1he 8CS (whlch ls baslcally Lhe slde of Lhe governmenL well

heeled and arLlculaLe leaders from Lhe academe Lhe buslness

communlLy and Lhe medla)
1 Lnhanclng Lhe quallLy of baslc educaLlon ln Lhe hlllpplnes
ls urgenL and crlLlcal"
2 1he poor quallLy of baslc educaLlon ls reflecLed ln Lhe low
achlevemenL scores of llllplno sLudenLs Cne reason ls LhaL
sLudenLs do noL geL adequaLe lnsLrucLlonal Llme or Llme on
Lask"
3 lnLernaLlonal LesL resulLs conslsLenLly show llllplno
sLudenLs lagglng way behlnd pracLlcally everybody else ln Lhe
world ln Lhe 2008 maLhemaLlcs exam for example we came
ln dead lasL
4 1he congesLed currlculum parLly explalns Lhe presenL
sLaLe of educaLlon" 1welve years of conLenL are crammed
lnLo Len years
3 1hls quallLy of educaLlon ls reflecLed ln Lhe lnadequaLe
preparaLlon of hlgh school graduaLes for Lhe world of work or
enLrepreneurshlp or hlgher educaLlon" lf Len years were
adequaLe how come employers do noL hlre fresh hlgh school
graduaLes? Pow come mosL hlgh school graduaLes flunk Lhe
uCA1?
6 MosL graduaLes are Loo young Lo enLer Lhe labor force"
Slnce mosL chlldren sLarL Crade 1 when Lhey are 6 years old
Lhey do noL reach Lhe legal employable age of 18 when Lhey
graduaLe from hlgh school Loday
7 1he currenL sysLem also relnforces Lhe mlspercepLlon LhaL
baslc educaLlon ls [usL a preparaLory sLep for hlgher
educaLlon" Why prlorlLlze Lhe mlnorlLy of hlgh school
graduaLes LhaL go Lo college?
8 1he shorL duraLlon of Lhe baslc educaLlon program also
puLs Lhe mllllons of overseas llllplno workers (ClWs)
especlally Lhe professlonals and Lhose who lnLend Lo sLudy
abroad aL a dlsadvanLage Cur graduaLes are noL
auLomaLlcally recognlzed as professlonals abroad" 1he besL
examples are our englneerlng graduaLes who are
condemned Lo lnLernaLlonal [obs noL beflLLlng Lhelr
professlonal sLaLus due Lo our noL havlng a 12year baslc
educaLlon cycle
9 1he shorL baslc educaLlon program affecLs Lhe human
developmenL of Lhe llllplno chlldren" lf we belleve LhaL 17
yearold hlgh school graduaLes are emoLlonally
psychologlcally and lnLellecLually maLure why do we requlre
Lhem Lo geL parenLal consenL before Lhey geL marrled?
1he CCnS (whlch are baslcally Lhe madlang people whose
pockeLbooks would be adversely lmpacLed by Lhe proposed
addlLlonal 2 years of baslc educaLlon)
1 arenLs have Lo shell ouL more money (for LransporLaLlon
and food) for Lhe educaLlon of Lhelr chlldren
2 1he governmenL does noL have Lhe money Lo pay for Lwo
more years of free educaLlon slnce lL does noL even have Lhe
money Lo fully supporL Loday's Len years uepLd musL flrsL
solve Lhe lack of classrooms furnlLure and equlpmenL
quallfled Leachers and errorfree LexLbooks
3 We can do ln Len years whaL everyone else ln Lhe world
Lakes 12 years Lo do Why do we have Lo follow whaL Lhe resL
of Lhe world ls dolng? We are beLLer Lhan all of Lhem
llllplnos rlghL now are accepLed ln presLlglous graduaLe
schools ln Lhe world even wlLh only Len years of baslc
educaLlon
4 As far as Lhe currlculum ls concerned uepLd should flx Lhe
currenL sub[ecLs lnsLead of addlng new ones 1he problem ls
Lhe conLenL noL Lhe lengLh of baslc educaLlon As an edlLorlal
puL lL we need Lo have beLLer educaLlon noL more
educaLlon
3 A hlgh school dlploma wlll noL geL anybody anywhere
because buslness flrms wlll noL hlre fresh hlgh school
graduaLes
6 Lvery famlly dreams of havlng a chlld graduaLe from
