Republic of the PhilippinesCarlos Hilado Memorial State College

Graduate School

Current Trends, Issues and Problems in Philippine Education

A. Trending Topic Philippine K-12 Education Program and the PQF

Rationale

Prior to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum guide, the Philippines was one of only three

countries in the world and the only one in Asia that still had only 10 years in basic education.

This has always been seen as a disadvantage for our students who are competing in an

increasingly global job market. Therefore, the longer educational cycle of the K-12 curriculum

was implemented with the main objective which to provide Filipino students a higher quality of

education making them more prepared to enter the labor force.

Historical Background

October 05, 2010- DepEd announced the K+12 proposal.

December 2010- DepEd started the Universal Kindergarten (start of the K+12

curriculum).

January 01, 2011 – The education department encouraged parents to pre-register their

children in the public kindergarten program.

June 17, 2011- The enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program has begun implementation

for S.Y. 2011-2012.

February 13, 2012 – Preparation for the adoption of the new curriculum under the K to 12

program for all grades 1 and 2 public school teachers nationwide.

March 31, 2012 – The enhanced 12-year curriculum implemented starting with incoming

grade 1 students and freshmen of S.Y. 2012-2013 who are the first beneficiaries.

Current State

March 11, 2015- After 4 years of implementation of the K-12 program, the first graduates

of Junior High School will now undergo Senior High School Program.

June 11, 2016 – The Pilot batch of the K+12 Program will be the first beneficiaries of a

free Senior High School before entering college.

Future Direction

March 11, 2018 – After 6 years of the implementation of K+12 program, the pilot batch

completes 6 years of High School and now are ready to go to college.

June 11, 2018 - A full 12 years of basic Education will eventually be required for entry

into tertiary level education.

Year 2021- First graduates in new educational system in the Philippines.

Driving Factors

As presented by DepEd:

1. Sufficient Instructional Time

With K-12 education, students will have sufficient instructional time for subject-related

tasks, making them more prepared in every subject area. With the old system, Filipino

students were consistently behind on achievement scores. In 2008, for instance,

international test results revealed that Filipinos were behind compared to other countries

when we finished dead last in Math.

2. More Skilled and Competent Labor Force

Another reason to support K-12 education is because the graduates of this program will

be more prepared to enter the labor force. High school graduates of the 10-year

curriculum were not yet employable since they were not competent or well–equipped

enough for the workplace.

In addition, high school graduates of the 10-year curriculum are not yet 18. With the new

curriculum, senior high school students can specialize in a field that they are good at and

interested in. As a result, upon graduation they will have the specific job-related skills

they need even without a college degree. When they graduate from high school, these

young people will be 18 and employable, adding to the nation’s manpower.

3. Recognition as Professionals Abroad

Finally, with K-12 education, Filipino graduates will be automatically recognized as

professionals abroad because we are following the international education standard as

practiced by all nations.

There will be no need to study again and spend more money in order to qualify for

international standards. With a K-12 education, Filipino professionals who aspire to work

abroad will not have a hard time getting jobs in their chosen field. Furthermore, they will

be able to help their families in the Philippines more with remittances, property purchase,

and small businesses.

Benefits of the K-12 Program

Benefits of the K 12 curriculum for Filipino students as perceived by stakeholders:

Preparedness for tertiary learning – With adaptation of K-12 scheme, students are

expected to graduate at age a bit older than past graduates’. This is an advantage,

according to DepEd, as graduates will be considered young adults. Hence, they will be

more equipped to deal with much higher level of learning as they enter college education.

Readiness to join the workforce – Unlike the old system, K-12 does not compel each

student to take college after completing Senior High School (SHS). In fact, this scheme

empowers students to make a choice on their own. They may not pursue college education

especially if they have chosen a track other than academic track. The good thing is SHS

graduates will be equipped with skills (through electives) that will make them good at

certain field(s).

Skill competency in the global job market – K-12 system aims to improve Filipino

students’ mathematical, scientific, and linguistic competence. With the new curriculum,

DepEd promised to offer higher quality education through tracks. Each track will give

students enough time to master a field and enhance their skills. In the end, K-12 graduates

will become globally competitive and are set to obtain spot in the stiff labor market.

As presented by DepEd:

Strengthening Early Childhood Education (Universal Kindergarten)

Every Filipino child now has access to early childhood education through Universal

Kindergarten. At 5 years old, children start schooling and are given the means to slowly

adjust to formal education.

