTA can conduct tutorials and help out in developing imaginative teaching aids, volunteer to lead the students to render outreach community services, and maybe even help in improving the physical facilities.

And finally, The Principal, the CEO of the public school, the main spark that can ignite all the above resources to attain higher levels of achievement all around. If motivated, he could tap the community, the PTA, lead and train the teachers, be an example to all in caring for the welfare of the students.

This proposal is meant to be just a first step.  It is not meant to be all encompassing. It will not require massive studies in depth that will consume months or years of inaction.  This proposal can be implemented immediately requiring no further studies.

We will endeavor to publicize these topnotchers in national broadsheets. This will be the pride side. We will interview them and ask them to "reveal" their techniques, "reveal" how hard they work, how they asked the help of the local community. (The play on the local community should enhance the involvement of communities on school affairs all around the country).

One of the greatest motivators known to man is competition.  The fact that this program will induce competition among public school officials, teachers and students will break the barrier of lackadaisical attitude toward education and in most cases will unite the entire school into high gear for search for excellence.

Later on, we will ask the help of the DepEd to try to jolt the lowest ranking principals to action.  A rough plan could be: if the particular grade school falls under the lowest 5% rank according to certain categories, the school shall be put on red alert to improve. If the particular school stays down at the bottom 5% for two consecutive years, the Principal (and perhaps also the Assistant Principal) must undergo rigorous training. This training will have to be done yearly if necessary.  If no improvement in three years, the Principal should be transferred.

RCM will tap all other Rotary Clubs throughout the country and other civic organizations to help by either adopting poor performing schools or mobilizing the community to help.

We have structured the category of awards into the following:

THE PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WITH THE HIGHEST IMPROVEMENT IN N.A.T SCORES

THE PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL WITH THE HIGHEST IMPROVEMENT IN N.A.T SCORES

The selection shall be based purely on the results of the yearly examinations conducted by DepEd among the Grade VI pupils and senior high school students. To level the playing field, the schools will be stratified according to size, using the three levels of grouping the DepEd is currently using. There will be one major winner and one runner-up in elementary and in high school. With three winners in each size group there will be six winners in the elementary school category and another six in high school.  Thus, we will have 12 winners every year that should encourage widespread interest and participation. If funding becomes available, we could add a second runner-up or six more winners.

If the winning school has had more than one principal or head teacher during the year, the prize that goes personally to the principal shall be shared by them based on number of months each one was at the helm based on a ten-month school-year.