FIRING LINE: UPCAT and DepEd

By Robert B. Roque, Jr.

For a second consecutive year, public school students have outclassed their private school counterparts in qualifying for entrance to the University of the Philippines. Yup, you better believe it: 55% of the passers of last year’s UPCAT for the Academic Year 2025–2026 are products of public schools.

That’s 9,898 students out of 17,996 qualifiers — a solid edge over private school passers who made up the remaining 45%. It’s not a fluke. It’s a follow-through.

In 2024, public schools also pulled ahead with 56.3% of the successful examinees. Compare that with just three years ago, when the numbers were flipped: only 43.6% of qualifiers in 2022 came from public schools, while 56.4% hailed from private institutions.

So what changed?

Some point to the reinstatement of the UPCAT or the University of the Philippines College Admissions Test after the pandemic — the return of the grueling entrance exam tilted the advantage back to test takers who, despite coming from struggling schools, have grit, drive, and perhaps one more thing: better teachers.

Because here’s a quiet truth buried under all the congratulations: during the pandemic, when hundreds of private schools shuttered and tuition dried up, many of their best teachers jumped ship to public schools, seeking security and stability. And they stayed. The government pays on time — even in lockdowns.

So yes, public education is still hobbled by outdated facilities, internet dead zones, and the long shadow of textbook and procurement scams. But if these numbers prove anything, it’s that the migration of seasoned private school educators into the public system is shifting performance in powerful, measurable ways.

In my view, there seemed to be no major reforms during President Duterte’s time, no magic pill when VP Sara took the helm of the DepEd — just better teaching, better preparation, and a reminder that who teaches often matters more than what’s taught.

While UP sees this shift as a sign of improving access, it also peels back a more complex truth that still needs to be addressed. At this point, I do hope the more-abled Secretary of Education — Sonny Angara — is listening.

Yes, sir, public education is free — thank you! But it’s often bookless, facility-challenged, and haunted by the ghosts of textbook scams and procurement rackets exposed during the Duterte era.

Our public schools now have the lift it so long needed: better mentors. The momentum is on DepEd’s side right now. All that’s needed is to build on these newfound strengths, backing them up with actual, visible support — functional classrooms, up-to-date learning materials, digital tools that work, and enough teachers to go around.

I believe Angara has a reform agenda, a restored P10-billion digitization fund, and plans to roll out 800,000 gadgets. Let’s see all of that happen!

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