The Makati City government on Monday touted its various basic education programs as the main factor for the good performance of one of its public schools in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The Benigno Ninoy Aquino High School (BNAHS) was the only public school among six schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) that scored above PISA’s minimum proficiency level which is level 2. The other five were private schools.

“Ang tagumpay na ito ay bunga ng mga natatanging programang pang-edukasyon na patuloy na pinag-iisipang mabuti at pinaglalaanan ng malaking pondo ng pamahalaang lungsod taun-taon (This success is due to education programs that were wll thought out and well funded by the city government),” Mayor Abigail Binay said in her regular Pilipino Star Ngayon column.

“Proud moment ito para sa akin dahil indikasyon ito kung gaano kaganda at ka-advanced ang ating public school system sa (This is a proud moment for me because this is an indication how good and advanced our public school system are in) Makati,” she added.

Binay noted that before the pandemic, the city government alloted PHP31 million for Project MILES (Mathematics Intensive Learning Enhancement for Students) for Grades 1 to 10.

Under the program, learners can undergo extra lessons in Mathematics to enhance their numeracy skills.

“Bahagi nito ang Saturday classes at online sessions na pinangasiwaan ng nasa 700 guro. Bukod sa pagsagot ng lungsod sa honorarium ng mga guro, pinondohan din natin ang paggawa ng angkop na learning materials ng DepEd [Department of Education] Makati na ipinamahagi nang libre sa lahat ng mga mag-aaral na lumahok sa (This includes the Saturday classes and online sessions that are being administered by 700 teachers. Apart from their honorarium, we also funded the creation of learning materials of DepEd Makati which were distributed for free to all learners who participated in) Project MILES,” Binay said.

Another program of the city is the “Dyip ni Maki” Mobile Learning Hubs that regularly goes to barangays to support learners who are not able to access the internet or no smart gadget.

These are passenger jeepneys that were customized with internet connection, laptops, and other learning materials with teachers on board as well.

Last year, Makati topped the regional Test of Functional Academic Skills by DepEd and public schools in the city have also been getting high rankings in the annual National Achievement Test. (PNA)