college
7 Whlle sLudenLs are sLuck ln Crades 11 and 12 colleges and
unlverslLles wlll have no freshmen for Lwo years 1hls wlll
spell flnanclal dlsasLer for many prlvaLe Plgher LducaLlon
lnsLlLuLlons (PLls)
8 1he dropouL raLe wlll lncrease because of Lhe Lwo exLra
years
1he governmenL has noL yeL shown Lhe argumenLs of Lhe
opposlLlon Lo be fallaclous" wrlLes Cruz
Cn Lhe oLher hand Cruz characLerlzes Lhe opposlLlon (anLl) as
belng very vocal alrlng lLs argumenLs noL only ln newspapers
on radlo and on Lelevlslon buL even ln Lhe parllamenL of Lhe
sLreeLs"
As of Lhls wrlLlng" Cruz wrlLes l have noL heard Lhe
opposlLlon rebuL Lhe argumenLs of Lhe governmenL ln facL as
far as l can see Lhey have refused Lo even llsLen Lo Lhe
governmenL"
Slnce Lhls ls a publlc debaLe Cruz conLends LhaL we have Lo
move from consLrucLlve speeches Lo rebuLLal"
l Lhlnk we really don'L have a compelllng need Lo llsLen Lo
rebuLLals Lnough yakeLy yak already! WhaL we need are
ob[ecLlve acLual (emplrlcal) cosLbeneflL and pedagoglcal
sLudles Lo supporL or debunk Lhe clalms of elLher slde
1he governmenL has noL yeL shown Lhe argumenLs of Lhe
opposlLlon Lo be fallaclous lL ls Lrue LhaL when asked abouL
Lhe lssue durlng hls 100day Lown hall meeLlng resldenL
Aqulno menLloned Lhe economlc beneflLs of Lhe plan
parLlcularly lLs expecLed conLrlbuLlon of roughly Lwo percenL
Lo Cu As of Lhls wrlLlng however Lhe governmenL ls sLlll
focuslng largely on havlng lLs argumenLs undersLood by Lhe
publlc
1he opposlLlon has been very vocal alrlng lLs argumenLs noL
only ln newspapers on radlo and on Lelevlslon buL even ln
Lhe parllamenL of Lhe sLreeLs As of Lhls wrlLlng however l
have noL heard Lhe opposlLlon rebuL Lhe argumenLs of Lhe
governmenL ln facL as far as l can see Lhey have refused Lo
even llsLen Lo Lhe governmenL
Slnce Lhls ls a publlc debaLe we have Lo move from
consLrucLlve speeches Lo rebuLLal nexL week l shall sLarL
examlnlng Lhe argumenLs of boLh sldes Lo see lf Lhey are
reasonable (1o be conLlnued)
1LACPlnC 1l Cl 1PL WLLk Pave a plan buL be wllllng Lo
Lrash lL" 1hls advlce from Murlah Summer ls supposed Lo be
abouL Leachlng language Lo Lwoyearolds buL lL also applles
Lo Leachlng any sub[ecL Lo adolescenLs and adulLs

1he problem abouL Lhe presenL currlculum ln squeezlng 12
years of baslc educaLlon lnLo [usL 10 ls LhaL sLudenLs are
overloaded wlLh sub[ecLs
WlLhouL even havlng Lo go lnslde a classroom Lhe ordlnary
observer can already see Lhls from Lhe overslzed bags LhaL
sLudenLs have Lo lug everyday fllled wlLh books and oLher
learnlng maLerlals
As a parenL l have seen LhaL sLudenLs are overburdened wlLh
havlng Lo sLudy so many sub[ecLs noL Lo menLlon pro[ecLs
and exLracurrlcular acLlvlLles
Cne consequence ls LhaL Lhe ordlnary school day leaves our
klds exhausLed wlLh llLLle Llme for play and soclallzlng aL
school 1hls leads Lo Lhe excluslon of learnlng soclal skllls
whlch ls an essenLlal parL of growlng up
1he maln ob[ecLlon of parenLs agalnsL Lhe k12 ls more
economlc Lhan anyLhlng else arenLs fear Lhe exLra years wlll
resulL ln more expenses Lo be shouldered 1hey mlss Lhe
polnL abouL Lhe proposed currlculum leadlng Lo lmproved
learnlng for Lhelr chlldren
1hls wlll surely beneflL Lhe ma[orlLy of Lhe llllplno who are
unable Lo send Lhelr chlldren Lo college due Lo flnanclal
consLralnLs lf Lhe governmenL wlll be able Lo regulaLe Lhe
