On May 15, 2013 the RA 10533 also known as “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013” was approved and it took effect on June 8, 2013. The implementation of the said law changed the educational system of the Philippines.
According to former President Benigno S. Aquino III, the K-12 program aims to advance the competencies of Filipino graduates to enable them to stand par with global practices and remain equipped with relevant skills and knowledge in their profession. The K-12 curriculum faces a lot of questions during its first chapter. What is K-12? What is senior high school? What are the subjects to be offered? Now, these questions are already answered. So what now?
Before the implementation of K-12 curriculum, Philippines is the last country in Asia to implement K-12. This primarily shows the necessity to level up the educational system of our country. The first phase of the new curriculum bites the bullet of the challenges in our educational system. Filipinos are known as competitive in the international community in terms of skills and academics. Education system of the country should not deter the youth to be global competitive in the international arena.
The years of research, planning, and consultation with regard to elevating the standards of our educational system is now the K-12 curriculum. Senior High School is the last two years of the K-12 program, namely Grade 11 and 12. The different tracks of senior high school are academic, sports, arts and design, and technical vocational livelihood. Under these tracks are the different strands, for the academic: Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS), General Academic Strand (GAS). For technical vocational livelihood track: Home Economics (HE), Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Industrial Arts and Agri-Fishery Arts. With these provided options, the senior high school students chose the track and strand of their personal choice.
The learners are the center of the K-12 curriculum. It recognizes the characteristics of the learners; it will also address their needs. The new curriculum will equip the students the skills and abilities that they need after graduating high school. The enhanced curriculum will give the students the opportunities to widen their knowledge, to be prepared to join the labor force of the country, to fettle the students to cope with the global standards of skills required on the international community,and to fit the students for higher education.
There are still some problems existing with regard to the implementation of K-12 curriculum. There are still more challenges to be faced. Some may criticize; some may approve the current situation of our education system. Apart from the problems and criticisms, we should instill to our minds the fact that it is a must to elevate the country’s education system.
Let us not hinder the opportunities of the youth to be globally competitive. Let us ponder the chances of success of the Filipino youth on the international arena.
By: Rosa May D. Carandan | LPT
