President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has given his approval “in principle” for the establishment of a Cabinet cluster focused on education to strengthen and enhance the country’s education system.

This was revealed by Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Tuesday in a Palace briefing following a sectoral meeting presided over by Marcos in Malacañang.

Angara said the cluster will include the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will also be part of the cluster, he added.

“The President would like us to fast-track some of the actions because he sees the urgency, and it’s a very deep-seated problem. It’s been a longstanding issue that needs to be addressed. He said ‘this cluster is really necessary,’” Angara said.

Palace press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez said the education cluster’s goal is to unify a shared vision and direction for reforming the education system, ensuring a positive long-term impact on every Filipino student and graduate.

Karol Mark Yee, executive director of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), said in the same briefing the cluster will develop a 10-year comprehensive national plan for education and workforce development.

Yee said the agency’s targets and budget should be aligned annually to support the plan effectively.

“(The President) said, ‘We don’t have a system; we have different things happening, but they’re not working together. We need to fix that,’” Yee said.

In his recent third State of the Nation Address, Marcos urged Angara to prioritize educational recovery and improve the quality of education in the country “as soon as possible.”

Marcos referenced a recent international assessment that showed that over half of the nation’s Grade 6, 10, and 12 students fell short of the ideal proficiency levels, performing poorly in information literacy, problem solving, and critical thinking skills.