Are we really ready? In the past year, there has been a long argument about the effectiveness and appropriateness of the k-12 program in the Philippines. The field of education in the Philippines is currently experiencing a vast change. From the traditional educational system, the government has fully implemented the K-12 Educational Program.  In this program, there will have an additional two years in the high school, that is, Grade 11 and Grade 12. The traditional 10 years from elementary to high school will have another 2 years for high school.

There has been a public concern on whether the Philippines is ready for this vast change. Some of the educators face the dilemma on their readiness on fully implementing the program this year. Another challenge is the lack of classrooms among public high schools. For instance, there are cases in which the construction of the additional classrooms has not been yet started. Essentially, budget constraint is another challenge. For sure, if we lack funds during our traditional 10 years before, we will have lack of funds in the full implementation of K-12.

While there are these concerns, much people are more positive about this change. The government is confident that the advantages of implementing this program will be overshadowing these concerns. In this new educational program, the students will not only be well-prepared to getting a job, they will also be more focused on the specialization they want to pursue on college for it will be all set already during their senior high.

The question that boils down is: are we really ready for this vast change? The answer is that we should. The one of the hardest thing to make is the first step. And with the K-12 Program, we took the first step. We need to collaborate on implementing this change.  Educators, parents, and students should work hand-in-hand for the implementation of this program to be a successful one.  

By: Raynaldo D. Calma Jr.