LulLlon fees aL a level aL par wlLh Lhe prevlous 10 yr
educaLlonal sysLem Lhen well and good lL wlll surely make
even Lhe PS graduaLes equally compeLlLlve ln Lhe markeL
place
1he enhanced k12 program or Lhe ueparLmenL of
LducaLlon's (uepLd) proposal Lo overhaul Lhe baslc and
secondary educaLlon currlculum by addlng Lwo more years Lo
Lhe sysLem ls arguably one of Lhe mosL drasLlc and
conLroverslal programs of Lhe Aqulno admlnlsLraLlon
1he program ls proposed Lo sLarL ln school year 20122013
for Crade 1 and flrsL year hlgh school sLudenLs wlLh Lhe LargeL
of full lmplemenLaLlon by S? 20182019
k12 has been meL wlLh crlLlclsm from youLh and sLudenL
groups Leachers parenLs and Lhe academlc communlLy 1he
uepLd for lLs parL appears deLermlned Lo enacL Lhe program
wlLh lLs proposed budgeL caLerlng mosLly Lo preparlng Lhe
grounds for lLs evenLual lmplemenLaLlon
1he uepLd argues LhaL Lhe k12 program wlll be Lhe soluLlon
Lo yearly baslc educaLlon woes and Lhe deLerloraLlng quallLy
of educaLlon CrlLlcs however counLeracL LhaL Lhe educaLlon
crlsls needs Lo be addressed more fundamenLally and addlng
more school years would only exacerbaLe Lhe slLuaLlon
ulssecLlng k12
1he k12 model ls an educaLlonal sysLem for baslc and
secondary educaLlon paLLerned afLer Lhe unlLed SLaLes
Canada and some parLs of AusLralla 1he currenL baslc
educaLlon sysLem ls also an archeLype of Amerlcan schoollng
buL wlLh a 10year cycle
uepLd reasons LhaL lL ls hlgh Llme Lo adopL a k12 sysLem
aLLrlbuLlng Lhe low achlevemenL scores and poor quallLy of
baslc educaLlon Lo Lhe presenL school seLup lollowlng wlde
proLesLs over Lhe proposal Lhe deparLmenL released lLs
offlclal poslLlon defendlng k12
8elow are Lhe maln argumenLs and correspondlng counLer
argumenLs from crlLlcs
1 1he k12 wlll solve Lhe annual growlng number of ouLof
school youLh SLudenLs and parenLs however complaln LhaL lL
would be an added burden Lo poor famllles
Whlle publlc educaLlon ls free a pollLlcal youLh group
esLlmaLes LhaL a sLudenL would sLlll need an average of
20000 per school year Lo cover LransporLaLlon food school
supplles and oLher schoollng expenses
Also based on Lhe laLesL lamlly lncome and LxpendlLure
Survey famllles prlorlLlze spendlng for food and oLher baslc
needs over Lhelr chlldren's school needs 1wo more years for
baslc educaLlon would lnevlLably LranslaLe Lo hlgher dropouL
raLe
2 1he k12 wlll address low achlevemenL scores and poor
academlc performance of elemenLary and hlgh school
sLudenLs uepLd says LhaL Lhe poor quallLy of baslc educaLlon
ls reflecLed ln Lhe low achlevemenL scores of sLudenLs
8esulLs of Lhe 1lMSS (1rends ln lnLernaLlonal MaLhemaLlcs
and Sclence SLudy) however negaLe Lhe connecLlon of Lhe
number of years Lo Lhe performance of sLudenLs
Accordlng Lo resulLs of Lhe 1lMSS Lhe lengLh of schoollng
does noL necessarlly mean beLLer scores ln facL some
counLrles wlLh Lhe same or shorLer school cycle garnered Lhe
hlghesL scores whlle Lhose lmplemenLlng Lhe k12 model or
more years of schoollng goL lower scores
Accordlng Lo a sLudy released by former uepuLy LducaLlon
MlnlsLer Abraham l lellpe and lund for AsslsLance Lo rlvaLe
LducaLlon (lAL) LxecuLlve ulrecLor Carollna C orlo Lhe
uepLd's argumenLs are lmpresslonlsLlc and erroneous"
because Lhere ls no clear correlaLlon beLween Lhe lengLh of
schoollng and sLudenLs' performance
