For sure the country’s basic education system is beset with many problems and past administrations have tried to solve them. Past regimes, have vowed but failed to resolve the perennial shortage of teachers and classrooms.
The Aquino administration’s proposal to add two years to the basic education curriculum or the K+12 proposal may be seen as a radical departure from the way past governments have approached the problem.
Critics of the move, however, aver that the proposal might be missing the point entirely.
Some school administrators and educators say the K+12 program is not viable. Others say now is not the time to implement it.
They urge the government to think carefully before hastily embarking on a program that will affect the entire educational system and burden already beleaguered basic education students.
Basic problems
Former Sen. Nikki Coseteng, who is the president of the Diliman Preparatory School, disagrees with the proposal since she believes that the government must spend more resources in improving the current basic education set-up.
She noted that the current dilemma of basic education lies in the sheer lack of teachers, facilities, textbooks. She says implementing the K+12 proposal does not aim to address those problems.
Rep. Antonio Tinio of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, in a statement, also opposed the proposal for drawing the government’s attention away from the fundamental problem of the basic education system—which is the sore lack of government support.
Dr. Ma. Corazon Reyes, Director for Basic Education of Miriam College in Quezon City, does support the aim of the K+12 proposal but opposes its immediately implementation even within the six-year time frame.
“We are lagging behind in terms of international standards that address the education labor-power gap.
But right now is not the right time [for K+12] because we have bigger gaps in terms of qualified teachers,” she said.
Reyes thinks the government must first address the inadequacy and insufficiency of physical facilities.
She cited the standard fixed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco). It is for a government’s annual allocation for to be equivalent to 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The Philippine allocation has been between two to 3 percent every year for years.
The tiny allotment for education has long been identified as the culprit behind the shortages of teachers, classrooms and textbooks.
Missing points
Coseteng, in addition, advised the Aquino government to “learn to separate categories under problems and symptoms of problems,” in order to determine whether the K+12 proposal is really necessary.
She explained that high dropout rates and perceived inaptitude of students are merely symptoms of problems. Since the K+12 proposal aims to address primarily the aptitude of students especially in English literacy, it may be missing the point.
Reyes, on the other hand, merely expects the government to conduct a more scientific study on the necessity and viability of the K+12 proposal.
She advised the government “to really take some steps towards addressing the “why” of the proposal.”
“ And the ‘why’ of that is because they want improved teaching and learning processes. Therefore they should refer to the actual national empirical indicators—achievement, promotion and labor needs.
It should be done in a more scientific manner,” she added.
Reyes, moreover, urged the government to assess whether the proposal is relevant to everyone as she refers to cultural considerations informed by religion and ethnicity.
“How will the distinctions informed by religion and ethnicity be accounted for?” she asked.
“It’s so hard to apply a blanket solution for a country such as the Philippines which must always account for many variables,” Reyes added.
Challenges
The implementation of the proposal will encounter various challenges that will determine its viability if ever the Aquino administration insists on its implementation.
Coseteng, for one, noted that implementing the proposal would “stress the entire education system.”
She added that the administration would become too busy since the implementation entails a large-scale restructuring of the entire educational system.
“[The Aquino administration] will have to forgo a lot of priority projects, which it cannot do at this time,” she said.
Reyes, who is also the principal of Miriam College High School, meanwhile, questioned the readiness of the Department of Education to implement the proposal.
“The readiness of the department of education to manage an extended system [must be considered]. Are they ready for that?” asked Reyes.
Reyes added that the Education department, prior to the implementation of the program, must be able to ensure the continuity of the basic education curriculum. This means that the government must immediately budget the said curriculum to adapt to the said extended program.
Other challenges that she noted was the availability of enabling legislation since the Education Act of 1982 refers to a 10-year basic education curriculum and the preparedness of many schools to add necessary infrastructure to accommodate the program.
Reyes also mentions psycho-social considerations since the shift towards a 12-year basic education curriculum would be felt as burdensome to many students. She also raised fears that the said curriculum may even lead to a higher dropout rate, especially given the economic context of the country.
Alternatives
If the Aquino government is still exploring other options to improve the country’s basic education, there are still available alternatives aside from the K+12 proposal.
Coseteng said the government should merely strengthen the current system.
“I think that what we should do is strengthening what we have already. And strengthening what we have will take more than a trip to Jupiter and back,” the former senator said.
Coseteng also urged the government to meet and consult a lot of school heads regarding the proposal.
Reyes also called for a meaningful consultation not only between politicians and businessmen, but also among educators who will be the ones carrying out the program.
She also suggests allowing basic education institutions with Level 3 accreditation to come up with their own system of equivalence to the K+12 program. This means permitting schools with such accreditation to adopt a different program that will nonetheless be responsive to the goals of the proposal.
Moreover, she also suggests, instead of implementing the K+12, a two-year pre-university program to be managed by the department and partner institutions in order to prepare those who are really intent on pursuing tertiary education in universities under identified tracks of learning whether under a science track, arts track, or social science track.
This way, Reyes explained, students will still be able to finish their basic education under the 10-year curriculum as well as prepare them for tertiary education.
Despite the clamor that the proposal has raised, Reyes nonetheless lauded the initiative from the Aquino government.
“What is positive here is at least the are thinking of ways to improve the educational system,” she said. –FRANK LLOYD TIONGSON REPORTER, Manila Times
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