Blog

Column

CHALLENGE

 Aida Mae P. Magno

Why does the Philippines need the K to 12 Educational System?

Filipinos are known to be competitive in the international community. While this may be true, our current education system hinders us in becoming more competitive among other countries.

Starting the school year  2012-2013, the current education system of the Philippines will be enhanced from the 10-years of basic education into 12-years through the program called the K to 12 Educational Plan of the Department of Education.

The implementation of the K to 12 education plan in the Philippines Basic Education Curriculum is the key to our nation’s development. Though the government will face many problems in the long run of the implementation of the program, there really is a need to implement it because the enhancement of the quality of our education is very urgent and critical.

Here are some of the good reasons not to disagree with K to 12 education plan in the Philippines according to Isagani Cruz in one of his columns in local newspaper:

If K to 12 will be implemented, students will be able to get sufficient instructional time to do subject-related tasks which make them more prepared and well- trained on that subject area. On the other hand, if we remain on the system, Filipino students would continually get low achievement scores. For instance, international test results revealed that we often come at the tail end in the examinations compared to the other countries.

Another good reason why we should support K to 12 is that the graduates of this program will be more prepared to enter the labor force. As we all noticed, high school graduates of the current curriculum are not yet competent and well-equipped with the skills needed in the workplaces. In addition, most high school graduates are not yet reaching the legal age of 18. With the new curriculum, senior high school students can choose a field that they are good at and that they are interested in. As a result, they will be equipped with the skills needed for a specific job even without a college degree. At the age of 18, the age when they graduate from high school, they will be employable and competitive already. Thus, adding up to the nation’s manpower.

Finally, with the K to 12, Filipino graduates will be automatically recognized as professionals abroad because we are following the international education standard as practiced by all nations.  There will be no need to study again and spend more money in order to qualify to their standards. With this, Filipino professionals who aspire to work abroad will not find a hard time in getting jobs in line with their chosen field and will be able to help their families more in the Philippines as well as the country’s economy with their remittances, property buying, and creation businesses.

Filipinos are known to be competitive in the international community. While this may be true, our current education system hinders us in becoming more competitive among other countries. The K-12 education plan offers a great solution to that problem. However, it is undeniable that there seems to be problems arising as we implement the program such as lack of government budget, classrooms and school supplies as well as teachers. But, if we focus on the long-term effect of K to 12, we can conclude that it is very beneficial to us Filipinos. Therefore, we must have the strong will in supporting K to 12 Educational Plan for the betterment of our education system and economy. Remember, if we want change in our society, we must start it with our educational system.