Philippine K 12 Trends Issues
Philippine K 12 Trends Issues
Philippine K 12 Trends Issues
Graduate School
Rationale
Prior to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum guide, the Philippines was one of only three
countries in the world and the only one in Asia that still had only 10 years in basic education.
This has always been seen as a disadvantage for our students who are competing in an
increasingly global job market. Therefore, the longer educational cycle of the K-12 curriculum
was implemented with the main objective which to provide Filipino students a higher quality of
education making them more prepared to enter the labor force.
Historical Background
March 11, 2015- After 4 years of implementation of the K-12 program, the first graduates
of Junior High School will now undergo Senior High School Program.
June 11, 2016 – The Pilot batch of the K+12 Program will be the first beneficiaries of a
free Senior High School before entering college.
Future Direction
March 11, 2018 – After 6 years of the implementation of K+12 program, the pilot batch
completes 6 years of High School and now are ready to go to college.
June 11, 2018 - A full 12 years of basic Education will eventually be required for entry
into tertiary level education.
Year 2021- First graduates in new educational system in the Philippines.
Driving Factors
As presented by DepEd:
Preparedness for tertiary learning – With adaptation of K-12 scheme, students are
expected to graduate at age a bit older than past graduates’. This is an advantage,
according to DepEd, as graduates will be considered young adults. Hence, they will be
more equipped to deal with much higher level of learning as they enter college education.
Readiness to join the workforce – Unlike the old system, K-12 does not compel each
student to take college after completing Senior High School (SHS). In fact, this scheme
empowers students to make a choice on their own. They may not pursue college education
especially if they have chosen a track other than academic track. The good thing is SHS
graduates will be equipped with skills (through electives) that will make them good at
certain field(s).
Skill competency in the global job market – K-12 system aims to improve Filipino
students’ mathematical, scientific, and linguistic competence. With the new curriculum,
DepEd promised to offer higher quality education through tracks. Each track will give
students enough time to master a field and enhance their skills. In the end, K-12 graduates
will become globally competitive and are set to obtain spot in the stiff labor market.
As presented by DepEd:
Every Filipino child now has access to early childhood education through Universal
Kindergarten. At 5 years old, children start schooling and are given the means to slowly
adjust to formal education.
Research shows that children who underwent Kindergarten have better completion rates
than those who did not. Children who complete a standards-based Kindergarten program
are better prepared, for primary education. Education for children in the early years lays
the foundation for lifelong learning and for the total development of a child. The early
years of a human being, from 0 to 6 years, are the most critical period when the brain
grows to at least 60-70 percent of adult size.
In Kindergarten, students learn the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors through games,
songs, and dances, in their Mother Tongue.
Examples, activities, songs, poems, stories, and illustrations are based on local culture,
history, and reality. This makes the lessons relevant to the learners and easy to
understand.
Students acquire in-depth knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes through continuity and
consistency across all levels and subjects.
Discussions on issues such as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change
Adaptation, and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) are included in the
enhanced curriculum.
Ensure alignment of Core and Applied Subjects to the College Readiness Standards
(CRS) and new General Education (GE) Curriculum.
Develop appropriate Specialization Subjects for the Academic, Sports, Arts and Design,
and Technical Vocational Livelihood Tracks.
Strengthening TVET Integration in SHS
Working with CHED to:
Integrate TVET skills, competencies and qualifications in TLE in JHS and Technical
Vocational Livelihood (TVL) track in SHS
Ensure that any Grade 10 finisher and all Grade 12 TVL graduates are eligible for
TESDA competency/qualifications assessments (i.e. COC, NC I or NC II)
Prepare learning resources that are consistent with promulgated Training Regulations.
Develop appropriate INSET and certification programs for TLE teachers.
Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood Readiness, 21st
Century Skills)
After going through Kindergarten, the enhanced Elementary and Junior High curriculum, and a
specialized Senior High program, every K to 12 graduate will be ready to go into different paths
– may it be further education, employment, or entrepreneurship.
Dominica Chua from Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. emphasized the support they will
provide for DepEd’s ongoing campaign. Chua mentioned that 60% of their budget is
dedicated to education. “We are your biggest fan,” she added.
Emiliano Salceda II said that the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) pledges to
integrate their programs to that of the K to 12 curriculum. Consultations are currently
being made in the division and regional level. EDC also pledges to assist the department
on their Technical-Vocational Track in SHS -- being the only center in the locality
offering this track.
Mr. Marcus Leslie Suntay from the Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. who shared the
triumphs and challenges their company faced during the early implementation of the
program. He also extended his gratitude for the support of the Local Government and
other private companies in addressing their concerns.
Most of private Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and some SUC have taken active
parts in the implementation of the k-12 curriculum.
