MALONZO, Clarisse Joy D.

PANGAN, Rishceena Shane P.

ROBERTO, Jheslee C.

K-12 Program in the Philippines

It has been five years since the Philippines shifted to a new educational system.
But this reform program, which added two more years to the old basic education system,
has since met with so much public opposition. Until now, critics continue to insist that
the country is not yet prepared for this transition. Many have been said about K-12
curriculum what it is, what it covers, what it offers, and what it hopes to achieve. Despite
numerous awareness campaign efforts, opposition still exists. This is, perhaps, due to lack
of information about the differences between the two systems. Are you still skeptical of
this new program? We have here a good reasons why the Department of Education
abandoned the old system and opted for a K-12 curriculum. First, only country in Asia
with 10 years of basic education, before implementing K-12, the Philippines was the last
Asian country and one of only three nations in the world with 10 years of basic
education. The new system, which follows a global standard, will put Filipino students at
par with the rest of the world. Second, poor quality of education , the educational
curriculum in the Philippines is low compared to other countries. Other countries are able
to learn more advanced subjects and they are able to learn them properly. The reason why
other countries are ahead of us in the educational aspect is because of the K-12 program.
K12 is a prolonged educational program that allows the students to learn more advanced
subjects. Adding K-12 to the curriculum will enhance the education of the country
because schools will not need to quicken the learning process of the students, will learn
more advanced subjects and will provide greater employment options. Third, not
prepared for college education, due to lack of practical application, past high school
graduates could not qualify to pursue higher education. Fourth, too young for labor force,
high school graduates of the old curriculum are generally less than 18 years old and are
too young to work after graduation. This young age is deemed unripe for them to enter
the workforce or enter into business contracts. Lastly, no global recognition, Filipino
professionals who have finished a 10-year basic education may not be acknowledged in
many parts of the world. This is due to education requirements set by some international
accreditation agreements. All these reasons can best explain why the Philippines made a
right decision to switch to a K-12 curriculum. One of the best things about K-12 scheme
is that it offers opportunities for students to learn about modern yet rarely tapped fields of
specialization, such as animation.

There are also advantages and disadvantages of implementing K-12 curriculum.

Let us first state the disadvantages of the K-12 curriculum, that the parents had to spend
two more years for schooling and if their child decided to go to college it still have
another two years that was never be supposed to be there. For some parents who have a
high educational attainment will understand the benefits of this new curriculum, but for
the parents who have a low educational attainment and struggling on their financial
aspects for them K-12 is such a big problem. But not only the students and the parents
will affected on this new curriculum but also the college professors, because in two years
there will be no college freshmen or they will be vacant for two years. After two years in
senior high school the college professors must cope up with graduates of K-12
curriculum. Moving on for the advantages of K-12 program, the additional two years of
sacrifice for schooling here’s the benefit of it. The student will be more competent and
they can easily cope up with world because it is a student-centered curriculum, and they
can also apply for job after taking the additional two years if they don’t want to go to
college. The additional two more years can also help the students to think what they
really want to become in the future, what will be their part in the future, what will be their
part in the society. It also reduces shifting a lot due to lack of contentment in school.