Binay: Secret to Makati students’ good scores is good daycare system

MANILA, Philippines — The reason why students from public schools in Makati City get good scores in the National Achievement Test (NAT) is because the local government has a good daycare system for young children, Makati mayor and senatorial candidate Abby Binay said on Wednesday.

Binay, during her visit to Quezon province towns, said that Makati’s innovative daycare program helped students achieve good scores at the NAT—which then translates to high literacy rates and eventually, labor competitiveness.

The local chief executive was at a daycare pre-recognition event when she stressed how important this first step of education is, as it lays the foundation for the development of children.

“Maganda po yung programa namin (sa daycare) dahil ’yun po ang sinasabi namin na aming sikreto kung bakit mataas ang aming mga marka sa National Achievement Test,” Binay said.

(We have a good daycare program because as we say, that is our secret as to why our students get high marks at the National Achievement Test.)

“Starting sa kindergarten palang, daycare palang, pre-kinder palang, inaalagaan na namin. Kaya pagdating po ng grade 3, ’yung mga bata namin, magaling nang magbasa at magaling na sa literacy,” she added.

(As early as kindergarten, daycare, pre-kinder, we are taking care of our children’s education. That’s why when they reach Grade 3, our students are already good in reading and literacy.)

According to a report from the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division Office in Makati, the city’s Mean Percentage Scores (MPS) in the 21st Century Skills and five learning areas consistently outperformed both the scores of the National Capital Region (NCR) and the nationwide average.

DepEd’s report showed that Makati had an MPS of 69.82 in Problem Solving, higher than NCR’s 63.69 and the national average of 60.76. This also occurred in Information Literacy (Makati, 70.59; NCR, 61.56; national, 58.20), Critical Thinking (Makati, 65.13; NCR, 57.74; national, 54.80).

READ: Makati tops NCR, national average scores in Nat’l Achievement Test – Abby Binay

“Importante po na ang mga bata, maliit pa lang, mahilig nang magbasa. Literacy and numeracy skills po ang importante. Maliit pa lang, agapan na po natin. Kasi, kapag Grade 5 na, huli na ang lahat,” Binay said.

(It’s important that children, while they are still young, would love reading. Literacy and numeracy skills are so important. While they are young, let us try to address learning issues, because by the time they reach Grade 5, it might be too late.)

Aside from the NAT, Makati students have performed well in other tests and assessments, like in the regional Test of Functional Academic Skills (TOFAS) last February 2023 where Grades 3 to 10 students were among the top students.

READ: Makati students top regional academic skills test

In February 2024, it was reported that the Benigno S. Aquino High School in Makati was the only public school in Metro Manila that scored above the minimum proficiency level for the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

DepEd confirmed this during a Senate hearing on the 2022 PISA results.

READ: Makati’s Benigno Aquino HS lone public school to make PISA 2022 cut

Binay visited Tayabas City Hall, meeting Mayor Maria Lourdes Reynoso-Pontioso and other local officials and employees. The local officials then made a stop to Tayabas’ Barangay Lakawan, before moving to Quezon’s capital, Lucena City.

In Lucena, the Makati Mayor met with Lucena Mayor Mark Don Alcala and Vice Mayor Roderick Alcala at Lucena City Hall. Binay also had a lunch meeting with Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga about providing medicines to those in need — like maintenance medicines for hypertension and diabetes, instead of purely giving cash assistance.

All these initiatives, Binay said, are possible if budgeting of public funds is done right.

“Ang importante po talaga ay ’yung tamang pagba-budget. Marami kang pera, pero kung hindi nagagastos at napupunta sa mga bagay na walang kwenta, sayang lang din po ang pera,” she said.

(Proper budgeting is really important. Having lots of money would not help you if you do not allocate funds properly or if you spend for things that do not make sense—your funds will go to waste.)

“Importante po na, konting pera, maraming pera, basta tama ang paggamit ng pera, yun po ang kailangan natin,” she added.

(Regardless if you have a lot or if you are short on funds, we should use these properly, that’s what we need.)

Alyansa appears to focus its campaign for the third week of March in Calabarzon, as the entire slate would visit Trece Martires, Cavite on March 21, and then Santa Rosa, Laguna, on March 22.

If these sorties would proceed as scheduled, this would be Alyansa’s 10th and 11th campaign rallies, after the team visited Ilocos Norte, Iloilo, Davao del Norte for the first week of the campaign period, followed by stops to Pasay City, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, and Camarines Sur.

Alyansa’s most recent stop was in Tacloban, Leyte, where the slate held a rally attended by around 100,000 supporters.