The K-12 Controversy in the Philippines

The Department of Education (DepEd) is the agency responsible for the educational system in the country, but sad to say there are several issues and concerns that this agency faced due to the impact of the K-12 curriculum implementation.

On the brighter side, the K-12 program introduced by the Philippine government adds additional two years of our students prior to admission to College. This allows students to align themselves as to what particular expertise, skills, and field of specialization they would engage in the future.

However, Filipinos are known to be competitive in the international community. Our current education system hinders us from becoming even more competitive.

In 2012, the conceptualization of the enhancement of the Philippine education system from the ten years of basic education to a 12-year program through an initiative called the K-12 Education Plan sponsored by the Department of Education began.

The implementation of the K-12 plan in the Philippine Basic Education Curriculum is the key to our nation’s development. Though the government faces many problems as it implements the program over the course of several years, it is a necessary improvement since increasing the quality of our education is critical to our nation’s success.

On the other hand, for the traditional parents who belong in the subsistence category, where their income threshold full under poverty level, cannot appreciate this initiative made by the government. For them, the additional 2 years after high school would cause lengthen expenditures.

Moreover, the K-12 program does not guarantee the Filipino people to become globally competitive. It rather depends on the quality of our educators paired with advanced facilities and resources.

As a result of the premature implementation of the K-12 Program the quality of education suffers. There are not enough classrooms that are conducive for learning, forcing teachers to let the children sit on the floor. According to the progressive block, this program is considered a trial and error for our educational system.  There are some groups complaining that the Department of Education failed to inform the people that the tuition vouchers are not for everyone and that they lack facilities, equipment and resources for the program.