Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jheally L. Orlanda Reporter
Jheally L. Orlanda Reporter
ORLANDA
REPORTER
JULIUS N. LEONEN @JLEONENINQ
INQUIRER.NET
At the “2018 Balik Eskwela” event at the Quezon City High School in
Kamuning, Briones urged students to take the learning process outside
educational institutions.
Students should look beyond their class textbooks, their computers, and
the four walls of their classrooms to discover the meaning of life.
This was the wisdom that Education Secretary Leonor Briones imparted
to 27 million students across the country on the first day of classes in the
new school year.
“It always helps to study beyond what your teachers teach you, beyond
what your books teach you, beyond what your laptops, what your
computers teach you,” Briones said.
REYNALDO C. LUGTU, JR.
The first supply of K-12 graduates numbering more than 1.2 million
did not make the full cut.
Only 20 percent of the country’s 70 leading companies across all
sectors were inclined to hire senior high graduates, according to a
study by the Philippine Business for Education (PBED).
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said in a
recent TV interview that ‘K-12 graduates are not yet ready for work’
and they lack the knowledge and skills for the 21st century such as
‘innovation and critical thinking’ skills. PCCI added that the current
education system still needs a lot of help and improvement.
Despite the K-12 Law and the other educational reforms such as the
Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education
(UniFAST) Law and the Free Higher Education Law, the Philippines
continues to get poor marks in international education performance
indices.
According to the Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 released
by the World Economic Forum.
Our country ranked 66th out of 137 countries for quality of primary
education,
74th for quality of higher education,
76th for quality of math and science education,
Our educational system did even worse on the 2017 Global
Innovation Index where it ranked poorly at 113th place out of 127
countries.
Public school system needs reforms in terms of policy, pedagogy,
infrastructure and educational technology to prepare the country’s
future workforce for the 4th Industrial revolution.
POLICY
Teacher’s Salary
Corruption allegations on Department of Education (DepEd)
PEDAGOGY
Problem stems from the memorization methods of schools which are
present in both the private and public educational systems.
Our education system needs to develop teachers that employ
reflective teaching that allows students to raise questions, explore
possibilities and scenarios and engage in substantive discussions
and debate.
Personalized and individualized learning is an emerging methodology
which considers the different learning styles of students, thus maximizing
the learning outcome. First world nations are already using this
technology – a far cry from the state of education in our country. But this
should be our education authorities’ target in the coming decade.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Building of important classrooms is on-going to narrow the 113,000
shortage as of June 2017, according to the Alliance of Concerned
Teachers Philippines.
Equally urgent is to address the internet connectivity for public
schools. Out of the 46,739 public schools nationwide, only about
12,163 or a mere 26% are connected, a DepEd report said. Most of
these are off-grid areas or those unserved by telecommunication
companies (Telco) where internet subscription is impossible.
Internet connectivity is a key enabler to transform our education
system. E-learning platforms and content can empower teachers and
students alike for a blended and personalized learning.
JHESSET O. ENANO @JHESSETENANOINQ
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
The Department of Education (DepEd) wants to add good manners,
right conduct and proper values to students’ learning as it sets a
review of the 2-year-old curriculums in all grade levels under the K-
12 program.
Noting it was “high time” the review was done, Education Secretary
Leonor Briones said the DepEd wanted to strengthen “basic skills”
in early grade levels, focusing particularly on the first three levels of
basic education: kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2.
“In the first three years, there are not so many subjects, [but there
should be lessons in] good manners and right conduct,” Briones said
in a press briefing at the DepEd central office in Pasig City last
week.
Demands of society’
Briones said the proposed changes were also a response to the
“demands of society,” where children were often more exposed to
different environments and technologies that could influence their
behavior.
When a 5-year-old child goes into kindergarten, she said, other
institutions, such as the family and the Church, had already shaped
the child’s attitudes.
“I’m not saying that the youth’s values are failing, but the world is
changing. The values of our society and of the grown-ups are also
changing,” Briones said.
“As we prepare our learners to be grown-ups, they can contribute to
shaping such values because eventually, they too will become
leaders,” she added.
Focusing on basic numeracy and reading skills are also important
even at a young age, as these are the basis for “lifelong learning,”
she said.
“We need to teach our children to be more analytical, to think more
in terms of problem solving,” she said.
INQUIRER.NET
The government’s K-12 program will push through after the Supreme Court declared as
constitutional Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.
Under RA 10533, the number of years of basic education was increased to include a year
of kindergarten, six years of elementary education and six years of secondary education–
four years junior high school and two years of senior high school.
Also declared legal is Republic Act 10157 or the Kindergarten Education Act that
institutionalized kindergarten as part of the basic education and a mandatory
requirement to be able to enter Grade 1.
The High Court dismissed all the petitions filed against the said laws for their failure to
prove that the laws were in violation of the 1987 Constitution and that the laws were
enacted with grave abuse of discretion.
“Forhaving failed to show any of the above in the passage of the assailed
law and the department issuances, the petitioners’ remedy thus lies not
with the Court but with the executive and legislative branches of the
government,” the High Court said in the 94-page decision penned by
Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.
Kindergarten and Senior High School
The Supreme Court said no constitutional provision has been violated when
Congress made kindergarten and senior high school compulsory because it
only provided the minimum standard and that is “elementary education be
compulsory.”
The high court even lauded Congress for enacting the K-12 law.
“It is indeed laudable that Congress went beyond the minimum standards
and provided mechanism so that its citizens are able to obtain not just
elementary education but also kindergarten and high school.”
Limitation in selecting a course
Petitioners said that the additional two years in high school will affect
400,000 to 500,000 Grade 11 students because they will be forced to enrol in
private schools that could displace some or more of the students.
But the high court said the allegations of the petitioners are bare.
Under the senior high school curriculum, students can choose among four
strands: 1. Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM) strand; 2.
Science and Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand; 3.
Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Strand and 4. General Academic
(GA) Strand.
The high court took note of the government’s preparedness in helping junior
high school students continue to senior high school through the voucher
program.
On labor and consultations
Petitioners which Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and ACT Teachers
party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio also argued that the law was passed
without public consultations considering that it will mostly affect
the lower income Filipinos.
But the high court pointed out that the DepEd conducted regional
consultations through Memorandum Nos. 38 and 98 to elicit
opinions about the program. It added that Congress itself conducted
regional public hearings from 2011 to 2012 which was participated
by representatives from parents-teachers organizations, business,
public and private schools and local government units.
The high court added that absence of a labor provision in the K-12
law does not make it incomplete because it has been delegated to
administrative agencies “to implement the broad policies laid down
in a statute by filling in the details which the Congress may not
have the opportunity or competence to provide.”
Policy issues
Petitioners also told the high court that instead of implementing the K-12
program, the government should instead prioritize the lack of educators,
facilities and materials for students, funding for senior high schools, an
ideal student-teacher ratio and salaries of teachers.
But the high court said policy matters are not their concern.
“Government policy is within the exclusive dominion of the political
branches of the government. It is not for the Court to look into the wisdom
or propriety of legislative determination,” the high court said.
Ten Justices concurred with Justice Caguioa including then Chief Justice
Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.
On the other hand, Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin, Alexander
Gesmundo are on official business while Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr. is
on wellness leave.
Thank You..