Philippines School of Doha hosts graduation ceremony

It is essential to produce graduates who are equipped with the skills and expertise needed to compete and succeed in today’s ‘global knowledge economy’, according to Philippine ambassador to Qatar Lillibeth V Pono.Speaking at Philippine School of Doha’s (PSD) 2023 graduation ceremony of Grade 12 students recently, the envoy said: "In a post-pandemic world beset by a host of complex challenges, the ultimate goal is for the Philippines to produce graduates ready and able to hold their own in the global knowledge economy and contribute to the country’s growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.Some 176 students graduated from Grade 12, while 282 completed Grade 10, a total of 300 from Grade 6 and 315 from K-2 for the 2022-2023 academic year, according to PSD.Pono underlined the importance of achieving this goal in the post-pandemic period that continues to be confronted by a host of complex challenges. These include "the devastating effects of climate change, the horrors of wars and military conflicts, economic meltdowns, and the emergence of advanced artificial intelligence”.She urged graduates to be resilient and continue achieving their goals and ambitions despite these issues that may confront them, expressing confidence in their ability "to thrive in difficult circumstances, as you have demonstrated in the last few years during the pandemic.”"I trust that your education from the Philippine School Doha has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and patriotism to contribute to nation-building and development."Now, more than at any other point in recorded history, we are witnessing a world being reshaped by major geopolitical developments and technological innovations, so sweeping and fast, it’s almost impossible to keep up,” Pono said in her speech.The envoy cited the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak, impacting all facets of society, particularly the education sector."To this day, the world continues to battle the ravaging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic has, for better or worse, upended every aspect of our lives and forced us to redo things differently in a way, which, a few years prior, would have been unthinkable."Nowhere is this more apparent than in the education sector. The restrictions in mobility put in place at the height of the pandemic resulted in face-to-face classroom sessions being replaced by virtual learning. I imagine that for a system that places a premium on hands-on and in-person interaction, switching to Zoom or Google Classroom overnight may have been a little jarring,” she said, adding that these kinds of tests only bring Filipinos’ perseverance.Pono noted that while many returned to face-to-face classes, blended learning and hybrid classrooms remain very much in place and have emerged as acceptable modalities for learning.The envoy said the graduation ceremony at PSD marks a step closer to achieving the goals set by the Philippine government in the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan."The most notable of these goals is, of course, the improvement of lifelong learning through quality, inclusive, adaptive, resilient, and future-ready basic education for all. Related to this is the development of globally competitive and inclusive higher education, as well as technical and vocational education and training programmes,” she said.