Implementation of K+12 Basic Education Curriculum: The Luck on the 13th

     Days and nights of strict deliberation on the K+12 basic education curriculum of the Department of Education (DepEd) is now put to an end as Education Secretary Armin Luistro confirmed that a curriculum for Grade 7 had been created.

   The said program will revise the current 10-year basic education upgrading it to 12 years plus kindergarten making it a total of 13 years. the other factors will remain still, but the first four years in high school will be marked as junior high (Grade 7 to Grade 10), and the additional two years will compose every student’s senior high school. Luckily, K+12 is now ready for implementation.

    “In 2012, we will begin using the new curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 7,” Luistro said in a forum at the Heritage Hotel, December 13.

    Philippines is one of the two remaining countries in Asia which is still using the obsolete 10-year education format.

  This breakthrough in our education system will give the opportunity to our learners to acquire more knowledge especially in vocational and technical skills which they can use to compete and will help them to be a brawler in the global arena.

    This issue on the K+12 program of the Education Department drew the different concerns of various social institutions. Some opposed for according to them it might cause the government a lot. They’re insisting that the government cannot manage the growing concerns of the education sector like the growing numbers of classroom insufficiency and deficiency on the teaching force. How much more if they will add two more years? This will only lead to a larger budget deficit resulting to a greater burden to the country’s economy. Kabataan Partylist together with their allies even filled the streets of Metro Manila as a sign of protest just to obstruct the path of the said program. Nonetheless, all of these actions did not impede Luistro’s vision of greater education for the Filipino. He did not stop in pursuing this ideal vision of him though the challenge of entering a stiff path of arguments and ear-cracking rants placed large loads.

      Yes, this might require larger budget but let us look on its brighter side.

     We now have the chaotic principle of “Hello Jobless World” after graduation. A collaborative effort from the different government agencies is the only way to counterattack the increasing number of unemployment and underemployment in the country. Department of Labor and Employment’s alternative programs and actions are not enough to compensate the increasing number of unemployed. This factor will surely put a scar on our development and will trigger the economic growth to slow down. All of these can be hindered if the government will be able to utilize the additional two years of K+12. This will provide a two-year gap in the production of new college graduates that might again add to the percentile score of unemployment. This two-year gap should be the best time for the government to build more jobs for jobless Filipinos. More jobs, more taxpayers, meaning more funds for the government to utilize in reaching the country’s complete progress.

      This is no time for street protest; it is for the education of our youth and can lead us to a better level. In every development some factors should be dropped and must face consequences; in fact, change is inevitable. Let us all be optimistic and try our luck on the 13^th.

Contributor: descendant – a student from Batangas