Derelo, Michaela Micole M.

EAPP

STEM 11-A

Miss. Jophine Gonzales

TOPIC: Why Philippines need the implementation of K+12 educational program

(http://monitor.icef.com/2013/08/philippines-creates-opportunities-in-overhaul-

implement in order to improve the overall quality of education in Filipino

of-k-12-education-system/)

schools.

The Philippines is undergoing a major overhaul to bring it in line with education

systems worldwide, starting with the K-12 sector. This change to domestic

The other seven points include:

education policy has far-reaching consequences and is important for

Establish the Madaris Education as a sub-system in the current

education system;

international educational institutions to consider when looking for potential new

Make every child a reader by Grade 1;

student recruitment markets.

Improve science and mathematics;

Expand government assistance to private education;

Better textbooks;

Build more schools in cooperation with local government units

With the new 12-year curriculum in place, future Filipino students will be ready
and better equipped to join overseas universities at the undergraduate level.
And with a K-12 student population of 20.67 million, which will only increase
over the next 20 years (see ICEF Monitorsarticle New 2035 enrolment
forecasts place East Asia and the Pacific in the lead), the Philippines is
shaping up to be an attractive recruitment destination.

Changes to basic education

The K-12 Basic Education Program aims to provide every Filipino child with the
education s/he needs to compete in a global context.
In May, President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines signed into law a basic
education curriculum that will see a mandatory kindergarten year and two
additional senior high school years added to what was a 10-year education
curriculum to make basic education 12 years. The programme has been
adopted not only in schools in the Philippines, but also in Filipino schools
abroad that follow the departments curriculum. Gulfnews reports:
The goal of the new curriculum is to give Filipino students enough time to
master skills and concepts so that they are ready for tertiary education when
the time comes.

(LGUs);

Re-introduce technical and vocational education in public high

schools.

Australia extends a helping hand

Australia has long been a friend to the Philippines donating time, funding and
other resources, as well as working with the nation to develop and ensure
quality. Last month, the country granted PHP 8.4 billion (nearly US $193 million)
to address basic education issues and support the implementation of the K-12
programme.
They have also funded a project to enhance the skills of school officials in
managing school processes and turn schools into learner-centred institutions
that continually improve and build on its best practices.
In return, Australia is surely hoping Filipino schools and students will select Oz
as their destination of choice for partnerships and study. As ICEF
Monitor reported in February, the Philippines is one of the top ten student
markets for Australian schools, colleges and universities.

Kindergarten was previously optional, and advocates of the K-12 programme

argue that students who went to kindergarten are better prepared for primary
education than those who did not. In addition, the K-12 programme provides
for the use of the mother tongue language as the medium of instruction for

Building classrooms and adding teachers

As mentioned, one of the ten points on the Education Agenda aims to address
severe overcrowding in Philippine schools and the shortage of classrooms.

students in the basic and lower years to facilitate and expedite learning.

In October of last year, the Department of Education signed an agreement with

This fabulous interactive map of all public schools in the country could be a

two winning consortia which will undertake the construction of close to 10,000

useful tool in planning a recruitment strategy. It contains data on the schools

classrooms.

budget, enrolment statistics, education indicators, number of teaching

The departments Public Private Partnership for School Infrastructure Project

personnel, furniture, textbooks, classrooms, plus the water and power supply of

(PSIP) will give schools the physical space they need and provides the private

some 45,000 schools nationwide.

sector the business opportunity to invest in the design, construction and

10 Point Education Agenda

maintenance of classrooms.

The move to the K-12 policy comes as part of the 10 Point Education

Philippine Education Secretary Armin A. Luistro has said he hopes that by doing

Agenda which was set out by the current government administration. The K-12

so, the classrooms would stand as a testament to Filipino capability and

Basic Education Program, universal kindergarten and instruction in mother-

efficiency. Progress is well underway; construction of more than 9,000

tongue languages are but three of the ten points Aquinos administration want to

classrooms began in March of this year.

