Officials optimistic over K to 12 Program

CEBU, Philippines - Enjoyable, easily understood lessons using the language spoken at home, less contact time, and interactive.

These are just some of the features of the new curriculum for Grade 1 and first year high school students that the Department of Education will implement starting June 2012 under the K to 12 basic education reform program.

In a press statement furnished to The Freeman, Education Secretary Armin A. Luistro said the new curriculum is centered more on the students rather on the traditional way of teaching which is focused on the teacher.

As Deped's grade 1 and first year high school curriculum will debut this coming school year, Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian called on the local government units in the country to invest more funds on the program which promotes early childhood education, in time for the Aquino administration’s implementation of the K to 12 program.

Mayor Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian, in his recent visit to Cebu, said that early childhood care and development plays a very important role in building the children’s foundation adding, that no price is steep enough when it comes to education which he said is the one crucial key in combating poverty.

Gatchalian said that we owe it to our children to give them the best quality education there is to assure their future and become productive citizens.

The Ten Outstanding Young Men awardee said that children with good foundation in their early childhood education will help them step into the advanced curriculum in their primary education.

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, in a separate statement, said that DepEd’s K to 12 program will help provide opportunities for gainful employment after graduation.

The vice president said that the new curriculum will enable students to better cope with their lessons and also provide schools with flexibility to allow students to choose electives or specializations that suit their interests.

“The Philippines is the only remaining country in Asia with a 10-year basic education program and it is high time that our education program be on par with that of other countries,” Binay added.

DepEd has jumpstarted the K to 12 program last year when it introduced the universal kindergarten program in all public schools.

K to 12, as envisioned by DepEd, aims to produce high school graduates who have the competency to land a job and to be better prepared for college education and global opportunities.

DepEd’s move is part of the education reform program under the Aquino administration which seeks to produce high school graduates who are equipped with skills for the world of work, have better needed competencies for college education and ready for global opportunities.

Under the K to 12 program, the public school system will have kinder, which started in School Year 2011, six years in elementary, four years in junior high school, and two more years for senior high school where students will have more time to sharpen their employable skills.  

The new curriculum for Grade 1 will only require pupils to go to school for half a day.

Roy Guarin, ALS Coordinator, said the K to 12 program may have a direct impact on the Alternative Learning System (ALS).

Guarin explained that although the K to 12 Program’s primary concern is the formal school system, it is a sort of a “package deal,” which means that all bureaus within DepEd will work to support the program.

“So yung ibang individuals na hindi magsa-succeed sa K+12, handang-handang saluhin ng ALS,” Guarin said.

Guarin is confident that they can cope up with their clientele, most of them out of school youth and high school dropouts, which have increased in through the years.

He said that programs within ALS use a contracting scheme with qualified education service providers. Guarin added that their manpower does not come exclusively from DepEd. He said that Local Government Units also help as well as NGOs who promote ALS in their respective areas.

Last Friday, 1, 231 students completed the ALS program both in elementary and secondary level. Of the said number, 1,088 graduated from the secondary level while 143 completed the elementary ALS program. Two of these were already senior citizens.

ALS is a free education program implemented by DepEd under the Bureau of Alternative Learning System. Students under the program have to attend 10 months of school or 800 hours of classroom instruction, however, it is still up to the availability of the student’s schedule. (FREEMAN)