OnMandatingROTC

The announcement on the intentions of mandating the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps’ garnered different reactions from the public especially among youths. Many have raised their eyebrows on this matter of concern without even dissecting its purpose and intention. However, is having good intentions enough to mandate, and force students to attend the ROTC? The program has a lot of real-life advantages to offer learners of today, provided that the government could arrange its guidelines equally for all.

President BongBong Marcos stated that the goal of this program is to enhance civic consciousness, encourage, organize, and mobilize students for disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related scenarios as part of national defense preparation.

It can be recalled that in the year 2002, military training was made optional through Republic Act No. 9163 otherwise known as the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001 . Nevertheless, this was abolished because of different allegations on corruption. Surveys showed that many Filipinos agreed on the return of the program since many have noticed how youngsters these days are becoming very aggressive and unproductive. According to pro-ROTC, this could inculcate values and hammer discipline among today’s generation.

With the number of supporters and oppositionists on this issue, up till now there is no concrete answer as to its conscription. However, recently, with the rampant news on hazing and power tripping among youth officers, the senate once again scrutinized the question as to whether ROTC must be mandated. Another point of concern is if this must be required in tertiary only or even secondary.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, one of the senators who filed the bill on the restoration of the compulsory ROTC in the country, has withdrawn some parts such as the mandate for senior high school because there is a need to recover learning first brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many agreed on this provision including Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa claimed that they would be able to support the ROTC program because it is one of the priorities of the Marcos administration.

On the other hand, senate minority leader Sen. Aquilino Pimentel asked the group to scrap the bill and make it only optional. Only students who are military inclined must be enrolled on the program. This claim was backed up by Sen. Riza Hontiveros who cited previous hazings as examples. “Violence of any kind has no place in our schools and universities,” she said.

Others presented the options of giving students the freewill to select among the three NSTP components: Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), the Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS), and the Literacy Training Service (LTS). According to some students, they must not be forced to enroll in components they’re not happy and interested with. “There is too much already on our plate; adding more will not help especially in this period of recovering learning.” says an interviewee.

In making the decision as to whether to mandate ROTC or not, we trust that the government and the current administration will always put students and situations into consideration. May their upcoming decision be for the betterment of the Filipino people.

Education is known as a stepping stone; it gives hope for everyone as it may serve as a vessel to the future they dreamed of, but because of the K–12 program, a lot of issues arose. Most of the comments about the program are negative case studies for kindergarten, and 12 refers to the succeeding 12 years of basic education, which is why it is called K–12. As a product of the K-12 curriculum, I must say it has its pros and cons. I understand that two more years added is crucial, but changing the curriculum could be beneficial.

Some of the reasons why many people disagree with the K–12 program are the following: supplies and many others. I find the K–12 curriculum an additional concern to many Filipino youth and their parents. I believe that K-12 education will help students improve their learning of Math, Academic, and Literary ability to comprehend, but I also believe that K-12 education will make students and their parents bear the brunt of the high cost of education and annual increases in tuition and other school fees. DepEd pledged to provide higher-quality education through tracks, with enough time allotted for each track for students to master and improve their skills, yet we still belong on the lower bracket when it comes to literacy and numeracy. it will be expensive for some families because the parents have to work hard to support their children’s needs, like transportation, food, and other expenses. How can we fully support this program if there are a lot of problems that need to be fixed and prioritized like lack of classrooms, equipment, school

The additional two years is needed to be at par with international standards, However, the lesson content must be considered. There are many subject areas to focus on. Those which could help when we meet the real-world of work such as expanding financial education to improve literacy and responsibilities of the learners, teachers, and personnel, which will enable them to acquire financial health and financial inclusion; furthermore, financial education is beneficial in developing a financially literate citizenry, empowering them to make wise financial decisions. Curriculum makers may also underscore the need for agriculture. Since we are primarily an agricultural country.

College is a privilege – not everyone can afford; thus, if the K-12 curriculum is anchored on tracks that will give more realistic results, many students could learn and survive life ahead.