How are we prepared for the K12 Program of Department of Education, Philippines? Is it too rush to implement such big change to the educational system of the country? Do the people know the long term effect of the program and the rationale why execute such policy?
K+12 program of the Department of Education is recently been implemented in the country since last two years ago with the rationale taken from K+12 Discussion Paper of Department of Education published last October 2010.
1) Enhancing the quality of basic education in the Philippines is urgent and critical. Thus, we have to come up with a proposal to enhance our basic education program in a manner that is least disruptive to the current curriculum, most affordable to government and families, and aligned with international practice.
2) The poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low achievement scores of Filipino students. Many students who finish basic education do not possess sufficient mastery of basic competencies. One reason is that students do not get adequate instructional time or time on task. The National Achievement Test (NAT) for grade 6 in SY 2009-2010 passing rate is only 69.21%. Although this is already a 24% improvement over the SY 2005-2006 passing rate, further reforms are needed to achieve substantial improvement. The NAT for high school is 46.38% in SY 2009-2010, a slight decrease from 47.40% in SY 2008-2009.
3) International tests results like 2003 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) rank the Philippines 34th out of 38 countries in HS II Math and 43rd out of 46 countries in HS II Science; for grade 4, the Philippines ranked 23rd out of 25 participating countries in both Math and Science. In 2008, even with only the science high schools participating in the Advanced Mathematics category, the Philippines was ranked lowest.
4) The congested curriculum partly explains the present state of education. The current basic education is designed to teach a 12-year curriculum, yet it is delivered in just 10 years.
5) This quality of education is reflected in the inadequate preparation of high school graduates for the world of work or entrepreneurship of higher education. High school graduates also do not possess the basic competencies or emotional maturity essential for the world of work. About 70.9% of the unemployed are at least high school graduates and 80% of the unemployed are 15-34 years old. While the availability of economic opportunities contributes to this, it also illustrates the mismatch in the labor and education markets. The World Bank Philippines Skills Report in 2009 reveals, based on a survey of employers, serious gaps in critical skills of graduates such as problem-solving, initiative and creativity, and, to a lesser extent, gaps in job- specific technical skills.
6) Further, most graduates are too young to enter the labor force. This implies that those who do not pursue higher education would be unproductive or be vulnerable to exploitative labor practices. Those who may be interested to set up business cannot legally enter into contracts.
7) The current system also reinforces the misconception that basic education is just a preparatory step for higher education. For most parents, basic education is usually seen as a preparation for college education. Even this misconception falls short of expectations as most students usually have to take remedial and high school level classes in colleges and universities.
8) The short duration of the basic education program also puts the millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially the professionals, and those who intend to study abroad at a disadvantage. Our graduates are not automatically recognized as professionals abroad. Filipinos face mutual recognition problem in other countries that view the 10-year education program as insufficient. The Philippines is the only country in Asia and among the three remaining countries in the world that has a 10-year basic education program. The Washington Accord prescribes 12- years basic education as an entry to recognition of engineering professionals. The Bologna Accord requires 12 years of education for university admission and practice of profession in European countries.
9) More importantly, the short basic education program affects the human development of the Filipino children. A Filipino is legally a child before he or she turns 18 years old. Psychologists and educators say that children under 18 are generally not emotionally prepared for entrepreneurship or employment or higher education disciplines.
10) Cognizant of this urgent and critical concern and in line with the priorities of the Aquino Administration, the Department of Education is taking bold steps to enhance the basic education curriculum. Hand in hand with vigorous efforts to address the input shortages, DepEd intends to raise the quality of basic education through the enhancement of the curriculum and the expansion of the basic education cycle.
11) The Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program seeks to provide for a quality 12- year basic education program that each Filipino is entitled to. This is consistent with Article XIV, Section 2(1) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which states that “The State shall establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society.”
12) K+12 means Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary education. Kindergarten refers to the 5-year old cohort that takes a standardized kinder curriculum. Elementary education refers to primary schooling that involves six or seven years of education; meanwhile secondary education refers to high school. Under the K+12, the intention is not just to add two years of schooling but more importantly to enhance the basic education curriculum.
(Source: Discussion paper on the enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program, October 05 2010, Department of Education, Philippines)
The objectives of the program is commendable such that it visions the graduates that the country could produce. They would be competitive to the global work force and at the same time more skilled in the country. The students are taught with utmost standards of curriculum and several adjustments to the curriculum is designed for the formal schools ONLY.
How about those students enrolled to Alternative Learning System (ALS) and those who "education delivery" services by the NGOs? Are they included in the provisions?
With regards to the affective aspect of the learner, do the government upon implementing the policy consider the emotive effect that would be created once this program will be established?
Yes, the government considers the educational welfare of the people. But, the question is, how are they prepared as an individual? Did they consider chunking to the sectors that would be affected with the abrupt educational change?
I am able to say this things because I am organizing a program in Cagayan de Oro where the Supreme Student Government (SSG) presidents from public and private high schools are gathered and together we try to discuss the existing problems in their schools. While discussing matters with them, even with or without the K+12, the same problem will exist. Why, because there are still concerns in their schools which are not yet addressed prior to the implementation of the said educational program of Department of Education (DepEd). One of their problems is the variation of the way the Development Learning Program (DLP) are being implemented by the teachers. One school does this way, the other school does not follow the same way (an interview from a SSG President, 2012). DLP is standardized by DepEd yet there are varied ways of executing its purpose. If this simple, basic initiative of the department is flawed, not yet resolved. How about the totality of the real learning situations of the students that are existing in the city?
With my observations, too, in the learning environment, it is not suitable for the K+12 program which requires higher standards of learning. How could the students learn with the higher standards if they cannot study properly because the classrooms are not in appropriate number to accommodate hundreds and thousands of students in one high school?
These are my questions that needs to be answered. This is the same reason why I organize CDO LEAD which stands for Cagayan De Oro high school student Leadership training and Educational Awareness Drive to aid the Supreme Student Government (SSG) of both private and public high schools in Cagayan de Oro for effective and assured preparation of K+12 Basic Education Program of DepEd in Cagayan de Oro City through providing support-system to student body upon implementing initiatives that will prepare the whole studentry to the goals of K+12 Program.
Advocating educational change of the nation. For the glory of God. Padayon.
