‘K-to-12’ education now a law
By TJ BurgonioPhilippine Daily Inquirer
K-12
LAW President Aquino greets schoolchildren who were guests at the
signing of the Enhanced Basic Education Act (K-12 Act) in Malacañang on
Wednesday. At left is Speaker Feliciano Belmonte. LYN RILLON
“This lays the foundations for a better future for every Filipino child,” President Aquino said Wednesday after signing the law which makes enrollment in kindergarten compulsory before children can begin the traditional six years of primary school and adds two more years to high school.
The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, or the K-to-12 Act, establishes a “universal kindergarten” and introduces Grades 11 and 12 to high school education in public and private schools.
Students will have to complete the extra education to qualify for university.
Until this law’s enactment, the Philippines was the only country in Asia and one of only three countries worldwide, together with Angola and Djibouti, with a 10-year preuniversity cycle.
“We now know that our traditional 10-year basic education cycle is deficient,” Aquino said at the signing ceremony. “Given that our young people are at a disadvantage in terms of basic education, how can we expect them to compete for employment and other higher pursuits?”
Aquino said Republic Act No. 10533 institutionalizes a system of education that “truly imbues our youth with the skills they need to pursue their dreams.”
“By signing this bill into law, we are not just adding two years of additional learning for our students; we are making certain that the coming generations are empowered to strengthen the very fabric of our society, as well as our economy,” he told lawmakers, Cabinet officials, diplomats and students.
The law, Aquino stressed, was crafted to plug the shortcomings of the 10-year basic education cycle in which students had less time to understand their lessons, and had to compete with better-prepared graduates from other countries.
“If our youth are forced to shoulder such an educational handicap from the beginning, how can they possibly compete for employment in the long run?” he said.
The enhanced basic education program covers at least one year of kindergarten, six years of elementary education and six years of secondary education, broken down into four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school.
The last two years of senior high school are the new Grades 11 and 12 that will be introduced in 2016. To refine the old curriculum, the law mandates the teaching of basic education in languages understood by the students.—With a report from AFP
Originally posted: 2:30 pm | Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
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On the formal launching of k-12 Program in Malacanang, Mr. President said, "it marked the start of a new day for the country's youth who will now be given a "good opportunity to learn and achieve knowledge". This statement of the president assures all Filipino youth that in 6 years, they will be empowered and bring this nation great again. On teacher's perspective, there was this cloud of doubt as to the realization of this ambitious program. Initially, the teachers experienced the "chaos" during the mass arrival of kindergarten enrollees to the public schools. Everyone was astonished of the great number of toddlers came in to different public schools. Lack of chairs, tables, fixtures, classrooms, books and teachers were among of the concerns we had. Many schools are currently not ready for Grades 11 and 12, concerning from lack of classrooms. Because as we all know that the quality of the learning environment is known to affect teacher behavior and attitudes toward continuing to teach, and it is unreasonable to expect positive results from programs that have to operate in negative physical environment, because an effective school establishes a well disciplined, secure, and wholesome learning environment, and maintains clean and orderly school buildings.
According to the president's statement, "How can the Filipino compete when they already fall short in the number of years they spend studying in school. Truly we had experienced a short fall but if we only believe and do our share as teachers and stakeholders, we will have a bright future ahead of us. K-12, I believe was designed to bring reforms on our educational system. These reforms will hopefully fill the educational gap we had in our present curriculum as compared to other Asian countries. The additional 2 years in high school is an additional burden to parents as it extends their matriculation expenses. They were worried of the sustainability of their income by then. But k-12 program is the best option they had to raise their family.
The changes will not be felt at present but will bring us a sustainable economy hopefully. An optimistic outlook, that it is only through education that we can eradicate poverty, social unrest and economic downfall. Teachers need to fulfill their role as agents of change. The feasibility of the K-12 programs to be successful rests upon our hands. This new curriculum will mold each learner to be emotionally, socially pro active, acquire basic learning and prepare them for a higher education. The aim of K-12 is to develop the totality of each learner. The great challenge is pass on to the teachers. The curriculum aims to produce globally competitive graduates that can work at par with the rest of the world. Consequently, teachers need to be fully equipped to produce the kind of graduates we aim to mold. The kind of teachers needed in this new curriculum are digitally literate, technologically innovative and scientifically updated. Teachers need to upgrade their teaching styles and strategies to acquire new trends in education and pass it on to the learners. Teachers need also to involve themselves in research to discover new learning and innovations. Honestly, if we will seriously consider the 5qualifications of a K-12 teachers: COMMITMENT, COMPETENCE, CREATIVITY, COMPASSION, AND CHARACTER, we will have difficulty finding one. On the coming years, our youth will be acquiring international recognition of professionals abroad. This recognition will bring us honor and pride to our country as the Filipino workers are known to be high work standards and practices. The K-12 program will give each Filipino learner an equal chance to improve himself with the rest of the citizenry.
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