Business groups buck move to scrap K to 12

The business community is forming a united front against attempts to scrap the K to 12 Program. Instead of stopping the implementation of the program, big business groups in the country want the government to help the private sector deal with the effects of the reform in the educational system.

The Management Association of the Philippines, Makati Business Club, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines and the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines rallied behind the advocacy group Philippine Business for Education (PBED) to counter moves to scrap the K to 12 Program.

The groups aired their support for the program despite the foreseen problems, such as the displacement of tertiary-level faculty and staff during the transition period, as well as the closure of tertiary institutions due to revenue losses brought about by the dearth in student enrollment. Both are seen to happen during the transition period when high-school students will be entering the senior high-school years of the new setup instead of college.

“We have to accept to continue this despite the negative effects; the government should deal with these issues instead of letting the negative effects derail the program,” PBEd President Dr. Chito Salazar, speaking on behalf of the business groups, said.

On labor displacement, the groups want the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to clarify the unemployment/diminution benefits of the affected personnel, then come up with support packages to serve as a crutch to tertiary institutions.

Specifically, these twin goals can be addressed by the Unified Financial Assistance System for Higher and Technical Education (UniFAST), and the Tertiary Education Transition Fund (TETF), two pending legislation in Congress, Salazar said.

The UniFAST and the TETF bills aim to consolidate all the scholarships provided to tertiary students in a bid to rationalize the scholarship budget.

A provision can be inserted in the two bills to direct the scholarships to out-of-school youth during the transition period, the PBEd said

“Our proposal to the government is to deal with the displacement of administration and faculty because of no student enrollment, the government should offer a scholarship program to graduates before 2015 or earlier to those who did not get to go to college to fill the gap. If you can do that, you will not have any displacement,” Salazar said.

According to the PBEd head, of the average 1.4 million students graduating from high school from the previous system, 40 percent do not pursue tertiary education because of financial setbacks. Of the remaining 60 percent, or 840,000 students who move on to colleges and universities, a 30-percent dropout in the first year is recorded.

“We’re going to educate out-of-school youth to fill the gap during the transition period [to senior high school], and the faculty and staff don’t have to be let go,” Lazaro said.

The groups are pushing for the program to be done through a voucher system, wherein the scholarships are given directly to students in the form of certificate of funding and students may choose which university to matriculate in. –Catherine Pillas, Businessmirror