Duterte backtracks: K-12 beneficial

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte had a change of heart on the controversial K-12 program. He now believes that the change in the educational curriculum would benefit students. 

Duterte was previously opposed to the program, saying the Department of Education (DepEd) may not be prepared to implement it due to limited resources. He previously said that senior high school should only be optional.

Duterte, however, changed his mind after talking to some DepEd personnel.

“I was against it early on when it was being implemented, but some of the bright guys at the Department of Education came to see me here in Davao,” he said.   

“(They) explained to me how we are falling behind our neighbors in this global world. If you notice, most of the Chinese are bright in Math while Filipinos are bright in bluffing,” he said in jest. 

The K-12 covers 13 years of basic education and will also revise the general college curriculum by removing some subjects and transferring them to the senior high school curricula.

According to its supporters, the program is necessary because the Philippines is the last country in Asia and one of only three countries worldwide with a 10-year pre-university cycle. They say this leads to students with a half-baked education. 

Critics of the program, however, believe the program goes against constitutional provisions on national language, Philippine culture, nationalist education and labor policy. They also claimed that the K-12 program would threaten the job security of 85,000 college professors and staff.