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Benefits of the K-12 curriculum for Filipino students!

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The K-12 curriculum is more than just adding years to your child's schooling. Read this article to know
the benefits of a K-12 education in the Philippines.
Advertisement

A recent change in the Philippines’ educational system was implemented starting in 2011. The K-12
curriculum was signed into law back in 2013, adding three years to the country’s basic education
curriculum.

The new K-12 curriculum guide requires all Filipino students to have one year of kindergarten, six years
of elementary schooling (grades 1 to 6), four years of junior high school (grades 7 to 10), and two years
of senior high school (grades 11 to 12).

The Rationale

K-12 curriculum

The K to 12 curriculum gives students time to master basic academic skills.

Prior to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum guide, the Philippines was one of only three
countries in the world and the only one in Asia that still had only 10 years in basic education.

This has always been seen as a disadvantage for our students who are competing in an increasingly
global job market. The longer educational cycle of the K-12 curriculum is seen as critical in giving Filipino
students a higher quality of education.

Read: 15 brain-boosting food that kids should eat during exam week

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization – Innotech (SEAMEO-Innotech) found the
previous 10-year educational cycle to be congested, with a 12-year curriculum squished into 10 years.

As a result, Filipino students have trailed behind students around the world in the areas of math,
languages, and science. The new curriculum is aimed to fix that.
Go to the next page to know what the K to 12 curriculum means for Filipino students.

K-12 curriculum

The K to 12 curriculum is designed to provide a holistic education for all Filipino students.

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The K to 12 curriculum is designed to enable graduates to join the workforce right after high school, and
suitably prepare those who want to go on to higher education.

The new curriculum will also support college graduates seeking work abroad. Developed countries,
according to the Department of Education’s (DepEd) briefer, “view the 10-year education cycle as
insufficient.”

All in all, the enhanced K to 12 curriculum is designed to provide a holistic education for all. Now
decongested, it will give students ample time to master basic academic skills as well as to participate in
co-curricular and community activities.

What the K-12 curriculum means for students

The transition began in 2011, when the universal kindergarten was introduced. Starting in 2012, schools
already implemented the curriculum decongestion mentioned in the DepEd briefer.

Public schools began having half-day classes for grade one students, with the mother tongue as the
medium of instruction. Private schools also made adjustments in their own DepEd accredited curricula.

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The adaptation of the K to 12 curriculum guide means that students will graduate a bit older compared
to those who graduated under the 10-year education cycle.
Far from being disadvantageous, however, DepEd states that young adults graduating at age 18 or so will
be more prepared to take on their tertiary education.

Go to the next page to know more about the K to 12 curriculum.

K-12 curriculum

Graduates of the K to 12 curriculum will be equipped to join the workforce right away.

Remedial classes during the first year of college will no longer be needed, as the high school curriculum
will already be aligned with the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) guidelines.

The government also encourages parents to think of the K to 12 curriculum guide not as having two
extra years of high school, but as two years less of higher education.

Areas of specialization

Graduates of the new educational system will already be equipped to join the workforce right away. This
is through the help of the electives to be offered during grades 11 to 12.

The electives, or areas of specialization, will include the following:

Academics for those who wish to pursue higher studies

Technical-vocational for those who want to acquire employable skills after high school

Sports and Arts for those who are inclined in the two fields.

Below is an outline of the K to 12 basic curriculum

photo: deped.gov.ph
Change is never easy. Especially when it is a big undertaking such as the implementation of the new K-12
curriculum guide in the Philippines. It is high time, however, that improve the quality of our basic
education and our students.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MARIEL UYQUIENGCO

If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the K to 12 curriculum, please share them in
our Comment box below. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Google+ to stay up-to-date on the latest
from theAsianparent.com Philippines!

You can also read: Mga Mahahalagang Kaalaman Tungkol Sa K to 12 Program

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K12 Philippines

Articles

DepEd readies plan for K+12 program

By Tarra Quismundo

Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 04:06 am 11/21/2010

MANILA, Philippines?Girding for its planned extension of the basic education cycle from 10 to 12 years,
the Department of Education (DepEd) is decongesting the current public school curriculum to ease ?
learning fatigue??identified as a leading cause of poor performance and early dropouts among students
in public schools.
DepEd Undersecretary for Programs and Projects Yolanda Quijano said the department has sought help
from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) to study the 12-year curricula in New
South Wales (Australia), Thailand and Vietnam to serve as models for the Philippines.