But making more room for students is only half the solution; someone has to
teach them and as of early last month, the Department of Education still hadnt

The Philippines as a study destination

Like many of its neighbouring countries, the Philippines has its eye on
becoming a study destination of choice for students from the Asia-Pacific

filled over 61,500 teaching positions.

An increase in student enrolment which caused the shortage of teachers was
due to an increase in kindergarten students a result of the new K-12
curriculum, as well as students who were formerly enrolled in private school
transferring to public school because of tuition fee hikes.

region.
In January of this year, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration reported that of
the 203,753 foreigners in the country, 47,478 are studying in schools and
universities across the country (which is 14% higher than the 41,443 foreigners
who applied in 2011). The bulk of those (31,000) are under the age of 18 and

Student enrolment in 2012/3 stood at 20.67 million: 1.77 million kindergarten

studying at an elementary or high school or on a short-term (less than 1 year)

students, 13.26 million elementary students, and 5.64 million high school

course.

students.

The Bureaus Commissioner Ricardo David Jr said: Our country is fast

For foreign education providers, this lack of qualified teachers could mean an

emerging as a new educational hub in the Asia-Pacific region. More and more
foreigners are coming here to study and it demonstrates recognition of the

opportunity to partner with institutions in the Philippines to develop a teachertraining programme or qualification.

improved quality of our educational system. He attributed the influx of foreign

students to the quality of teaching and the use of English as the medium of
instruction.

Increased focus on vocational education

A final point on the 10 Point Education Agenda calls for a re-introduction of

Some of those students chose the Philippines to study English, and the

vocational and technical education in high schools, which has been designed to

government is hoping to boost ESL student numbers by making it easier for

give Filipino students practical skills to gain employment after graduation a

them to stay and learn.

key component in tackling the high youth unemployment rate in the Philippines.

In June, the Bureau of Immigration launched a long-stay tourist visa which

Some advocates are calling for the adoption of the German model of

allows holders to stay for up to six months plenty of time to spend studying on

apprenticeship. TheManilla Bulletin reported:

a language course.

The Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) wants the country to incorporate
Last year, ICEF Monitor reported that for international students studying English
Germanys system of dual technical-vocational education into the K-12 basic
education programme.

in Australia, the Philippines had entered the competition as a destination option

for the first time in 2011. Backing that up, an article in The PIE News quotes
Ruth Tizon, Programme Director of the Philippines ESL Tour Program, as

It is hoped that adopting the German model would help address the skills

saying,

mismatch between Filipino graduates and the jobs available. Ramon del
Rosario, chairman of the PBEd, has said now is the time to implement the

The Philippines can compete with the US, UK or Australia as an ideal

apprenticeship system, because of the start of the K-12 curriculum: It is a good

destination for studying the English language. Aside from its large English-

time because of the development of the senior high school curriculum and that

speaking population [93.5% of Filipinos speak English well], competent schools

will have a track towards technical vocational education.

In May, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)

and faculty, the Philippines has a rich cultural heritage, offers diverse tourism
attractions and activities, and warmth and hospitality not found anywhere else

announced it had completed the K-12 technical vocational curriculum, and

everything was in place for the start of the new school year.
TESDA Secretary Joel Villanueva said, Technical vocational education and
training (TVET) will play a central role in the new education model that prepares
students for tertiary education, middle-skills development, employment and
entrepreneurship. Courses include automotive servicing, horticulture, welding,
consumer electronics, dressmaking/tailoring, carpentry, food processing and
beauty care.

With such a strong focus on promoting technical-vocational education, foreign

providers who are looking to work in the Philippines might want to consider how
they can contribute to this development.

in the world.
One thing is clear: the Philippines is looking ahead. With a growing population
and a budding economy, demand for quality education is high. Many Filipino
parents welcome the basic education reforms and are looking forward to more
opportunities for their children in vocational and higher education. We explore
both in this follow-up piece.

