REFORMS IN

THE
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
 INTRODUCTION
When the trifocalization of the Philippine educational system took place
in the early nineties, technical- vocational education and training and
higher education were separated from basic education.
RA 7722- the Commission on Higher Education
RA 7784- Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
The mandate of the Department of Education Culture and Sports (DECS)
was then to refocused to basic education which covers elementary,
secondary, and non-formal education, including culture and sports
(DepEd, n.d.).
In 2001, Republic Act No. 9155 otherwise known as the "Governance of Basic
Education Act", was passed transforming the name of DECS to the Department
of Education (DepEd) and redefining the roles of it's offices from the national
level down to the school level. The RA 9155 provided the overall framework
for school head empowerment by strengthening their leadership roles and
school-based management within the context of transparency and local
accountability (DepEd,n.d).
By virtue of RA 9155, culture and sports- related functions, programs, and activities
were transferred to other relevant government agencies. The Komisyon Ng Wikang
Filipino, National Historical Institute, Record Management and Archive Office, and
the National Library which are previously under the DepEd were administratively
attached to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Sports
competition was also transferred to the Philippine Sports Commission while programs
for school sports and physical fitness activities remained under DepEd.
The Enhanced Basic Education
The following are the issues that influenced the implementation of the K-12
programs highlighted by SECO (2011):

1. Net elementary participation rates have declined from 90.1 percent in 2002 to
88 percent in 2010. Fewer children of school age proceed to high school and an
even smaller number pursue college education.
2. Access to education is unequal, with the poor having significantly lower
participation rates than the non-poor.
3. Efficiency is a problem as manifested in the still high, albeit declining dropout
school leaver rates.
4. The results of Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey
(FLEMMS) showed that out-of-school with aged 6 to 15 years old do not attend
class mainly due to lack of personal interest, high cost of education, too young
to go to school.
5. Low score in the country's national assessment test.
6. The result of international test such as Trends in International Mathematics
and science Study (TIMMS) shows that the Philippines is among worst
participating countries.
SECO (2011) added that the deterioration in the quality of education was attributed to the 10-year
basic education cycle. As such, the government exerted effort to address the issues by attempting to
increase the number of years in basic education. However, such idea was opposed by students and
parents since additional years in school will entail additional expenses for parents. This is, perhaps,
due to lack of information regarding the benefits of having a longer year of basic education.

In an article published by K-12 Philippines (2015), six reasons were highlighted why the Philippines
should shift to K-12, these are following:
1. The Philippines is the only country in Asia with a 10-year basic education,
2. Poor quality of education
3. Too many non-practical subjects
4. Not prepared for college education
5. Too young for labor force
6. No global recognition

.
In 2012, RA No. 10533 otherwise known as the "Enhanced Basic Education Act" was passed
institutionalizing the K-12 curriculum which added Kindergarten and two more years of Senior High
School in the basic education program. The following are the salient features of the K-12 highlighted by
DepEd:
1. Strengthening of the Kindergarten in the Philippines
2. Making the curriculum relevant to learners
3. Building proficiency
4. Ensuring integrated and seamless learning
5. Gearing up for the future
6. Nurturing the holistically developed Filipino

The goal of the K-12 basic education programs is to prepare Filipino students for tertiary education and
in the field of work by providing those with enough time in basic education to master skills and develop
competencies that will enable them perform better when they decided to go to the field work.
Institutionalization of Kindergarten

General kindergarten program refers to the 10-month program provided to

children who are at least five years old in regular elementary schools using
thematic and integrative curriculum to ensure the development of foundational
skills among children to prepare them for grade 1 (DepEd 2012).
Prior to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum in the Philippines,
kindergarten is optional to parents. The RA 8672, otherwise known as the
"Barangay- Level Total Protection of Children Act of 1990", has mandated the
local government units in coordination with Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) to establish a day-care center in every community
covering kindergarten program.
The implementation of " Early Childhood Care and Development Council (ECCD)
Act 2001" which mandated the ECCD through DSWD to provide programs needed
by young children that will promote their optimum growth and development.

In 2011, RA No. 10517 otherwise known as the " Kindergarten Education Act", was
passed institutionalizing the kindergarten into the basic education system. The
passing of the said law is in consonance with the Millennium Development Goals
achieving Education for All (EFA) by year 2015. It provided equal opportunities for
all children to avail of accessible mandatory and compulsory kindergarten
education that effectively promotes physical, social, affective, cognitive, and
creative - aesthetic development that will prepare them for formal elementary
schooling.
With the passage of RA 10410 otherwise knows as the "Early Years Act of 2013", children
ages 0-4 became responsibility of the ECCD Council while the responsibility to help
develop children in their formative years between ages 5-8 was given to DepEd by virtue
of RA 10533 known as the " Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2012 which covers the
inclusion of Kindergarten in the basic education system".

Mother Tongue - Based Multilingual Education

Consistent with the policy of the state to make education learner-oriented and responsive to
the needs, cognitive and cultural capacity, the circumstances and diversity of learners per
RA 10517, the mother tonge-based multilingual education (MTB- MLE) was made as
medium of instruction for teaching and learning in the kindergarten level by virtue of
DepEd Order No. 32, series of 2012.
Mother tongue is seen as an important medium of instruction by using a local language
understood by the learners. Rutus Foundation (2018) articulated the following benefits with
an education that takes into account children's mother tongue:
1. Children learn better and faster in a language they can understand
2. They enjoy school more and feel more at home
3. Pupil tend to increase self-esteem
4. Parents participation is increased by helping kids in their homework and.
participating in school activities.
5. When children take advantage of their multilingualism they also enjoy higher
socio-economic status including higher earnings.
6. On average, schools perform better, reporting less repetition
7. Finally, children stay in school longer
 Contextualized Curriculum

In terms of curriculum, DepEd has restructured the content of the old basic education
curricula to make it more relevant to learners through contextualization and
enhancement. The Enhanced curriculum also aims to provide students the
opportunity to acquire in-depth knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes through
continuity and consistency across all levels and subjects (K-12 Official Gazette, n,d.)

Curriculum was also made seamless using spiral progression concept by teaching the
simplest concept to more complicated concept through grade levels which will
ensure a mastery of knowledge and skills after each level.
 Senior High School

The additional 2 years of Senior High School is of the most relevant reforms that may be
considered. The 2 years of senior high school was made to provide students sufficient time for
mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary
education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship (K-12 Official
Gazette, n.d.). As such, the following tracks were included in the senior high school:

Academic Track Technical -Vocational Livelihood

Accountancy Business and Management (ABM) Agri- Fishery
Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Home Economics
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Information and Communication Technology
Pre- baccalaureate Maritime TVL
Maritime
Sports Arts and Design
THANK YOU
Presented By : Princess Barbie P. Morano