Is K12 the answer?

BIZLINKS By Rey Gamboa (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 16, 2013 - 12:00am

With results of the mid-term elections just waiting to be formalized, the country goes back to its regular business. And for most Filipinos these days, it is getting children ready to go back to school in June. Last school year, the Department of Education piloted its preferred K12 or Enhanced K12 Basic Education Program in 30 schools, both public and private. The addition of two more years to the secondary level learning, to be called senior high school, and the formal inclusion of an earlier mandated kindergarten level are the two basic features of K12. For many of us who mark our childrens education by graduations, this equates now to having four of these ceremonies during the K12 period. The first is graduation from kindergarten; the second, from elementary; the third, from junior high school; and the fourth, from senior high school. Of course, if your child decides to take up higher studies, you may have to add college, even masters and doctorate, graduations. By this time, the spritely mom and dad who bounded upstage with pride to have a souvenir picture of their young tyke would probably be short of sight and hobbled, and the smile may be more a sigh of relief.

Controversial bill But back to K12. Just before Congress adjourned for elections in February, the lower and Upper Houses both passed their agreed versions of the K12 law. Recentl y, its been announced that P-Noy is about ready to give his stamp of approval on this controversial proposed law. When the plan to go K12 was first made public, a lot of protests were heard, not just from parents who would need to shell out more money to have their daughter or son finish basic education, i.e., until senior high school, but even from those who espoused quality education as a better solution to the continuing degradation of the education system. In fact, it was not just the quality of teaching that was the problem. For majority of poor Filipinos, the challenge lay in sending their children even through primary education. Have we forgotten the high dropout rates of children even at the public elementary levels where tuition is free? We could also add that another problem lay in the inadequate number of classrooms, particularly in public schools, where children are packed beyond decent numbers, and go on shifts and shortened class hours during the day and in a week.

Quality education

In the DepEds primer on K12, also referred to as K 6-4-2, the government agency recites the lofty ideals of quality basic education as a basic right of every Filipino, and which, therefore, government will make available free of charge. It further justifies the addition of two more years to the current 10 years (not including kindergarten) to decongest and enhance the basic education curriculum and to provide better quality education for all. Such motherhood statements are further supported by illogical arguments. First, the DepEd says that the Philippines is the only remaining country in Asia with a 10-year basic education program, and that K12 is not new and that the proposal to expand the basic education dates back to 1925. Pulling figures from somewhere, the DepEd further states that studies in the Philippines have shown that an additional year of schooling increases earnings by 7.5 percent, and that improvements in the quality of education will increase GDP growth to 2.2 percent. The DepEd further argues that K12 is Minus two instead of plus two for those families who cannot afford a college education, but still wish to have their children find a good paying job. Right now, parents spend for at least four years of college to have an employable child. In our model, parents will not pay for two years of basic education that will give them an employable child. In effect, we are saving parents two years of expenses. The plan is not Plus two years before graduation but Minus two years before work. I can relate to the last statement that K12 should inspire a shift in attitude that completion of high school education is more than just preparation for college but can be sufficient for a gainful employment or career, although just how I honestl y cannot imagine. Unanswered issues After reading the DepEds K12 primer, I am moved to tears of frustration. I would like to hear what it plans to do to improve the quality of teaching, of solving poverty that breeds dropouts, and of bringing those out-of-school youths back to the classrooms. The next administration will be in for a big surprise when Grades 11 and 12 are mandatory by 2016. Without enough resources, how will two more years of free public schooling be funded? Will adding two more years really improve the quality of education of our youngsters? On Kasambahay Law From one of our readers, Nony de Leon, is a comment about the new Kasambahay Law. I hope the IRR which is being crafted does not make the law difficult to comply with. The rules and regulation should be user-friendly, unlike many bureaucratic procedures which are often an almost unsolvable puzzle to the ordinary citizen.

From some of the press releases about the IRR, they are thinking of new and additional requirements for the registration of the kasambahay with the SSS, the Pag-Ibig, the Philhealth, the BIR, and the barangay; plus more stringent procedures for the payment of premiums and fees. And guess who will be obliged to comply with all these; no one else but the household em ployers. Even now, the direction seems to complicate compliance with the law. Lets keep things simple. We are not talking about multi-employee employers here but simple, ordinary housewives and househusbands who do not have anybody but themselves to attend to these.