DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The school year started two weeks ago, yet an issue remains unanswered for over a decade : is the K to 12 curriculum a necessity or a burden?
“Ang gastos (It’s costly),” said Fel Adrian Agcarcar, a graduating senior high school student now at Grade 12 this school year.
A working student, Fel juggles part-time jobs just to cover his daily expenses, including transportation, school supplies and materials. For students like him, senior high adds more struggle than a stepping stone for employment to help their families.
Introduced in 2013, the K-12 program faces issues over its relevance. The promise that senior high graduates can find employment did not materialize, as problems in its programs were visible from the start. Critics point out its overloaded curriculum, deficiencies in teacher preparation and poor facilities and resources for such programs.
Then there is the consistent low rankings of students in global assessments of their learning, a clear sign of deeper issues.
Amidst debates for its removal as proposed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, President Marcos Jr. said that while K-12 is mandated by law, it is better to improve on it.
“While the law is still K-12,… I told (Education) Secretary Sonny Angara, let’s really improve it while it’s still there,” Marcos said in a press release.
This school year finds the Department of Education (DepEd) implementing a revised K-12 program which the agency said “empowers” the students with a trimmed-down curriculum.
The revised program reduces core subjects from 15 to five for each grade (Grade 11 and Grade 12), and also identifies teachers for these subjects and provides them resources.
The tracks, which used to be four, are reduced to two: academic and technical professional. Students can also take subjects outside of their strand.
For K-12 teachers like Ronald Bollano, Senior High School Program Officer-in-Charge and Master Teacher I at Davao City National High School, he sees the program as not only essential for the Filipino pupils.
“The K–12 curriculum is very beneficial, particularly for students who want to work or study overseas,” he explains. “Without K–12, many would be forced to repeat years of schooling in other countries. But with the current system, especially those who don’t pursue a four-year college degree, students can already obtain a National Certificate (NC) through TESDA after completing Grades 11 and 12. This NC can be used to find jobs internationally—it becomes easier to go abroad when you have that certification.”
Bollano expresses concern on proposals to scrap K-12 as their work as educators has been shaped around it.
“If senior high gets scrapped, what happens to the 145 teachers here? Where will they go?” With a hint of concern in his voice, he asks. “The teachers who have dedicated their time, effort, and knowledge to creating this programme would also suffer greatly, in addition to the government and the funds it has invested.”
For Rey Pardillo, President of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers and teacher at Santa Ana High School, he looks at the current revisions in K-12 in with cautious optimism, noting how a change in DepEd leadership always brings new programs with barely any continuity from the past.
“With a new secretary, come new policies and new approaches. We are hoping the education system will not just shift for the sake of change but truly find ways to support and improve how our teachers teach,” Pardillo said.
Kabataan Party-list is in favor of removing the K-12 program and instituting comprehensive reforms and higher budgets for the education sector.
“Even if we raise the standard of K-12, we are still being left behind by our Southeast Asian neighbors,” says Kabataan Southern Mindanao chair Cobbie Jan Canda. “Our call is to scrap K-12 because it has become a burden to both the youth and Filipino families.”
“The current educational system is underwhelming, under-supported, and underfunded by the government,” Canda added, pointing out that the country’s education sector receives only 1–2% of the country’s GDP, which is far below the 6% recommended by UNICEF.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), a study on the crisis of Philippine education, also reported that the country is in a full-blown education crisis fueled by economic instability. It noted the country’s learning poverty as children have difficulty to read and comprehend a simple text at age 10.
The question on whether K-12 needs to be continued will take one more school year to find its answer.
