K TO 12 is curriculum reform that involves changes in textbooks and modules, changes in classrooms, teachers, chairs, retooling or training of teachers, etc. In any undertaking, the first year of implementation of the K to 12 has a lot of glitches and challenges.
Education Secretary Armin Luistro assured the public that there is fund allotted by the DepEd for the purchase of instructional materials which the teachers will use for their teaching. This has been implemented in 2012 to support the initial implementation of the K to 12 curriculum.
The instructional materials will not be used by the elementary and the secondary students only but also by the kindergarten teachers. These include the workbooks with worksheets, learning modules, teaching guides and manipulative materials for five year old kids. Modules and reading materials written in the mother tongue will also be provided to school teachers. An example is the module and reading materials written in Cebuano and Bicolano.
Initially, the teachers underwent training like Test of English Proficiency for Teachers (TEPT) and Process Skills Test (PST) in Science and Math to all Grades 1 and 2 public school teachers nationwide. These served as a basis for the kind of training and intervention to fully prepare the teachers for the new curriculum. In secondary, the grade level which underwent training is the grade 9.
K to 12 is a program of our government to align the Philippines with the global 12-year basic education cycle. It has ended the country’s 10-year basic education cycle, which until now is prevailing in Angola and Djibouti.
The learning materials were delivered late for the grade 7 and grade 8. This year, the grade 9 doesn’t have any textbooks or modules yet although the DepEd promised to deliver those earlier.
Not all schools have sufficient classroom and chairs for the growing population like those having their class under the trees and in tents particularly in Compostela Valley where buildings were damaged by typhoon “Pablo” and remained unbuilt up to now.
Textbooks, classrooms, teachers, chairs, and teacher training are the aspects that the Department of Education should address for the success of the K to 12 curriculum.
By: Margarita L. Salaria – Teacher III Limay National High School