Quijano said DepEd has finalized its work plan for the implementation of its K+12 (Kindergarten plus 12
years) proposal, which aims to add two years of senior high school to the current 10-year cycle in line
with international standards.

Quijano said the department will study which courses and competencies should be introduced in the
additional two years, and review items that appear redundant in the current 10-year program.

The department will be looking at the most important skills and subjects that ought to be learned by
students in junior high, and what other skills ought to be added for grades 11 and 12, where there would
be specializations, Quijano said.

She said some complicated subjects crammed into the existing curriculum will be moved to the senior
high school levels.

?They say that there are some subjects in fourth year (in science and math) that are too academic. That?
s what we will look at and maybe put that in Grade 11 (senior high school),? Quijano told the Inquirer.

DepEd hopes to usher in the first batch of senior high school entrants under the new K+12 program by
school year 2016-2017. It will be holding regional consultations on the proposal.

A major education reform effort of the Aquino administration, the K+12 proposal has been criticized as
an additional financial burden on families who can hardly afford to send their children to school.

Student groups have also protested the plan saying DepEd should instead focus on addressing perennial
shortages in classrooms, teachers, textbooks and other study materials.
Some universities in Europe and North America, however, no longer recognize a Philippine high school
diploma as adequate for admission to their schools because of its missing two years. Many other Asian
countries have already adopted the basic 12 year system.

DepEd Needs P45 B More to Subsidize Grade 11

January 6, 2012

The Department of Education (DepEd) is estimated to need as much as P45 billion in additional funds if it
will fully subsidize Grade 11 or Year 1 of the two-year senior high school to be set up under the
ambitious K (Kindergarten) +12 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) plan.

Mona Valisno, former education secretary, yesterday said DepEd should get support from Congress for
an additional P45-billion funding for the government-subsidized Grade 11 either in the 2012 or 2013
budget for some 1.5 million high school graduates in 2016 that will be the first batch to enter the first
year of senior high school.

Valisno issued an appeal as well as a challenge to all senators and congressmen in the two houses of
Congress, whether allies of President Aquino or from the political opposition, to support the
government’s move.

The program would add another two years to the current 10-year BEC which has only six years of
elementary and four years of high school, aside from the mandatory kindergarten or pre-school.

“We need to start K+12 as early as possible so we can produce high school graduates that are more
employable by the local and foreign industry,” Valisno said.

To ease the burden on the parents of the 1.5 million public school graduates that will be made to go on
to Grade 11, either in 2016 or earlier, Valisno said that the government should subsidize the two-year
senior high school, as well as encourage private colleges and universities and state universities and
colleges to convert their college classrooms to accommodate the two-year senior high school students.

“Instead of DepEd providing facilities and other resources to Grades 11 and 12 students in public schools
including hiring new teachers, it is my humble viewpoint that existing facilities in public and private
colleges and universities as well as technical vocational institutions be utilized with DepEd underwriting
the cost under a full scholarship arrangement,” Valisno said.

Valisno said that the huge funding requirement would be recouped by the government when the 1.5
million students graduate and are added to what would become a huge pool of highly skilled and well-
educated graduates that are ready to join the workforce either for jobs in local industries or overseas.

Same old problems still persist in public schools

by Alethea

http://www.pinoygigs.com/blog/tag/k-12-system-in-deped/

06/07/2011

A promising new school year opened last Monday and millions of hopeful students trooped to school in
search for better education. They meet new teachers, new class mates and new subjects. But there is
also something old that is retained. It is the same old dilemma every public school encounters on the
educational system of the Philippines.

The press reports on the same issue year by year that both students and school administrations has to
face – lack of classrooms, books, chairs, visual aids and teachers. Each administration come and
promises hefty upheaval in education but they just came to pass and nothing new is actually done. The
problem still persists. The deplorable conditions of most public schools in the country had irked many
teachers. They are now questioning the effectiveness of their teaching since the classrooms do not
provide a conducive place for learning. They have no choice but to cramp 80-100 students in a room that
is only supposed to seat 45-50 students. It is against the law to turn down students who will enrol in
public schools. So despite the overpopulation, teachers have to accommodate them.
According to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the problem lies on a government that doesn’t put
education in its top priority. The ACT stated that the present administration is more focused in the
Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program of the DSWD which hand out money directly to marginal
people.

