Education as they say is a pass for a better future. It equips us to be a well prepared citizen of our country. It prepares us with necessary knowledge and skill that we need. Indeed it is the root of causes that our country is facing. If the system of education in our country fits the needs of the citizen, then problems may be reduced. It is the top priority of our government ever since. With this, the government implemented a new system of education that is parallel with the system all over the world, the K-12 program of the Department of Education. Many of us will think is it really the solution to the educational problem in our country? Is there a big difference between the former curriculum and the K to12 program? Will it help us to relieve the economic situation of our land?

K to 12 stands for Kindergarten plus 12 years of elementary and secondary education. The six year is for primary schooling, while the four years will be allotted for Junior High School (JHS) and the remaining two is years if for Senior High School (SHS). It is Bro. Armin Luistro, DepEd Secretary, who implemented the said curriculum. This program aims to develop not only students’ knowledge but also their skills which are important to become globally competitive citizens. They implemented the said program because ten-year educational is congested. It is not enough to acquire the needed knowledge and skills students will use on the future. As a result high school graduates are not prepared for employment, or even higher education. Shortage of time on our curriculum is a disadvantage to our professional outside the country. They still need to get additional year of study for them to be employed.

But are there problems that they might encounter during the implementation of the said curriculum? Yes of course. According to a study (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), longer study doesn’t necessarily result to a better performance of the student. Another problem that we can encounter is that additional years mean additional expenses for the parents. Number one problem on our education is the increasing number of drop outs because most of them were not able to attend schools due to financial reason. Because of this, possible that more drop outs will be recorded during the implementation of this curriculum. Another problem is that the implementation of the said curriculum is rushed. Many are against the immediate implementation of the curriculum if not publicly funded. Many indigent families were not able to reach secondary school, therefore the curriculum isn’t tested. Last problem that we see is the numerous curriculum Department of Education is implementing for consecutive years which might result as a failure just like the previous reforms.

But the challenge to us especially the government is to address the said problems that critiques are looking for the development of the said system. They must first look at the pros and cons of the implementation. It must also make clear that a longer education cycle would be useless without proper educational system. It is not the quantity that we are looking here but the improvement of the QUALITY of education in our country and we are hoping that K to 12 is the answer to those problems.

By: Mark P. Manimbo | T-III | Mariveles National Highschool Poblacion