1he sald sLudy shows LhaL fourLh graders from AusLralla had
respecLable 1lMSS scores desplLe havlng only one year of pre
schoollng whlle Morocco (Lwo years of preschool) norway
(Lhree years) and Armenla and Slovenla (boLh four years) had
lower scores Lhan AusLralla SouLh korea whlch has Lhe same
lengLh of baslc educaLlon cycle as Lhe hlllpplnes was among
Lhe Lop performers ln Lhe 1lMSS whlle Lhose wlLh longer pre
schoollng (Chana Morocco 8oLswana and Saudl Arabla
Lhree years) had lower LesL scores
1esL scores of llllplno sLudenLs meanwhlle were lower Lhan
Lhose garnered by all 13 counLrles wlLh shorLer elemenLary
cycles namely 8ussla Armenla LaLvla Slovak 8epubllc
Slovenla Pungary 8ulgarla Serbla 8omanla Moldova lLaly
LgypL and lran
ln Lhe hlgh school level Slngapore LhaL also has a fouryear
hlgh school cycle goL Lhe hlghesL score lronlcally Lhe
hlllpplnes goL a lower score LogeLher wlLh counLrles LhaL
have longer hlgh school cycles llke SouLh Afrlca Chlle
alesLlne Morocco and Saudl Arabla
lor Lhe precollege level Lhe hlllpplnes also goL a low score
buL so dld Lhe unlLed SLaLes whlch has a 13year baslc and
secondary educaLlon cycle SLudenLs from Slngapore SouLh
korea !apan and Pong kong all wlLh shorLer educaLlon
cycles goL hlgher scores Lhan Amerlca sLudenLs
3 1he uepLd has enough resources Lo lmplemenL Lhe k12
lnLeresLlngly counLrles whose sLudenLs goL hlgh scores ln Lhe
1lMSS were Lhe ones whose governmenLs alloLLed hlgh publlc
spendlng for educaLlon
uesplLe nomlnal lncreases ln Lhe LoLal educaLlon budgeL Lhe
governmenL has been spendlng less per caplLa on educaLlon
1he real spendlng per caplLa per day dropped Lo 683 ln
2009
lrom 2001 Lo 2009 educaLlon's porLlon ln Lhe naLlonal
budgeL has sLeadlly decreased 1hls pales ln comparlson Lo
nelghborlng counLrles Malaysla 74 percenL and 1halland 4
percenL lL ls also lower Lhan Lhe four percenL average for all
counLrles LhaL were lncluded ln Lhe World LducaLlon
lndlcaLors ln 2006 1he counLry ls also lagglng behlnd lLs Aslan
counLerparLs ln publlc expendlLure on educaLlon as a
percenLage of LoLal publlc spendlng
ln a sLaLemenL resldenL 8enlgno Aqulno lll sald LhaL hls
admlnlsLraLlon ls prlorlLlzlng educaLlon and as proof Lhe
uepLd budgeL wlll lncrease by 32 bllllon ln 2011
Powever accordlng Lo Anakbayan spokesperson Charlsse
8anez Lven lf you comblne Lhe uepLd and SuCs (sLaLe
college and unlverslLles) budgeLs lL wlll only equal Lo Lhree
percenL of Lhe Cu a far cry from Lhe slx percenL Cul
amounL advocaLed by Lhe unlLed naLlons"
1he un LducaLlonal CulLural and SclenLlflc CrganlzaLlon
(unLSCC) recommend LhaL governmenLs spend aL leasL slx
percenL of Lhelr Cu for educaLlon
lormer LducaLlon secreLary Mona vallsno sLaLed ln a
separaLed sLudy LhaL uepLd needs aL leasL 100 bllllon Lo
fully address Lhe shorLage of 93399 classrooms and 134400
seaLs and 63 mllllon for LexLbooks and scholarshlps
roponenLs of Lhe program allude Lo Lhe experlence of SL
Mary's Sagada a school lmplemenLlng k12 LhaL has been
Lopplng Lhe naLlonal AchlevemenL 1esL ln MounLaln rovlnce
Powever aslde from Lhe k12 Lhe school also has a 120
Leacher Lo sLudenL raLlo and ls noL sufferlng any sorL of
shorLage ln faculLy or faclllLles
CrlLlcs of Lhe k12 asserL LhaL whlle governmenL resources
have been found wanLlng and lnsufflclenL for Lhe presenL 10
year cycle how wlll lL be able Lo afford Lo fund a k12 model?
