K12 Curriculum

As Nelson Mandela once said, “The roots of education is bitter, but the fruit (of it) is sweet”.
Education is the key to success. It is the path to our dreams, dreams that’ll bring us to a better
future. But, what if there are some changes in our education system? Will it be more qualitative?
Or will it just make our lives rough?

Good day ladies and gentleman, I am Karl Roy B. Gonza, a senior high school student of
Adamson University and a strong advocate of K12 program. I am here today in front of you to
discuss the challenges hence the opportunities brought to us by the said program.

The quality of education in the Philippines is at all-time low. It is unfortunately true. According
to a report, the Philippines is one the 3 remaining countries in Asia stuck in a 10-year basic
education system. That is why Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 or Republic Act No.
10533 or familiarly known as K12 Curriculum was signed into law to undergird the low quality
of education of the country. This made kindergarten mandatory before entering grade school and
additional 2 years on high school which is called “senior high school”.

The old curriculum has imprecise subjects and were too much non-practical. Due to lack of
practical applications, students that have graduated from the old curriculum were not yet ready to
enter college. Some can;t pursue their college education because of financial instability so they
tend to find work immediately which are most likely has a smaller chance to happen for they are
less than 18 years old and are too young for labor force. Because of this some circumstances,
professional graduates here in the country are not globally recognized as if they are also greatly
recognized here.

As an advocate for K12 program, I knew and admit that there are challenges brought not just for
me but also for the entire nation with the shifting into a new education system. K12 program may
sound unpleasant for those students who want to graduate in college immediately for they can
find work easily as well as to those parents who barely earn as low as P500 daily. They thought
that this new education program will cost them more. Definitely true. There are challenges that
we've faced during the transition of this new curriculum from the old ones. It’s been 5 years
since this program was implemented but there are still various groups and critics that are still
insisting that the country is not yet prepared for this implementation. Let’s talk about first with
the readiness of the government, the implementing agency (DepEd) particularly.

Lack of learning materials and facilities still obstruct the K12 implementation. The unavailability
of learning materials is just one of the problems still hounding the country’s new basic education
program. The teachers, just to make sure that their student will learn the lessons easily, have to
shoulder the shortcomings of the government, which has yet to recognize their sacrifice as they
have not responded to their appeal for salary increase. A need in facilities for additional 2 years
in high school is still in worry. The Department of Education then implemented a program that
will give financial assistance for students that will continue senior high in private schools, for
they knew that there are no facilities in public schools that will accommodate the incoming
senior high students. This made critics say that the K12 Program is pro-private school and that
the main aim of this program is for the private schools to increase their revenue.

We should not deny that this new curriculum have benefits not just for us but for the entire
nation. It will help our education system more qualitative. The new K12 curriculum have more
practical subjects that will make Filipino students more globally competitive and choose their
career based on their skills and abilities. The students will also have more time to choose the
right career that suits their skill and ability and will be more capable to confront with their
college career. And if so, of that have no fund to pursue college degree, at least when they
graduated senior high school, they are already qualified for a job and can already make a living.

Mainly, K12 is very beneficial to each one of us. Challenges may hinder to fully implement the
new education program and may make our lives rough, it can at least make us more globally
competitive. Why don’t we give it a try first before imposing negative opinions about the said
program? And if we think that it is only a burden to large number of Filipino families, might as
well request to postpone the program. It can really help us in making our lives easier when it
comes to making a living for the future.
The education is truly bitter. It is not easy to achieve from each one of us. We think that we will
just tackle a straight path towards our goals but the truth is, it is a chaotic line. We should
encourage ourselves to pursue our dreams because no one else is going to do it for us and when
we finally achieved these goals, the fruit is definitely sweeter than we thought. Before I leave
this stage, I want to leave you a message that you should always remember: “Attitude is
everything” it is like, we should not just be schooled, we should also be educated enough.

Thank you and good afternoon.