Kindergarten is also flocked with new students as it is now a requirement before one could be admitted
in Grade 1. Many educators oppose this program because it does nothing to help solve the pressing
concerns in education such as the lack of teachers, facilities and supplies. DepEd is also planning to adapt
the K-12 system that would augment the present basic education system by additional two years. This
huge undertaking is projected to require billions of pesos to be implemented. The question now lies on
the capacity of the government to provide the necessary fund. It had failed to do something about the
present concern, how much more on this gigantic upgrading? DepEd stated that the plan is still in
consultation phase.

Related Links:

http://www.deped.gov.ph/default.asp

http://rodrigo75.wordpress.com/2011/05/21/hegemony-in-philippine-education-rejoinder-on-k-12-
challenge/

http://rodrigo75.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/k-12-challenge-to-philippine-tertiary-
education/25c5f1919330e6194629ef98a0d8-grande/

http://tacurongdeped.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/k12-education-program-of-deped/

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/71693/deped-readies-k12-curricula-for-next-year

http://thepoc.net/commentaries/14612-why-we-need-depeds-k-12-program.html
http://www.malaya.com.ph/dec13/news4.html

http://www.depedmares.com/bulletins/news/137-deped-to-detail-k-12-education-plan-on-oct-5.html

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/220124/news/nation/deped-starts-orientation-for-k-12-
education-program

K+12 program ‘absolutely essential,’ says expert

director, Unesco Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

Sheldon Shaeffer, director, Unesco Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

By Tarra Quismundo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

4:57 am 1/22/2012

MANILA, Philippines—Adding two years to the present 10-year basic education cycle is “an absolutely
essential reform” to put the country’s public education system at par with the rest of the world, an
international education expert said on Wednesday.

Sheldon Shaeffer, director at the Bureau of Education of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (Unesco) Asia Pacific, said the K+12 program (Kindergarten plus 12 years) was a necessary
reform “to make the system comparable to and competitive with other countries.”

Speaking at a lecture on school leadership at the Department of Education (DepEd), Shaeffer said a 12-
year education cycle would be “more useful to the personal needs and employment opportunities” of its
graduates.

“I actually don’t see how people can disagree with it,” said Shaeffer before an audience of top Philippine
education officials and representatives from various schools.
The flagship education program of the Aquino administration, the K+12 basic education reform plan aims
to improve the quality of Filipino high school graduates by adding two years of senior high school to the
current 10-year education curriculum.

The two additional years in senior high school are envisioned to serve as a specialization period for high
school students, whether in vocational skills, music, the arts or sports. This would give high school
graduates the option to pursue jobs with a basic education diploma or proceed to college.

The program aims to make Philippine education at par with the rest of the world, with 12 years of basic
schooling already a global standard.

According to the DepEd, only the Philippines, Angola and Djibouti have a 10-year basis schooling cycle.

Officials said the two-year shortcoming had proven problematic in the accreditation of Philippine
graduates when applying for postgraduate courses and employment overseas.

Recently, Laos added a year to its 11-year-program, Shaeffer noted.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro acknowledged that the transition to a 12-year system would be
difficult but noted that the Philippines was “already delayed” in coming up to the global standard.

“What we’re looking at now is how to implement it. In [implementing] any change, there will be difficulty
and this is what we really have to work on together. It’s not possible for change to be painless,” Luistro
said.

The DepEd started the phased implementation of K+12 in June 2011, with the institutionalized public
kindergarten program for 5-year-olds. It is set to introduce a new curriculum for Grade 1 and 1st year
high school when the school year opens in June this year.
If implemented on schedule, the full K+12 program will have its first graduates in March 2018.

The Philippines is the only remaining country in Asia that is still implementing a 10-year basic education,
according to the DepEd

The department hopes to fully implement a 12-year basic education (K12) program in the country this
year.

According to DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali, the K12 program will meet international standards
and will be the key for the graduates to have better employment opportunities.

The Philippines is still implementing an old basic education curriculum although schools are now
mandated to have Kindergarten as a requirement for students before they can start grade school.

The K12 program also adds two years in high school to the current four-year high school curriculum as
well as integrates specialized programs.

Umali reiterated that K 12 program offers a more balanced approach to learning that will enable children
to acquire lifelong learning skills.

The official further said the K12 program will help high school graduates to be equipped with work skills
that will qualify them for a job or become entrepreneurs.

A high school graduate produced by the proposed K12 program will be 18 years old and therefore legally
eligible for employment. As of the moment, 70 percent of the country’s unemployed are high school
graduates.
DepEd readies K+12 curricula for next year

By Tarra Quismundo

Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 01:28 am 10/07/2011

The Department of Education (DepEd) plan to extend the basic education course by two years is set to
take off next school year with new curricula developed for Grade 1 and 1st Year High School in
implementation of the K+12 (Kindergarten plus 12 years) program.