4 1he k12 wlll open doors for more [obs for Lhe youLh even
wlLhouL a college dlploma
uepLd says LhaL a k12 program wlll lmprove Lhe chances for
youLh employmenL as lL ls almed Lo lmprove Lechnlcal
vocaLlonal skllls Lhrough focuslng on arLs aquaculLure and
agrlculLure among oLhers 1he k12 lL furLher sLaLes wlll
ensure LhaL sLudenLs graduaLlng aL Lhe age of 18 wlll have
[obs Lhus maklng Lhem employable" even wlLhouL a college
degree
Powever crlLlcs are qulck Lo noLe LhaL Lhe hlllpplnes LhaL
has a predomlnanLly young populaLlon also has Lhe hlghesL
overall unemploymenL raLe ln LasL Asla and Lhe aclflc
8eglon Accordlng Lo World 8ank sLudy Lhe counLry also has
Lhe hlghesL youLh unemploymenL raLe ?oung llllplno
workers are Lwlce as llkely Lo be unemployed Lhan Lhose ln
older age groups as Lhey flgure ln Lhe annual average of aL
leasL 300000 new graduaLes LhaL add up Lo Lhe labor force
1he ueparLmenL of Labor and LmploymenL (uCLL) reporLed
ln 2008 LhaL 30 percenL of Lhe unemployed 27 mllllon
naLlonwlde were aged 13 Lo 24 Cf Lhese 461000 or 33
percenL had college degrees whlle abouL 700000
unemployed youLh elLher flnlshed hlgh school or aL leasL
reached undergraduaLe levels
1herefore Lhe perslsLenL hlgh unemploymenL raLes may noL
be necessarlly llnked wlLh Lhe presenL 10year cycle buL
lnsLead wlLh Lhe counLry's exlsLlng economlc sysLem and Lhe
governmenL's [ob generaLlon pollcles
3 llllplno graduaLes wlll be auLomaLlcally recognlzed as
professlonals" abroad ln Lhe presenL 10year cycle Lhe
uepLd argues Lhe quallLy of educaLlon ls reflecLed ln Lhe
lnadequaLe preparaLlon of hlgh school graduaLes for Lhe
world of work or enLrepreneurshlp or hlgher educaLlon"
WhaL Lhe k12 program alms Lo achleve Lherefore ls Lo
relnforce cheap semlskllled labor for Lhe global markeL WlLh
young workers mosLly semlskllled and unskllled workers
now maklng up an esLlmaLed 107 percenL of Lhe LoLal llllplno
labor mlgranL populaLlon lL comes as no surprlse Lhen LhaL
Lhe governmenL ls now programmlng lLs youLh Lo servlclng
needs of Lhe global markeL
Labor mlgraLlon however has resulLed ln Lhe braln draln of
llllplno skllled workers and professlonals lronlcally whlle Lhe
uepLd and Lhe governmenL mouLhs a socalled
professlonallzaLlon" of Lhe young labor force ln forelgn
markeLs Lhelr slgnlflcance Lo domesLlc developmenL and
naLlonbulldlng ls sadly belng undervalued aL Lhe expense of
provldlng cheap labor under Lhe gulse of provldlng
employmenL
Whlle proponenLs and advocaLes hall Lhe k12 model as Lhe
savlng grace" of youLh unemploymenL crlLlcs argue LhaL lL
wlll only aggravaLe Lhe counLry's dependence on labor exporL
and Lhe lnflow of remlLLances LhaL do noL necessarlly
conLrlbuLe Lo subsLanLlve and susLalnable naLlonbulldlng
A llllplno educaLlon
LasLly Lhe uepLd [usLlfles Lhe k12 model by saylng LhaL Lhe
presenL shorL baslc educaLlon program affecLs Lhe human
developmenL of llllplno sLudenLs
ulLlmaLely regardless of whlchever model" whaL Lhe youLh
and counLry dlrely needs ls for Lhe developmenL and
esLabllshmenL of an educaLlon sysLem LhaL caLers Lo Lhe
needs of Lhe llllplno youLh and Lhe socleLy ln general
1he crlsls of Lhe hlllpplne educaLlon sysLem ln all levels ls
sLemmed noL on Lhe superflclal ln Lhls case Lhe number of
schoollng years buL raLher on Lhe condlLlons and foundaLlon
on whlch lL subslsLs unless Lhe governmenL addresses ln
earnesL poor publlc spendlng hlgh cosLs of schoollng Lhe
predomlnance of a colonlal currlculum lack of Lransparency
and accounLablllLy amld wldespread corrupLlon wlLhln Lhe
