Biz group: Continue, but review, K-12

MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte administration should continue – but review – the implementation of the K-12 system, the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) said.

PBEd, a private sector-led organization advocating for quality education in the country, said a review of the K-12 program is necessary to ensure that investments in the education system would translate into a stronger Filipino workforce.

“We definitely need to continue implementing it. Just because we’re reviewing does not mean that we need to stop. Just because we’re trying to monitor its implementation does not mean that we need to stop,” PBEd executive director Love Basillote said on Monday.

“We’re finally with the rest of the world. We were one of the last three countries with a K-10 system and we’re talking about global competitiveness. We can’t go back to K-10. It’s not an option, I think if we really are to sustain the growth that we’ve been experiencing,” she added.

The review of the K-12 system would improve workforce development in the country, citing this as a possible solution to the reported rise in joblessness despite various initiatives by the government, Basillote noted.

“It would be good to participate in international testing to see where we stand. We definitely need to address resources, gaps,” she said.

“We saw that we are increasing the budget allocation (in education), but how are we spending that budget? Does that actually reach the schools that need them the most? Are we building classrooms that are enough? Are we opening up the programs that are really needed in that community?” she added.

The PBEd official said the government should come up with a workforce development plan that would address problems in joblessness, particularly the reported jobs-skills mismatch in the country.

“Workforce development is an interconnected set of solutions that aligns education and training to national competitive needs,” said Basillote.

“It is an intentional approach that brings together multiple sectors to ensure that the workforce is equipped with skills that are relevant to the economy. The objective, in the end, is to enable people to get the right jobs,” she added.

Started in the previous administration, the K-12 reformed the basic education system in the country by adding a two-year senior high school program. The first batch of senior high school students graduated earlier this year.