The year has strike for full implementation of K-12 educational reform program of the Aquino
administration however the law continues to have its share of detractors and perennial problems
addressed by netizens that may serve as a hindrance for the success of the program’s main
objective which to produce “globally competitive” graduates are still turtle in progress.
Last March 2015, a coalition of teachers and staff of higher educational institutions around the
Philippines petitioned the Supreme Court to suspend the K-12 law. As head of the coalition,
Professor Rene Tadle of the University of Santo Tomas told CNN Philippines that the group
agrees with the objectives of the program. Nevertheless, he said that the law should be suspended
because the government is not yet prepared to implement it, especially with regard to labor. The
K-12 program does not take into account the labor rights of teaching and nonteaching staff who
will be displaced by the program. Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) urged the government
to suspend the K to 12 program, citing lack of preparation, especially in terms of facilities,
equipment, and the hiring, training and salaries of teachers. “We are not ready” for it, said ACT
national chair Benjie Valbuena.
Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV Pushes for Suspension of K to 12 before its
Full Implementation in 2016
"It is in the best interest of the country to suspend the K to 12 Program while we are addressing
the perennial problems of our education system, such as the lack of classrooms and school
materials, high student-teacher ratio, and low salary of teachers. In addition to this is the
government's unpreparedness to the threatened retrenchment of around 85,000 college professors
and employees when the program commences in 2016," said Trillanes, who conducted a country-
wide inspections and consultations on K to 12.
"At this point it is more appropriate to call this the K minus 12 program because of the problems
besetting the program: inadequate resources, inadequate tools, inadequate classrooms, inadequate
teachers, inadequate preparation and planning, inadequate time to prepare for its implementation,
inadequate information dissemination among its stakeholders, inadequate consultations among
affected sectors, inadequate coordination between the government and private sectors,
inadequate opportunities for those who will graduate from the program, inadequate capacity of
parents to send children for additional 2 years in high school, and inadequate heart," Trillanes
said in a statement.
Aside from the use of mother tongue language as medium of instruction in grades one to three,
aside from additional two years in the four years of high school, what is K-12 program?
Unsuccessful linking of program to household resulted parents view senior high school as an
additional expense.
Alliance of the Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the additional two years in the four years of high
school is an additional cost to parents. “A parent does not only spend money in tuition but also in
transportation, school projects and food,” said France Castro, secretary general of ACT. “Most of
the parents are not aware of the details of this program, including the financial burden it would
bring them," said Professor Rene Luis Tadle, head of Coalition for K to 12 Suspension.
Retrenchment of teaching and nonteaching staff
Government is unprepared and has no clear vision to the threatened mass termination of college
professors and non- academic personnel of schools since there would be no incoming freshmen
in S.Y. 2016- 2017, statement supported by Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV.
Not all high schools offered and qualified for senior high school
Most rural high schools are not yet ready for senior high so students are obliged to move out
from the countryside to enroll the additional 2 years in high school wherever school offers
program that will fits their interests. This concern raised by stipulators will just lead less
fortunate students to stop after finishing their junior high school.
Congested classrooms with lack of facilities is a great hindrance for effective transfer of
learning. For example a ratio of 50 students is to 1 teacher, students will make noise
simultaneously added by classroom lack of facilities such as lighting and ventilation, do you
think teaching and learning process can be made possible in its better form? Clearly, it’s a no!
Teachers were trained at a very short time and teaching guides are not massively
distributed. Teachers noted that trainings they have undergone were rushed and not well thought
of. France Castro, secretary general of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the time
spent for teachers’ training is not enough. “There are lots of new things for teachers to learn in
order to implement the new curriculum. One to two months training is not enough”. Castro
added, teaching guidelines and learning modules have not yet been distributed to teachers.
“Supposedly teaching guidelines and learning modules are given to teachers while they are on
training. But, according to the teachers who underwent the training, some of them have yet to
receive the said materials”. Public school teachers, believe that to properly implement the
“flagship” program of President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III, enough time for teachers’
training is essential.
Errors in textbooks
Antonio Calipjo-Go an educator has been studying DepEd textbooks for years and spotted
thousands of errors. He says not much has changed. "Once we are teaching these children in
black and white all of these errors, what happens?" As it says, the criminal of all criminals is a
teacher who is consciously and unconsciously teaching wrong to the students. Why? Because
he/she doesn’t only victimizing one at a single time but he/she is depriving the chance of
numbered children who are laying their future to him/her.
