The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.
— American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
THE KINDERGARTEN TO Grade 12 or simply K-12 program was officially implemented in the Philippines starting in the 2012-2013 school year. This marked the beginning of the rollout of the enhanced curriculum, which included one year of universal kindergarten and two additional years of secondary education (senior high school).
The program supposedly aims to align the Philippine education system with global standards and enhance the quality of education by providing sufficient time for students to master concepts and skills, fostering lifelong learners, and better preparing graduates for higher education, employment, or entrepreneurship.
However, after 13 years of implementation, it appears that nothing good has resulted with the hyped K-12 program failing to produce job-ready high school graduates while being an additional financial burden to parents, who keep shelling out allowances and other fees for the two additional secondary years their children have to undergo.
No less than the country’s chief executive himself, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., disclosed that the program has cost parents more because two additional years were added therefore they had to pay for enrollment, buy a lot of school supplies, purchase books and provide transportation and living allowances for the schooling kids. “Yet after 10 years, there’s no real advantage,” Mr. Marcos Jr. enthused.
‘[T]he steady declining performance of learners in key subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) … reflects the long-term consequences of neglect … and many are struggling even with basic reading skills.’
EYEING COLLEGE GRADS
A report from the Congressional Commission on Education (EdCom) warned about the dire state of basic literacy among public schools with students falling four to five years behind the expected reading proficiency for their grade levels.
As a consequence, lawmakers are calling for the abolition of the mandatory senior high school system under the K-12 program.
Originally intended to provide high school students with employable skills through four tracks, the expected employment did not materialize as businesses complained they were not equipped with the proper skills needed by industries.
To date, most employers still prefer college degree holders over K-12 graduates.
According to Maria Ella Calaor-Oplas, an economics professor at De La Salle University in Manila to Business World, “there is still preference for degrees, even if it’s not necessary and could be done by K-12 graduates (even as) senior high school graduates are ready if job opportunities for them are available.”
REVISE CURRICULUM
The Department of Education (DepEd) is rolling out in 889 schools across the country, the pilot of a revised K-12 curriculum this school year that updates the senior high school program.
While the law mandating K-12 is still in place, Pres. Marcos Jr. has ordered DepEd secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara to significantly improve the program to address the issue of skills mismatch.
In addition, the government is finding out from the private sector the skills they need, the kind of workers they are looking for so they can be hired by the company. The private sector went a step further, though, by suggesting that training programs should be pursued and once completed, they can hire the graduates.
FALLING BEHIND
Angara likewise cited the steady declining performance of learners in key subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), which reflects the long-term consequences of neglect.
The truth is that students are falling behind in STEM and many are struggling even with basic reading skills.
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