It’s no secret that primary education in the Philippines has been of poor quality. This is particularly true for public education. The usual problems are very well-known. There is a staggering lack of enough classrooms to accommodate all pupils. There are not enough teachers to teach all the students. Lack of funds means poor quality facilities, books, etc. Teachers are not fully equipped to teach due to lack of training. Teachers are underpaid and underappreciated.
All these things add up to a whole big problem for basic education of Filipino kids.
The new program by the Department of Education known as K to 12 is aimed at resolving this very problem of quality. But when K to 12 is spoken about, the emphasis is put on the additional years. This causes people to question why such a program is being introduced in the first place. They argue that the length of time is a secondary issue that can wait after all other concerns are addressed first. It’s an argument that makes a lot of sense. Why would you want to do something that can potentially aggravate the situation? Why not improve the current 10-year basic education first?
I think, while the points raised are valid, K to 12 is still the correct approach. First of all, we know and acknowledge that additional years are necessary because there is a growing perception that ours is a truncated lousy primary schooling. We ought to work on this problem and work on them as soon as we can.
The government, in beginning the K to 12 program this year, will face the most pressing preparation problems when Grade 7 students of today starts entering Grade 11. This means they still have four more years to work on it. In other words, the government has ample time to do what’s needed. Not aiming for a resolution now would just kick the can down the road.
This new project to improve the quality of basic education is also important because it mobilizes the people to work on a common goal. Both the government and society will benefit from a concerted effort which will make education better for everyone.
Having said all these, we cannot deny that not everyone will be convinced. So I believe the government has miscalculated the way this program ought to be sold to the public. I think educators need to highlight the tremendous necessity of K to 12 not because it makes education longer but because it improves the quality of education for Filipino children. This program to improve education has never been done with as great effort and resources. Now is the time to support this project because the more we delay the more time we waste.
Our kids are our future so it makes sense to say that our future depends on how we can pull this off.
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