OPINION/FEATURE

K to 12: Benefit or Burden?

On 2013, late President Aquino put into act the K to 12 curriculum, following the international standards for education. On 2016, the said curriculum was implemented nationwide. This curriculum has the promise to give students better opportunities after finishing the program. However, issues regarding the curriculum started to bubble up. The promises promised by the curriculum seems not to be kept. This thought enrages millions of Filipinos as they wonder the importance of the program.

As the country faces the pandemic on 2020, the health crisis made it difficult for Junior High School (JHS) completers to continue Senior High School (SHS) as the country still recovers from the effects of the pandemic 3 years later. The lack of facility and necessary equipment are big factors that makes it difficult to run the program. Then at the end, the benefits that was supposed to be there are missing, making it a burden.

The curriculum also somewhat under imply that a Junior High School completer is no better than a Senior High School graduate. This is supported by the continuing preference of companies to hire college graduates. They believe that those with a degree are more knowledgeable about the work at hand, more skilled, and are more responsible.

So why bother continue to SHS program? Well, the program’s intention to be at par with the level of education on other countries is good. However, its implementation is the problem. Thus, the need for revision is sought, and the Department of Education (DepEd) responded by the assuring the public that they will review the program.

As of this writing, the Department is currently reviewing the curriculum; and having reviewed the curriculum multiple times, no action was implemented. The K to 12 program has good intentions, but that is not enough.

For me, the K to 12 curriculum has a bright future, but the need for change is long overdue. As they say, action speaks louder than words, and in this case, it’s very much true.