K+12 aims to raise the country’s basic education course to world standards and produce high school
graduates ready to be employed even without a college degree.

The DepEd started the program with a kindergarten curriculum this year, reaching out to 5-year-olds to
prepare them for entering the grades and curbing the early dropout rate.

“Voluntary kindergarten was introduced this school year to lay the groundwork for universal
kindergarten in subsequent years. The department, along with its partners (education stakeholders), has
also made considerable progress in the development of the K to 12 curriculum,” Tina Ganzon, director of
the DepEd communications unit, said in response to e-mailed questions from the Philippine Daily
Inquirer.

Restructuring

The Inquirer was not able to interview top DepEd officials because they were all out of the country.

“The DepEd is gearing up for the introduction of the new Grades 1 and 7 (1st year high school) curricula
in school year 2012-2013,” Ganzon said.
According to the DepEd plan unveiled on Oct. 5 last year, K+12, alternately called K-12 (K to 12) to
represent a continuum, would restructure the basic education system with a required kindergarten, six
years in elementary (Grades 1-6), four years of junior high school (Grades 7-10) and two years of senior
high (Grades 11-12).

Students can choose an area of specialization in the final two years, whether it be in the performing arts,
vocational training, sports, agriculture, among others.

The new curricula for Grades 2 and 8 will be introduced next in 2013. The first batch of senior high
school students will enter Grade 11 in school year 2016-2017. The DepEd aims to graduate the first batch
of 12th graders in March 2018.

Education officials continue to hold consultations with parents, students, businessmen and other
education stakeholders across the country, the DepEd said.

“Subsequent consultation sessions will be conducted in the succeeding months to provide feedback to
stakeholders on how the K to 12 leadership has addressed their concerns, and share the updated details
about the K to 12 curriculum and its implementation,” Ganzon said.
Who’s afraid of ‘K to 12’?

Bro. Armin Luistro,Secretary of DepEd

Bro.Armin Luistro,Secretary of the Department of Education

(DepEd) talks about K12 at Basic Education Program National

Summit held at Miriam College

By Perla Aragon-Choundry

Philippine Daily Inquirer

8:17 pm 1/22/2012

At the recent K to 12 (K-12) Basic Education Program National Summit held at Miriam College, top
educators sought to answer frequently asked questions on the new elementary and secondary curricula
that would mean an additional two years of study.

Organized by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), the summit discussed
funding and classroom requirements, among other issues, for the two extra years.

Aside from making kindergarten a regular feature of all public schools, K-12 also means adding Grade 7
beginning this June.

The summit was meant to explain the K-12 program to parents and pupils in its 1,345 member-schools,
and other groups to be affected by the change.

The new curriculum is in compliance with the education policy of President Aquino to improve the
quality of public education by adding two more years of basic education.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro, FSC, said education was No. 1 in the President’s campaign agenda.
He pointed out that those who were able to pay for 14 years of schooling before university were getting
into the best schools and getting the best jobs after graduation.

CEAP and Adamson University president Fr. Gregorio Banaga, CM, said the summit was not the first time
the association had tackled the program.

CEAP sat in the K-12 Steering Committee and, with the Coordinating Council for Private Education
Associations (Cocopea), organized regional consultations. Issues, concerns and recommendations of the
private education sector were then submitted to DepEd.

Member schools report

Sr. Marissa Viri, RVM, chairperson of the RVM Education Ministry Commission, showed how the 50
schools of her congregation had been adjusting their curriculum to K-12 in terms of modules, activities,
timetable, etc.

She said they wanted to make sure parents, students, businessmen, future employers and all other
stakeholders fully understood K-12.

Fr. Ely Rafael Fuentes, superintendent of Catholic schools in Jaro, Iloilo, said they included heads of
seminaries in consultation sessions. They also asked graduates about job opportunities and potential
employers in the region about manpower needs.

Dr. Edizon Fermin, the first male high school principal of Miriam College, said many private schools in the
country already had Grade 7 and various levels of preschool before kindergarten and grade school. In
this sense, they were K-12 ready.

On the question of whether K-12 was here to stay, Luistro said: “My best answer is understandable to
those with the Catholic faith. K-12 is like the reign of God. It is here but not yet here. We have an
opportunity and what we feel are the most critical answers at this point. They are neither rigid nor
perfect.”