Public schools began having half-day classes for grade one students, with the
mother tongue as the medium of instruction. Private schools also made
(https://ph.theasianparent.com/advantages-new-k-12-curriculum/3/)

adjustments in their own DepEd accredited curricula.

A recent change in the Philippines educational system was implemented

The adaptation of the K 12 curriculum guide means that students will graduate

starting in 2011. President Aquino signed the K 12 education into law in 2013,

a bit older compared to those who graduated under the 10-year education

adding three years to the countrys basic education curriculum.

cycle.

The new K 12 curriculum guide requires all Filipino students to have one year of

Far from being disadvantageous, however, DepEd states that young adults

kindergarten, six years of elementary schooling (grades 1 to 6), four years of

graduating at age 18 or so will be more prepared to take on their tertiary

junior high school (grades 7 to 10), and two years of senior high school (grades

education.

11 to 12).

The rationale

Prior to the implementation of the K 12 curriculum guide, the Philippines was

one of only three countries in the world and the only one in Asia that still had
only 10 years in basic education.

This has always been seen as a disadvantage for our students who are
competing in an increasingly global job market. The longer educational cycle of
the K 12 curriculum is seen as critical in giving Filipino students a higher quality
of education.

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Innotech

(SEAMEO-Innotech) found the previous 10-year educational cycle to be
congested, with a 12-year curriculum squished into 10 years.

As a result, Filipino students have trailed behind students around the world in
the areas of math, languages and science. The new curriculum is aimed to fix
that.

The K 12 curriculum is designed to enable graduates to join the work force right
after high school, and suitably prepare those who want to go on to higher
education.

Remedial classes during the first year of college will no longer be needed, as
the high school curriculum will already be aligned with the Commission on
Higher Educations (CHED) guidelines.

The government also encourages parents to think of the K 12 curriculum guide

not as having two extra years of high school, but as two years less of higher
education.

Graduates of the new educational system will already be equipped to join the
workforce right away with the help of the electives to be offered during grades
11 to 12.

The electives, or areas of specialization, will include academics for those who
wish to pursue higher studies, technical-vocational for those who want to
acquire employable skills after high school, and sports and arts for those who
are inclined in the two fields.

Change is never easy, especially when it is about a big undertaking such as the
implementation of the new K-12 curriculum guide in the Philippines. It is high
time, however, that we join the rest of the world and improve the quality of our
basic education system and our graduates.

The new curriculum will also support college graduates seeking work abroad.

(http://www.rexpublishing.com.ph/basic-education/teacherslounge/basic-

Developed countries, according to the Department of Educations (DepEd)

education/k-to-12-Primer/)

briefer, view the 10-year education cycle as insufficient.

All in all, the enhanced K 12 curriculum is designed to provide a holistic

Education outcomes in terms of participation, completion and

achievement rates attest to this urgent need.

achievement scores of Filipino students in the National Achievement

education for all. Now decongested, it will give students ample time to master

Test and international tests like TIMSS.

basic academic skills as well as to participate in co-curricular and community

activities.

The poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low

One reason behind this is that students do not get adequate

instructional time or time on task. This is partly due to the congested
curriculum. The current 10-year basic education curriculum is

What it means for students

The transition began in 2011, when the universal kindergarten was introduced.
Starting in 2012, schools already implemented the curriculum decongestion
mentioned in the DepEd briefer.

designed to be taught in 12 years.

This has been affirmed in the study conducted by SEAMEOInnotech where it noted that Philippine basic education is congested
compared to the curriculum of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and
Singapore. Specifically, it stated that elementary education is
congested especially in Mathematics, Languages and Sciences.

Our high school graduates are not adequately prepared for the
world of work. Most of the basic education graduates are too young
to legally enter the labor force (below 18). This implies that those
who will not go to college would either be unemployed or be
vulnerable to exploitative labor practices. Those who may be
interested to set up businesses cannot legally enter into contracts.

