K-12 review results out next month

MANILA, Philippines — Results of the review of the K-12 basic education program may be released next month, according to the Department of Education.

DepEd Undersecretary for curriculum and instruction Diosdado San Antonio said the review, implemented as part of efforts to improve the quality of education in the country, will be available in March.

A transition curriculum could also be implemented as early as next school year that will begin in June, he added.

The DepEd maintained that joining international assessments is needed to see the full picture of the situation of the country’s education system.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones said this in context of the recent Program for International Students Assessment (PISA), which showed the Philippines lagging behind 79 other countries that joined the triennial assessment. 

“If we introduce reforms, it will not necessarily be because we want to raise our rankings in PISA, it is because we care about the future of our 27.2 million learners and the future of this country,” she said.

“We should not fall into a trap of implementing special programs in order to rank highly,” added the secretary.

Briones said that international assessments are useful “because we see ourselves in the mirror of global standards.”

Amid the PISA results, the DepEd launched an initiative called Sulong EduKalidad, which would consolidate efforts to improve the quality of education.

It would focus on curriculum review; improvement of learning facilities; upskilling of teachers and school heads; and engagement of different sectors.

Briones also met with officials and teachers of top performing public schools in PISA to gain additional insights on their best practices and further contribute in enhancing the curriculum.      

“The (top performing schools) are not all in Metro Manila, you have in Baguio, in the Visayas, you have in Bicol and Mindanao. In spite of all the constraints, they are performing well. There must be something happening where they are and we want to learn from them,” she said.