Saying not one version of K-12 would fit all, Luistro stressed collaboration and communication with all
stakeholders.

Education Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali, head of the Technical Working Group (TWG) on Transition
Management, said, “In introducing senior high school, we must partner with other education
stakeholders.”

He cited various possibilities for implementation. Higher education institutions (HEIs), private high
schools and technical/vocational schools could fully implement and manage Grades 11-12. DepEd could
lease facilities of HEIs, private high schools and tech/voc schools. A combination of both was another
option.

Umali presented two programs for transition management. Senior high school could be introduced in
selected institutions ahead of the planned nationwide implementation in 2016-2017. Other schools
could be assessed for readiness to offer senior high school before the target date.

Affordable

As for the concern about cost, Education Undersecretary for Finance Francis Varela assured summit
participants both government and private schools could fund K-12.

He explained: “In real terms the education budget has been increasing under President Aquino, and can
meet the requirements for teachers, classrooms and finances. For fiscal year 2011, when the
administration started the budget process, DepEd got P207.2 billion, or 2.2 percent of the GDP (gross
domestic product); for 2012 the figures are P238 billion, also 2.2 percent of the GDP.”

Valera said the department intended to address both classroom and teacher requirements in two years.
But Varela also stressed that the benefits of the new program far outweighed costs. Among other things,
the additional years of schooling would increase the earning potential of the graduate.

While a graduate of a four-year high school course would earn P19,876 annually, Varela said the
graduate of a six-year course could earn P35,280, a difference of P15,404.

“Students who complete senior high school and then work will have better income opportunities and
higher income streams—the cost (of) delayed employment will be offset by these higher income
streams,” Varela said.

The additional two years of high school also meant a reduction in cost of schooling for graduates who
would seek employment afterwards, as the additional years would be free, said Varela. Those graduates
would have to pay if they enrolled in two years of college or post-secondary education.

For those seeking college degrees, Varela said it was expected the two additional high school years
would mean higher tertiary education completion rates.

Education Undersecretary for Programs and Projects Yolanda Quijano, head of the TWG on Curriculum,
gave an update on materials being prepared for the different learning areas, as well as learning resources
like teachers’ guides, activity packages, and student modules.

Ongoing activities include the production of mother tongue learning resources in eight major languages,
preparation of implementing guidelines, and finalization of the design for training of teachers and
administrators.

In closing, Luistro enjoined the schools “not to forget street children, kariton kids, our indigenous
peoples, and ‘students’ in jail.”

He asked everyone, “Let us maximize opportunities while designing responses to many challenges … We
will have to own the program … to craft and look for answers ourselves.”

K to 12 program starts taking off next year

060614-N-6501M-039Tawi Tawi, Philippines - (June 14, 2006)- A group of Filipino children gather
together for a picture expressing their happiness after having watched the U. S. Navy Showband perform
during a special concert presented at the Batu Batu Naval Base on a neighboring island near Tawi Tawi.
Members of the U.S. Navy Show Band, is attached to the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19). Mercy's
stop in Tawi Tawi is the third operational port during its humanitarian deployment to South and
Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Mercy is able to rapidly respond to a range of situations on short
notice and is capable of supporting medical and humanitarian assistance needs with special medical
equipment and a multi-specialized medical team, providing a range of services ashore as well as aboard
the ship. The medical staff is augmented with an assistance crew, many of whom are part of non-
governmental organizations that have significant medical capabilities.U.S. Navy photo by Chief
Photographer's Mate Edward G. Martens (RELEASED)

By Ashzel Hachero

GMA News

03/08/2012

Education Secretary Armin Luistro yesterday said the Department of Education (DepEd) will jumpstart
the gradual implementation of the K to 12 (K-12) program by next school year.

Luistro made the disclosure in a forum before officials of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

The K-12 program is designed to add two more years to the 10-year basic education curriculum.

Luistro said the curriculum for incoming Grade 1 pupils and the graduating Grade 6 students will be the
initial focus in the school year 2012-2013.

Based on the program, graduating Grade 6 students would undergo Grade 7 which would be the first
level of the four-year junior high school before proceeding to another two-year level secondary
education which will be known as senior high school.

The DepEd chief said the incoming Grade 2 up to Grade 6 students in primary level as well as the second
year and fourth year students in secondary level will still use the old curriculum prior to the full
implementation of K-12 program by school year 2016- 2017.
He said around P31 billion has been added to the current P207-billion annual budget to fund the
implementation of the curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 7 or the first year junior high school of the K-12
program.

