In review: K to 12 program

School year 2012-2013 marked the first year of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) implementation of the K to 12 (Kinder to Grade 12) program.

The current education system requires students to take ten years of primary and secondary education, divided into six and four years respectively.

The new program has expanded the time table by two years. Under the new timetable, there still remains six years of primary education, with four years of junior high school serving as grades 7 -10 and two years of senior high school that would count as grades 11 – 12.

The transition, though quick, was introduced in school year 2011-2012 where all Philippine primary schools adopted the grade one to seven curriculum. The next transition is set to occur three years from now in school year 2016-2017,when the grade 11 and 12 policy would take effect. If schools follow the implementation schedule, DepEd estimates that the first batch of students to fully undergo the K to 12 education program will graduate in 2024.

The change from the 10 year education to a 12 year education is influenced by the world standard in recognizing education attainment. Moreover, it is also in line with the European Union’s Bologna Process and the United States’ Washington Accord, which dictate that, for certain employment opportunities, applicants must at least have 12 years of primary and secondary schooling.

The move to push for the K to 12 program has been seen as the country’s initiative to reach a global standard in providing higher value services since aside from the Philippines, only two other countries in the world (Angola and Djibouti) continue to implement the 10 year education before college.

The additional two years (grades 11-12) will focus more on subjects like math, science and language. Specialized subjects will also be offered to cater to the interests of students, which will be determined through several assessments.

One of the many strong arguments against the K to 12 program is the additional cost to families, making education a benefit rather than a right. DepEd, however, has reiterated that the K to 12 would be offered for free in public schools and the real additional cost would be at the expense of DepEd’s budget in training teachers for the specialized courses.

With the next step of the implementation approaching in 2016, universities and colleges will find themselves lacking enrolees. DepEd proposed a partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the different universities and colleges to use their facilities and their faculty to help with the transition of the specialized subjects in grades 11 and 12.