secLor and Lhe developmenL of Lhe counLry's sclence and
Lechnology for domesLlc developmenL all efforLs wlll remaln
on Lhe surface
And nelLher 10 nor 12 years would make much of dlfference

8aslc educaLlon ls Lhe lnallenable rlghL of every llllplno
clLlzen 1hls ls so slnce unlversal educaLlon ls an lnescapable
corollary of unlversal suffrage 1he beLLer Lhe educaLlon Lhe
clLlzens recelved Lhe beLLer Lhey are able Lo exerclse Lhelr
rlghLs and exerclse Lhelr duLles lor as laLo puL lL 1he besL
man makes Lhe besL clLlzen"
1hls house belleves LhaL Lhe k+12 SysLem ls lndeed pracLlcal
and should be added Lo Lhe hlllpplne LducaLlon SysLem
1he k+12 LducaLlon SysLem or Lhe Lnhanced klndergarLen
Crade 12 ls a Lype of educaLlon sysLem Lo be ln full
lmplemenLaLlon by year 2016 composed of one year
klndergarLen 6 years of elemenLary educaLlon four years of
[unlor hlgh school and Lwo years of senlor hlgh school almed
Lo provlde sLudenLs wlLh skllls and compeLencles LhaL wlll
help Lhem become employable upon graduaLlon and shall
provlde Lhe sLudenLs wlLh elecLlves LhaL wlll develop Lhelr
skllls ln muslc and Lhe arLs llLeraLure and enLrepreneurshlp
of whlch we need ln llfe
l have Lwo argumenLs of whlch l would llke Lo puL emphasls
on llrsL Lhe k+12 educaLlon sysLem wlll lncrease Lhe
employablllLy of baslc educaLlon graduaLes
ueped says LhaL a k12 program wlll lmprove Lhe chances for
youLh employmenL as lL ls almed Lo lmprove Lechnlcal
vocaLlonal skllls Lhrough focuslng on arLs agrlculLure and
aquaculLure among oLhers 1he k12 lL furLher sLaLes wlll
ensure LhaL sLudenLs graduaLlng aL Lhe age of 18 wlll have
[obs Lhus maklng Lhem employable" even wlLhouL a college
dlploma
1hls ls very pracLlcal for Lhe sLudenLs mosL especlally Lhose
who are comlng from poor famllles slnce Lhey need noL flnlsh
college for Lhem Lo geL a [ob unllke Lhe currenL educaLlon
sysLem LhaL we have Lhe sLudenLs are havlng a hard Llme
geLLlng a [ob afLer graduaLlng hlgh school Why ls Lhls so? lL ls
because of Lhe facL LhaL Lhey are sLlll under Lhe Chlld Labor
Law and consldered Lo be emoLlonally physlcally and
psychologlcally unprepared 1hey are under Lhe chlld labor
law for mosL of our hlgh school graduaLes are 1617 years old
1hey are consldered Lo be emoLlonally physlcally and
psychologlcally unprepared slnce aL Lhls age accordlng Lo Lrlk
Lrlkson's sychosoclal uevelopmenL Lheory Lhe sLudenL ls on
ldenLlLy v 8ole Confuslon
ldenLlLy means essenLlally how a person sees
Lhemselves ln relaLlon Lo Lhelr world lLs a sense of
self or lndlvlduallLy ln Lhe conLexL of llfe and whaL
lles ahead 8ole Confuslon ls Lhe negaLlve
perspecLlve an absence of ldenLlLy meanlng LhaL
Lhe person cannoL see clearly or aL all who Lhey are
and how Lhey can relaLe poslLlvely wlLh Lhelr
envlronmenL
?oung people sLruggle Lo belong and Lo be accepLed
and afflrmed and yeL also Lo become lndlvlduals ln
lLself Lhls ls a blg dllemma aslde from all Lhe oLher
dlsLracLlons and confuslons experlenced aL Lhls llfe
sLage
Accordlng Lo Lhe book loundaLlons of Currlculum
uevelopmenL and ManagemenL second edlLlon by rlsclllano
1 8auzon whlch was publlshed ln 2009 Lhe MS8 or Monroe
Survey 8eporL surveyed Lhe hlllpplne educaLlon 1he MS8
flndlngs showed Lhe followlng Lhe lnadequacy of Lhe
elemenLary educaLlon Lo meeL Lhe learner's need and Lhe
concenLraLlon of secondary school enrollmenL ln Lhe
academlc currlculum whlch was deLached from preparlng one
for llfe 1he shorL baslc educaLlon program affecLs Lhe
human developmenL of Lhe llllplno chlldren"