Luistro called on the parents of incoming Grade 1 pupils well as graduating Grade 6 students to register
on January 28 next year so the DepEd will be guided on the number of the students.

Luistro said the K-12 program will allow specializations in science and technology, music and arts,
agriculture and fisheries, sports, business and entrepreneurship and subjects for advanced placements.

Luistro said the K-12 program will not sidetrack efforts addressing shortages of lack of classrooms,
textbooks, teachers and other facilities.

The Philippines is the remaining Asean-member practicing the 10-year basic education system.

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Improving education in the Philippines

Sheith Khidhir
24 November 2018

Students attend a flag raising ceremony before singing the national anthem at a government school in
Manila. (Jay Directo / AFP Photo)

The research arm of Switzerland-based business school International Institute for Management
Development (IMD) recently conducted a survey on the talent competitiveness of 66 countries around
the world. While countries like Malaysia and Indonesia managed to move up in the IMD World
Competitiveness’ World Talent Ranking 2018, several countries in Asia also dropped a few places. The
most significant drop, however, was in the Philippines.

The Philippines dropped a total of 10 places this year to 55th, earning an overall score of only 42.11 out
of 100 points. In 2017, Philippines was placed 45th.

In order to understand how the Philippines experienced such a huge drop in ranking, it’s important to
look at what the study uses for its indicators.

The World Talent Ranking looks at three main factors when determining how to rank a country: The
investment and development factor, which measures resources used to cultivate homegrown human
capital; the appeal factor, which evaluates the extent to which a country attracts and retains foreign and
local talent; and the readiness factor, which looks at the quality of skills and competencies of a country’s
labour force.

While a simple example of the investment and development factor would be whether a country is able
to provide education to its citizens, the readiness factor seems to indicate that it is also important to look
at the quality of the education provided. This, according to the study, is where countries like the
Philippines fall short.

Quality of education
“This change is driven by a marked deterioration in every criterion related to the business community’s
perceptions on the quality of education, as well as a decline in labour force quality,” the report
explained.

For the three factors, the Philippines went from 34th to 38th for appeal, and actually climbed from 63rd
to 62nd for investment and development. There was, however, a sharp drop for readiness where the
country went from 11th to 37th.

Source: IMD World Competitiveness Center

The IMD World Competitiveness Center’s director Arturo Bris told media that the Philippines’ labour
force is not as equipped with skills that firms are looking for.

He acknowledged that it was true that the Philippines was making progress in managing its talent pool
and is, in fact, one of only two countries in Southeast Asia along with Malaysia which has improved the
government investment in education as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

“However, in 2018, The Philippines witnessed a deterioration of its ability to provide the economy with
the skills needed, which points to a mismatch between school curriculums and the demands of
companies,” he said.

But it isn’t just a Swiss business school that thinks the Philippines needs to improve quality of education.
In June, local media there reported the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) as saying that while the
state of education nationwide has progressed in terms of accessibility, it still has a long way to go when it
comes to delivery of quality learning for the success of every learner.

PBEd executive director Love Basillote said this can be attributed to many factors such as prevalence of
malnutrition and shortage of appropriate learning tools, adding that many college graduates are not
work-ready due to a lack of socio-emotional skills.
“Our recommendation is we focus on learning by starting early, monitoring learning, raising
accountability and aligning actors,” she said, also suggesting that the country participate consistently in
international learning assessments to make Filipino learners and graduates globally competitive.

Meanwhile, the World Talent Ranking 2018 cited the country’s top weaknesses in the areas of total
public expenditure on education, pupil-teacher ratio in primary and secondary schools, and
remuneration in service professions and labour force growth.

Upgrading digital skills

The World Economic Forum (WEF) head of Asia Pacific and Member of the Executive Committee Justin
Wood noted that Industry 4.0, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, was unfolding at
accelerating speed and changing the skills that workers will need for the jobs of the future.

On 19 November, a coalition of major technology companies pledged to develop digital skills for the
ASEAN workforce. Being part of the WEF’s Digital ASEAN initiative, the pledge aims to train some 20
million people in Southeast Asia by 2020, especially those working in small and medium-size enterprises
(SMEs).

The move is most welcomed especially due to the threat of huge job displacement across the region.
Now, following results from the World Talent Ranking 2018, it seems that this initiative would be much
needed in the Philippines as well.

However, the Philippines must understand that the pledge will only go so far in ensuring that it has the
right workforce for the new skills demands of companies. Improving the quality of education in the
country is still critical.

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