Necessary K+12 program faces rough sailing

DESPITE the most respected experts’ agreement that it is urgent and necessary to reform the country’s basic education system with something like the Department of Education’s Enhanced K+12 program, it will surely face rough sailing. Mainly the difficulties arise from lack of funds and the opposition mounted by populists, leftists, anti-administration politicians and educators claiming to have better ideas.

Many presidential and congressional commissions, studies, surveys and laws have called for the lengthening of Philippine basic education to add “contact time” between pupils and teachers to meet what experts find to be the pedagogically effective minimum for children and adolescents in elementary and high schools to learn and develop.

The 1981 Congressional Commission on Education Report proposed that one year be added to the basic education program to improve it and raise our country to the level of other countries.

In 2008, former President Gloria Arroyo’s Task Force on Education saw the need for a 12-year pre-university program with the 11th and 12th years geared to match the model countries’ programs.

Earlier, the Education Act of 1953 made it a legal requirement for the primary level to have Grades 1 to 4 and the intermediate level to be Grades 5 to 6. The law mandating a seven-year elementary program has never been implemented.

Aquino administration’s reform outlook

Now with President Benigno Aquino 3rd as our Republic’s chief executive officer, these reform laws and expert recommendations are being taken seriously.

The Department of Education announced on October 5 that it was going to carry out—but gradually and with much deliberation—the Enhanced K-12 Basic Education Program.

“K” is Kindergarten (an earlier law mandating free pre-school for all is not mentioned) and “12” is for the 12 years of elementary and secondary education.

The program will then have six years of elementary education, four years of junior high school (Grades 7 to 10), and two years of senior high school (Grades 11 to 12). Education Secretary Armin Luistro and his colleagues say this enhancement will give pupils and students the time to consolidate the skills and competencies they have acquired in earlier years. The result will be well-rounded high school graduates able to find work, engage in small business, pursue higher education and contribute to society and the economy as civic-minded and patriotic citizens.

The plight of Filipino engineers, scientists and other professionals working abroad highlight the need for aligning our basic education program to those of the top countries of the world.

Filipino engineers, scientists disadvantaged

Many such professionals have been prevented from getting promotions because their employers—both private corporations and government agencies—discover from their transcript of records that these Filipinos—who have shown outstanding merit in their jobs—lack two years of basic education.

The USA and Canada, the countries of Western Europe, Japan, China, India, Latin-American countries and all others—except the Philippines and two other negatively perceived countries—follow the K+12-year basic education curriculum required of everyone to enter colleges and universities.

There are international agreements—like the Washington and Bologna Accords—that spell out requirements for higher education that Filipino products of the public school basic education system do not have Essential facts about K+12 program.

Here are the essentials of the Enhanced K+12 program:

• The Department of Education on October 5 released its model for the Enhanced K+12 dubbed the K-6-4-2. This model involves kindergarten, six years of elementary education, four years of junior high school (Grade 7 to 10) and two years of senior high school (Grades 11 to 12)
• Secretary Armin Luistro said the implementation will be phased. Universal kindergarten will be offered starting school year 2011 to 2012. By school year 2012 to 2013, the new elementary curriculum will be offered to incoming First Graders and to incoming junior high school students. The Education department will aim for a target of putting in place the necessary infrastructure and other things to provide senior high school education by 2016 to 2017.
• The entire 12 years of basic education will be made a requirement for acceptance in colleges and universities by school year 2018 to 2019.
• The enhanced curriculum will open specializations in science and technology, music and arts, agriculture and fisheries, business and entrepreneurship and subjects for advanced placements.
• The Education department has included in its budget proposals substantial requirements for 2011.
• Initial estimates of the start-up cost of the K+12 program is about P43. 671 billion. This is seen to cover the preliminary capital cost for the construction of additional classrooms, chairs, and water and sanitation facilities. An additional P16. 792 billion will be for the hiring of additional teachers, procurement of textbook and for maintenance and operating expenses.

Simultaneous to solving shortage problems

• The new curriculum will also be implemented simultaneously with Education department’s solutions to the old problem of inadequate facilities. The expansion of the education program will take into account the need to address the shortages in teachers, classrooms, desks and other learning facilities, water and sanitation and quality textbooks.
• The department will receive a P207-billion budget next year—an increase from this year’s P172 billion. Of the amount, P12.4 billion goes to the construction of 13, 147 classrooms, P5.9 billion for the hiring of 10, 000 new teachers, P1.8 billion for the purchase of 32.3 million textbooks, P5.8 billion to expand the Government Assistance for Students and Teachers in Private Education, P2 billion to strengthen the School-Based Management system, P1.8 billion to speed up the computerization program and another P1.8 billion for the pre-school program.
• Education’s Undersecretary for Finance Francisco Varela said the time frame from today up to the 2016 start of implementation is more than enough for the government to prepare the resources needed for the program to be carried out in full.
• Despite the increase in its budget allocation, Luistro said it is still looking to tap other funding sources for its other programs, such as working with the state-run Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, the United States Agency for International Development and the Australian Agency for International Development to help bear the cost of the program.
• Studies conducted by various education organizations revealed that about 34 percent out of 100 students who enter first grade fail to complete grade six, while only 50 percent manage to finish high school.
• The over-all performance of grade six and fourth year high school students are also at its lowest— with 65.55 percent for Grade Six students and 46.71 for those in Fourth Year High School.
• Chito Salazar, an educator and president of the Philippine Business for Education, relates these problems to an over-crowded curriculum.
• Studies cited by Salazar have also shown that the country’s education program is equivalent to the 12-year education cycle followed abroad— except that it is being completed in only 10 years.
• On a societal and economic level, the enhanced K+12 program is expected bring forth accelerated economic growth and provide a sound foundation for long-term socio-economic development.
• Despite having disclosed the initial draft, the Education department said this proposal is still not the final plan, and consultations and suggestions are encouraged to help arrive at an affordable and realistic plan.
• Luistro has repeatedly explained the benefits of the plan in the face of criticisms, saying it will help equip high school graduates, especially those who may not be able to pursue college education, with the skills necessary for them to land a job and lead productive lives.

–MARIA NIKKA U. GARRIGA REPORTER, Manila Times