Our high school graduates are not adequately prepared to pursue

higher education. They still have to undergo remedial and high
school level classes in colleges and universities.

The 10-year basic education cycle hinders the recognition of Filipino

professionals abroad. The Washington Accord prescribes 12-years
of basic education as an entry to recognition of engineering
professionals. The Bologna Process also requires 12 years of
education for university admission and practice of profession in
European countries.

The Philippines is the only country in Asia and among the three
remaining countries in the world that has a 10-year basic education

Official Gazette of the Philippines

cycle (Table 1).

(http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2015/06/15/1466151/challenges-basiceducation-dealing-k-12)

With the introduction of K-12, there will be an increase in student population,

translating into a requirement for 20,000 to 28,000 additional classrooms for
each additional year-level; 40,000 to 56,000 classrooms for the two years of
SHS.Another pressing issue is the retrenchment of teaching and non-teaching
college personnel. An estimated 25,000 are being held at bay.

DepEd, however, says that it has closed the gap of 66,800 classroom shortage
in 2010 and has built 86,478 classrooms between 2010 to 2014. This year, an
additional 27,499 classrooms are on line to be constructed to cover the SHS
implementation in 2016.

But, besides student and teacher concerns, there is a third factor: the additional
cost to parents for food and transportation expenses to send their children for
two more years of high school.

Worsening parental expenses, well over half5800 out of 7,976of the

nations public high schools are set to implement SHS.As a result, DepEd is in
talks with 2,000 private education institutions to accommodate incoming seniors
that would not be able to attend public SHS schools. The current plan is for
DepEd to subsidize the cost of private tuitionbut this is one of the most
controversial issues around RA 10533s implementation. Many parentsand
otherscomplain that the proposed subsidizes are too low and will constitute
their childs high school diploma being held hostage to costs they might find
impossible to meet. Still others object to giving a taxpayer financed windfall to

DepEd has announced that it will be hiring 39,000 additional teachers in 2016 to

private schools.

meet the personnel requirements of the program. This demand for SHS
teachers is proposed as mitigation for the faculty lay-offs in higher education
institutions. This is an important point, since many junior faculty look to their
teaching careers for funding to pursue higher academic degrees. Thus, the
roughly 50 percent cut in pay that comes from the move from college to SHS
teaching is particularly bad news.

All these complaints are valid. Until recently, our school system has suffered
much neglect in many areas, including a chronic shortage of classrooms.
Likewise, the almost criminally low pay our public schoolteachers receive is
scandalous. There is a very serious loss of junior college teachers as well
many of whom are pursuing higher degrees that will benefit the nation. That
they should be forced into lower paying jobs even as they struggle to advance
needs to be dealt withit is an all-too-typical example of how neoliberal
pressures such as privatization can gut the aspirations of a developing country
and force it into the race to the bottom that has become a linchpin of
globalization.

Among teachers, there are deep-seated anxieties about the new duties
expected of them. DepEd has been conducting numerous teacher trainings to
address these concerns, but there is a sense that things remain confused and
unsettled. Most likely, uneasiness and suspicion among teachers will linger until
the new system is in place and they have a chance to actually work through it
and make the needed adjustments. In addition, there still remains the problem
of language: what to do with Filipino, how to sustain its place in the curriculum,
and what will the changes mean for teaching the language in colleges and
universities? For that matter, has the English curriculum been chosen in haste,
as some critics allege? What of the adequacy and quality of some of our

textbooks and instructional materials? Can schools coordinate better to

constitutional right. And, sadly, anytime large sums of government money are

strengthen job placement for their students?

being passed out, we come face to face with the ubiquitous problems of
potential corruption.

Likewise, tuition costs for parents whose children have no public SHS available
should not hold those students hostage to the financial capabilities of the
parents. That is not what we mean when we talk about public education as a