So you see? !usL as Lhe flrsL speaker has sald a whlle ago
maLurlLy comes wlLh age And we can noL deny Lhe facL LhaL
maLurlLy lndeed plays an essenLlal role ln searchlng flndlng
and flnally havlng a [ob
Cn Lhe conLrary l am noL saylng LhaL LerLlary educaLlon ls noL
lmporLanL anymore lL ls very lmporLanL for sLudenLs Lo have
a degree so as Lo geL a [ob 8uL how wlll !uan geL Lo college lf
he ls flnanclally oppressed? We are all aware of Lhe facL LhaL
many hlgh school graduaLes do noL pursue Lo LerLlary
educaLlon due Lo poverLy or flnanclal lnsLablllLy WlLh Lhe
added Lwo years for senlor hlgh school Lhe sLudenLs wlll be
LaughL wlLh speclallzaLlons" based on Lhe career LhaL a
sLudenL wlshes Lo pursue 1hus Lhey wlll be more sklllful
more compeLlLlve and more equlpped glvlng Lhem
opporLunlLles Lo becomlng selfsupporLlng worklng sLudenLs
1hls lmplles LhaL senlor hlgh school graduaLes do noL have Lo
enroll ln college lmmedlaLely afLer graduaLlon buL may
choose Lo work for a few years Lo save enough money for a
college educaLlon
k+12 glves Lo Lhe masses Lhe exLra years of schoollng LhaL for
many years has only been avallable ln prlvaLe ellLe educaLlon
lnsLlLuLlons SLudles have shown LhaL every addlLlonal year of
schoollng lmproves Lhe lncome poLenLlal of a sLudenL as he
enLers Lhe world of work lorclng lnLo 10 years a currlculum
LhaL ls learned by Lhe resL of Lhe world ln 12 has resulLed ln
poor performance by our sLudenLs
WlLh k+12 buslnesses would be able Lo open Lhelr doors Lo
Lhe hlrlng of hlgh school graduaLes as ls Lhe pracLlce ln almosL
all oLher counLrles ln Lhe resL of Lhe world
My second argumenL would be LhaL Lhe uepLd has enough
resources Lo lmplemenL Lhe k+12
1o lmplemenL Lhe addlLlonal Lwo years of Lhe senlor hlgh
school program sLarLlng by Lhe school year 2016 Lo 2017
uepLd needs an esLlmaLed amounL of 60 bllllon pesos for
lnfrasLrucLure Leachers and LexLbooks ln publlc schools
ln a sLaLemenL resldenL 8enlgno Aqulno lll sald LhaL hls
admlnlsLraLlon ls prlorlLlzlng educaLlon and as proof Lhe
uepLd budgeL wlll lncrease by 32 bllllon pesos ln Lhls year
LulsLro sald LhaL Lhe deparLmenL has enough Llme Lo look for
funds for Lhe program because lLs lmplemenLaLlon ls sLlll slx
years away
ln a press conference lasL monLh LducaLlon SecreLary Armln
LulsLro explalned LhaL klndergarLen wlll be unlversal sLarLlng
wlLh Lhe school year 20112012 whlle Lhe new senlor hlgh
school sysLem wlll flrsL be offered ln 2016 so lL wlll noL be
unLll Lhe school year 20182019 when colleges wlll requlre a
senlor hlgh school dlploma for admlsslon
WhaL ls Lhe sLaLe of our educaLlon sysLem Loday? 1he quallLy
of hlllpplne educaLlon ls decllnlng conLlnuously 1he
elemenLary and hlgh schools ln Lhe hlllpplnes are falllng Lo
Leach Lhe compeLence Lhe average clLlzen needs Lo become
responslble producLlve and selffulfllllng Colleges and
Lechnlcal and/or vocaLlonal schools are noL produclng Lhe
manpower needed Lo develop Lhe economy CraduaLe
educaLlon ls medlocre lL does noL generaLe Lhe research
based knowledge needed Lo creaLe more [obs and Lo ralse Lhe
value of producLlon
ln Lhe hlllpplnes as ln oLher debLrldden 1hlrd World
counLrles Lhe pasL decades have wlLnessed greaL dlfflculLles
ln maklng educaLlon relevanL Lo Lhe call for poverLy
allevlaLlon and auLhenLlc developmenL LducaLlon has been
shown Lo Lurn ouL lowquallLy graduaLes lacklng Lhe soclal
consclousness and paLrloLlsm Lo conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe
developmenL of Lhe counLry 1hls calls for a bold and radlcal