Given these problems with regards in implementation of K-12 law, many can't help but ask: Are
government, DepEd, and other affected sectors really ready for the K-to-12 program? At the end
of the day, those who will bear the burden are public school students likewise the teachers.
o DepEd Green Lane – The Department of Education needs to hire 30,000 new
teachers and 6,000 new non-teaching staff in 2016-2017 alone, and about the same
number again for 2017-2018–more than enough to absorb all the displaced
personnel from the higher education sector. DepEd will open a “Green Lane” to
prioritize and fast-track their hiring, in keeping with RA 10533, and will match
them according to locality and salary.
o DOLE Adjustment Measures Program – Those who will opt not to transfer to
DepEd, on the other hand, will benefit from the Adjustment Measures Program of
the Department of Labor and Employment. DOLE will provide income support for
a maximum duration of one year, employment facilitation that matches their skills
to the current job market, and training and livelihood programs in case they may
want to pursue entrepreneurship,
D. Conclusion
According to George Bernard Shaw “Progress in impossible without change, and those who
cannot change their minds cannot change anything”.
The hardships and setbacks experienced in the migration of the country’s educational system to
the K-12 curriculum is no different from the experiences the citizen have with other agencies in
the government.
In 1997, RA 8436 was passed into law, authorizing Comelec to implement an automated
system in the May 1998 elections, and in subsequent national and local elections.
However, “lack of preparation, time and funding” led to the use of the automated process
only in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in the 1998 elections. In 2001,
the COMELEC’s failure to launch a public education campaign on the new election
process led to the unintended exclusion of an estimated 3 to 6 million voters (Schaffer,
2009).
In 2007, RA 9369, amending RA 8436, was passed “to encourage transparency,
credibility, fairness, and accuracy of elections.” An automated electoral process on a
nationwide scale was first enforced in the 2010 elections, which brought President
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to power. The multinational company, Smartmatic, was
chosen to supply the hardware and software for electronic voting. A few weeks before the
elections, the memory chips of the vote counting machines were found to be faulty, and
candidates like former President Joseph Estrada petitioned to postpone the elections and
revert to manual polls. Elections pushed through as scheduled, however, because all
technical problems were deemed to have been addressed. Four hundred sixty-five vote
counting machines were reported as malfunctional, but 75,882 machines worked
smoothly. Compared to past elections where the winners were known after weeks or
months, local winners were determined in a few hours, while half of the national winners
were known after a day. As Rep. Raymond Palatino wrote, “Most people are satisfied
with the election process and the voting results.
Foreign media and world leaders have already congratulated the Philippines for the
successful conduct of its first automated elections.”
(http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/filipiniana-library/filipiniana/70-features/275-a-
history-of-automated-elections-in-the-philippines)
GSIS received numerous complaints when they started reforms by implementing change
to electronic handling of data and in the administration of members’ benefits. Some
members even stopped paying their monthly amortizations in disgust of perceived
inefficiency of the agency in processing claims and updating members’ records.
The GSIS has also announced that it will be replacing the IBM-DB2 with Oracle. Based
on its research, the Oracle Database Management Software (DBMS) is very much capable
of addressing the problems that IBM cannot solve. Oracle's DBMS is currently used in 65
percent of all SAP deployments, attesting to its reliability and wide-of-use in different
markets and industries globally. It will also upgrade its servers and operating system that
runs the GSIS database system to those manufactured by Hewlett-Packard or HP.
The GSIS will commence with the final stages of the data migration to a new and better
system within the first few days of December. During this period, the GSIS assures its
members that it will accept applications for claims and loans, over the counter.
(http://www.gsis.gov.ph/default.php?id=136)
o Today GSIS has renewed reputation and the services they render is generally seen
to be efficient and effective.
“Without mistakes there are no lessons. Without lessons there is no progress. Without progress
there is no achievement” Paul Irvine.
References:
ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL and IGAL JADA SAN ANDRES, Bulatlat.com, May 30, 2012
ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL and PARTICIA LOURDES VIRAY, Bulatlat.com, May 30, 2012
http://www.ched.gov.ph/index.php/ched-k12-transition-program/the-k12-transition-in-higher-
education/
http://www.deped.gov.ph/press-releases/deped-gears-k-12-full-implementation
http://k12philippines.com/three-practical-benefits-of-the-philippines-k-to-12-curriculum/
http://www.deped.gov.ph/press-releases/industry-partners-back-full-implementation-k-12
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2015/04/17/k-12-unresolved-issues.html
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/692757/act-joins-call-for-k-to-12-program-
suspension#ixzz46f63cqvn
http://www.trillanes.com.ph/media/press-releases/trillanes-suspend-implementation-of-k-to-12/
http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/05/30/two-years-is-an-added-burden-%E2%80%93-parents/
http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/03/07/15/trillanes-spearheads-coalition-vs-k-12
http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/05/30/rushed-trainings-lack-of-materials-mar-implementation-of-
k-to-12/
http://cnnphilippines.com/incoming/2015/06/25/Problems-hounding-K-to-12-program-Part-2-
Errors-in-textbooks.html
http://hubpages.com/education/The-Implementation-o-the-K-12-Program-in-the-Philippine-
Basic-Education-Curriculum