Cagayan solon says current system not yet ready for DepEd’s K+12 program

Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile yesterday reiterated calls for Malacañang to review the implementation of the K+12 program as he pushed new rules that would make school administrators more accountable for the quality of education both in public and private schools throughout the country.

Enrile said protests from teachers and parents following the implementation of the Universal Kindergarten Program are an indication that the current school system is not ready to handle the additional load.

The K+12 program calls for additional year for both the elementary and the secondary levels.

“Only a few weeks into the school year, problems are already showing in the DepEd’s K+12 program, particularly with the introduction of the universal kindergarten in schools,” Enrile said.

“It shows how our schools do not have the basic requirements such as enough classrooms and adequate kindergarten teachers to handle this additional load; worse, even chalks are now an issue.”

The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier had said an estimated 1.9 million kindergarten pupils would go to school this year as it started the phased implementation of its K+12 program with the introduction of the Universal Kindergarten Program.

The K+12 program mandates public schools to offer kindergarten and adds two years to the current 10-year basic education cycle.

Instead of adding two years and lengthening students’ stay in school, Enrile urged DepEd and Commission on Higher Education (Ched) to institute rules that will make school administrators directly accountable for the quality of education in both private and public schools.

Based on DepEd figures, the yearly achievement rates of elementary and high school students from 2005 to 2010 track a downward trend, indicating a continuous deterioration in the quality of education.

“The DepEd should use existing mechanisms to gauge whether or not our students are getting good education from our schools. Ched should also come up with a mechanism to measure the quality of education in SUCs (state universities and colleges) and private colleges and universities,” Enrile said.

“More importantly, we should come up with rules to make school administrators accountable for the quality of education taught in their schools. If they fall short of the accepted standards in education for two years in a row, for example, we can penalize the school and the school administrator and subject him/her to retraining.” Charlie V. Manalo, Daily Tribune