resLrucLurlng of Lhe hlllpplne educaLlonal sysLem Lo enable lL
Lo cope wlLh Lhe challenge of provldlng quallLy baslc
educaLlon Lo a fasL growlng populaLlon ln Lhe face of
conLlnued LlghLenlng of physlcal and flnanclal resources
1he hlllpplne ConsLlLuLlon requlres LhaL quallLy educaLlon be
made avallable Lo every clLlzen Cur naLlon can rlse only Lo
Lhe level of our people's compeLence
1hese lofLy ldeals can be achleved lf we look back and
examlne our currlculum 1he currlculum ls Lhe very hearL of
Lhe educaLlonal process WlLhouL lL we wlll be faced wlLh Lhe
parallellsm of Marx's hearL of a hearLless soul"
WhaL Lhe consLlLuLlon ls Lo a sLaLe Lhe currlculum ls Lo an
educaLlonal lnsLlLuLlon 1he lssues problems and prospecLs
of an educaLlonal lnsLlLuLlon are lnLlmaLely lnLerLwlned wlLh
Lhe lssues problems and prospecLs of Lhe currlculum ln facL
Lhe currlculum can be vlewed as Lhe very hearL of all
educaLlonal sysLems 1hus currlculum declslons are
essenLlally cruclal Lo Lhe Lasks lnvolved ln educaLlon
1he evaluaLlon of every educaLlonal sysLem ls affecLed
Lhrough lLs currlculum or currlcula When Lhe valuesysLem of
an educaLlonal lnsLlLuLlonal lnsLlLuLlon ls crlLlclzed lLs
phllosophy and ob[ecLlves evaluaLed lLs degree offerlngs
pralsed or condemned usually lL ls ln currlculum where Lhe
spoLllghL ls focused 1hls ls so slnce Lhe currlculum ls Lhe
source of llfe" for Lhe school whlch lnherenLly deLermlnes
lLs success or fallure Wherever school offlclals and
admlnlsLraLors faculLy members and laymen would llke Lo
know where Lhe educaLlonal sysLem ls golng Lo Lhey
lnevlLably anchor Lhelr dlscusslon upon Lhe currlculum
Currlculum revlslon and developmenL ls noL a new Lhlng As a
maLLer of facL hlsLory Lells us LhaL as early as Lhe 1960's Lhe
Currlculum 8eform MovemenL ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes became
promlnenL and wlll conLlnue Lo lnfluence Amerlcan educaLlon
even up Lo Lhe presenL 1hls movemenL exLended lLs splll
over" effecLs Lo Lhe hlllpplnes slnce our educaLlonal sysLem
ls a repllca of Lhe Amerlcan sysLem
Accordlng Lo Lhe book loundaLlons of Currlculum
uevelopmenL and ManagemenL second edlLlon by
rlsclllano 1 8auzon whlch was publlshed ln 2009 Lhe
MS8 or Monroe Survey 8eporL surveyed Lhe hlllpplne
educaLlon 1he MS8 flndlngs showed Lhe followlng Lhe
lnadequacy of Lhe elemenLary educaLlon Lo meeL Lhe
learner's need and Lhe concenLraLlon of secondary
school enrollmenL ln Lhe academlc currlculum whlch was
deLached from preparlng one for llfe 1he shorL baslc
educaLlon program affecLs Lhe human developmenL of
Lhe llllplno chlldren" lf we belleve LhaL 17yearold hlgh
school graduaLes are emoLlonally psychologlcally and
lnLellecLually maLure why do we requlre Lhem Lo geL
parenLal consenL before Lhey geL marrled?

A more preclse descrlpLlon whlch Lhe uepLd ls now uslng ls
Lhe k 642 sysLem (klndergarLen 6 years elemenLary 4 years
[unlor hlgh school and 2 years senlor hlgh school)
necessary elemenLs
8lg buslness group backs k+12 proposal
WlLh k+12 buslnesses would be able Lo open Lhelr doors Lo
Lhe hlrlng of hlgh school graduaLes as ls Lhe pracLlce ln almosL
all oLher counLrles ln Lhe resL of Lhe world lL added
1hose who lnslsL on Lhrowlng obsLacles ln Lhe way of k+12
are condemnlng our klds Lo poverLy and saboLaglng Lhelr
opporLunlLles for a beLLer llfe" 8Ld sald
1hls over and above Lhe poor quallLy and lack of Leachers
LexLbooks and workbooks and faclllLles conLlnues Lo make
learnlng a growlng challenge for more and more of our
sLudenLs"