First of three partsIN mid-January, I had a speaking engagement at one of Naga City's progressive higher education institutions (HEI), Naga College Foundation (NCF). Interestingly, my topic was 'The Future of Education.'I was deeply honored by the presence in the audience of Dr. Mario C. Villanueva, NCF president, and the deans and key administration officials, as well as some student leaders. We had a great discussion, and I shall write about my NCF experience in the last of a trilogy of this column.Concern for educationAt the start of my talk, I quoted Bill Gates, 'As students and teachers move into the second half of the school year, I'm thinking about what education means in 2025. The past five years have brought unprecedented challenges — from pandemic disruptions to mental health struggles to rapid technological change. They've also reminded me why this issue matters so deeply to me: Without a quality education, I wouldn't be where I am today.'I agree with Mr. Gates. Much has changed in life and the ecosystem, the business environment, the learning technology, and in business. However, not much has changed in the matter of educating the youth as they transition into the real world.I remember a 1968 movie, Charly, which starred Cliff Robertson as the Boston janitor and Claire Bloom as Miss Kinnian, the teacher. The movie was based on Daniel Keyes' 1958 short story 'Flowers for Algernon,' which he later expanded into a novel.The story is about Charlie Gordon, who suffers from 'phenylketonuria' and has an IQ of 70. Some doctors operated on the lab rat, Algernon, whose intelligence later improved. Charlie agreed to the same operation and became a genius. In a forum of experts from different fields, Charlie was asked about the future of the American standard of living, and Charlie replied immediately, 'A TV in every home.' Asked about the future of education, Charlie quickly replied, 'A TV in every classroom.'Business case for education reformKlaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), once said, 'To achieve our vision and prepare our education systems for the future, we have to consider not just the changes that appear most probable but also the ones that we are not expecting.'While watching Charly in 1968, I didn't expect a TV in every classroom, which we have today in many schools all over the world. To push reforms in the education system, we need a business case. After all, education's customers are the business and industry.We need to reform (or better yet, overhaul) our education system to prepare learners for the 4th and 5th Industrial Revolutions, which will dictate the kind of jobs or how entrepreneurs will do business in the future; to leverage technological and pedagogical innovation; to put the learners at the center of learning; to correct inequities in basic and higher education brought about by the pandemic; and to push learning beyond the 'business as usual' mode. In industry, economy, health, and finance, it is no longer 'business as usual.'The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has predicted four possible scenarios for the future of education in the world.Scenario 1 is 'Schooling Extended,' where participation in formal education continues to expand; international collaboration and technological advances support more individualized learning, and the structures and processes of schooling remain. Here, we expect minimal but mostly linear improvements.Scenario 2 is 'Education Outsourced,' where traditional schooling systems 'break down' as society becomes more directly involved in educating its citizens, and learning takes place through more diverse, privatized, and flexible arrangements, with digital technology as a key driver.Scenario 3 is 'Schools as Learning Hubs.' Schools remain, but diversity and experimentation will become the norm; opening the 'school walls' connects schools to their communities, favoring ever-changing forms of learning, civic engagement, and social innovation.Scenario 4 is 'Learn-As-You-Go,' where education takes place anywhere, anytime; distinctions between formal and informal learning are no longer relevant. Students would rather have micro-credentials for skills, which businessmen would likely look for in job applicants.Short- and long-term changeBased on global developments, the status quo on education is no longer an option. If you want to be an educational institution of choice, you need to lead, not just keep in step with changes in the system. The question you must address is: How do we balance modernization and disruption?Schools, particularly HEIs, must now plan for short- and long-term change.Education experts believe that in the short term, content and spaces will be largely standardized across the system, primarily school-based, including digital delivery and homework, and focused on individual learning experiences. Digital technology is increasingly present, but as is currently the case, it is primarily used as a delivery method to recreate existing content and pedagogies rather than to revolutionize teaching and learning.The short-term future also Involves re-envisioning the spaces where learning takes place — not simply by moving chairs and tables, but by using multiple physical and virtual spaces in and outside of schools. There would be full individual personalization of content and pedagogy enabled by cutting-edge technology.In the long term, individuals and groups shall work on academic topics as well as on social and community needs. Experts believe that reading, writing, and calculating would happen as much as debating, reasoning, and reflecting. Students will learn with eBooks and lectures as well as through hands-on work and creative expression. Schools will be learning hubs, using the strength of communities to deliver collaborative learning, building the role of non-formal and informal learning.Over the long term, physical (regimented) classrooms could disappear altogether as the norm in a 'Learn Anywhere, Anytime' system. With Advanced AI, virtual and augmented reality and the Internet of Things, teaching, assessment, and certification of knowledge, skills and attitudes can be made instantaneously and with less F2F interaction. Classrooms will no longer be the main venue for learning.Formal and informal learning will be meshed; individual learning will be enhanced via collective intelligence to solve real-life problems. This scenario might seem far-fetched today, but we have already integrated much of our lives into our smartphones, watches, and digital personal assistants in a way that would have been unthinkable even a decade ago.Educators, you can construct an endless range of possible scenarios based on what you now have and what you can do to keep in step with emerging megatrends and developments. This thinking process should help you explore the consequences for the goals and functions of education as you want them for your organization and its structures, for your teaching and administration staff, and for your students and clients. Ultimately, I am hoping that it will make you think harder about the future that you want for education in general and for your school in particular.Ernie Cecilia is the chairman of the Human Capital Committee and the Publications Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham); chairman of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines' (ECOP's) TWG on Labor and Social Policy Issues; and past president of the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP). He can be reached at erniececilia@gmail.com.