Research shows that children who underwent Kindergarten have better completion rates

than those who did not. Children who complete a standards-based Kindergarten program

are better prepared, for primary education. Education for children in the early years lays

the foundation for lifelong learning and for the total development of a child. The early

years of a human being, from 0 to 6 years, are the most critical period when the brain

grows to at least 60-70 percent of adult size.

In Kindergarten, students learn the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors through games,

songs, and dances, in their Mother Tongue.

Making the Curriculum Relevant to Learners (Contextualization and Enhancements)

Examples, activities, songs, poems, stories, and illustrations are based on local culture,

history, and reality. This makes the lessons relevant to the learners and easy to

understand.

Students acquire in-depth knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes through continuity and

consistency across all levels and subjects.

Discussions on issues such as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change

Adaptation, and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) are included in the

enhanced curriculum.  

Building Proficiency (Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education)

In Kindergarten to Grade 3, the child's dominant language is used as the language of

learning.

Filipino and English language proficiency is developed from Kindergarten to Grade 3 but

very gradually.

Mother Tongue is used in instruction and learning materials of other learning areas.

The learners retain their ethnic identity, culture, heritage and values.

Children learn better and are more active in class and learn a second language even faster

when they are first taught in a language they understand.

Ensuring Integrated and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression)

Basic concepts/general concepts are first learned.

More complex and sophisticated version of the basic/general concepts are then

rediscovered in the succeeding grades.

This strengthens retention and enhances mastery of topics and skills as they are revisited

and consolidated time and again.

This also allows learners to learn topics and skills appropriate to their developmental and

cognitive skills.

Gearing Up for the Future

Ensuring College Readiness

Working with CHED to:

Ensure alignment of Core and Applied Subjects to the College Readiness Standards

(CRS) and new General Education (GE) Curriculum.

Develop appropriate Specialization Subjects for the Academic, Sports, Arts and Design,

and Technical Vocational Livelihood Tracks.

Strengthening TVET Integration in SHS

Working with CHED to:

Integrate TVET skills, competencies and qualifications in TLE in JHS and Technical

Vocational Livelihood (TVL) track in SHS

Ensure that any Grade 10 finisher and all Grade 12 TVL graduates are eligible for

TESDA competency/qualifications assessments (i.e. COC, NC I or NC II)

Prepare learning resources that are consistent with promulgated Training Regulations.

Develop appropriate INSET and certification programs for TLE teachers.

Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood Readiness, 21st

Century Skills)

After going through Kindergarten, the enhanced Elementary and Junior High curriculum, and a

specialized Senior High program, every K to 12 graduate will be ready to go into different paths

– may it be further education, employment, or entrepreneurship.

Every graduate will be equipped with:

Information, media and technology skills,

Learning and innovation skills,

Effective communication skills, and

Life and career skills.

Adoption, Integration and Implementation in Education

The K-12 program as supported and embraced by the stakeholders:

Dominica Chua from Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. emphasized the support they will

provide for DepEd’s ongoing campaign. Chua mentioned that 60% of their budget is

dedicated to education. “We are your biggest fan,” she added.

Emiliano Salceda II said that the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) pledges to

integrate their programs to that of the K to 12 curriculum. Consultations are currently

being made in the division and regional level. EDC also pledges to assist the department

on their Technical-Vocational Track in SHS -- being the only center in the locality

offering this track.

 Mr. Marcus Leslie Suntay from the Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. who shared the

triumphs and challenges their company faced during the early implementation of the

program. He also extended his gratitude for the support of the Local Government and

other private companies in addressing their concerns.

Most of private Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and some SUC have taken active

parts in the implementation of the k-12 curriculum.

B. Issues and Problems

The year has strike for full implementation of K-12 educational reform program of the Aquino

administration however the law continues to have its share of detractors and perennial problems

addressed by netizens that may serve as a hindrance for the success of the program’s main

objective which to produce “globally competitive” graduates are still turtle in progress.

Problems and Issues of the K-12 curriculum as perceived by different sectors:

Coalition of Teachers Appeals for Suspension of K-12 Program

Last March 2015, a coalition of teachers and staff of higher educational institutions around the

Philippines petitioned the Supreme Court to suspend the K-12 law. As head of the coalition,

Professor Rene Tadle of the University of Santo Tomas told CNN Philippines that the group

agrees with the objectives of the program. Nevertheless, he said that the law should be suspended

because the government is not yet prepared to implement it, especially with regard to labor. The

K-12 program does not take into account the labor rights of teaching and nonteaching staff who

will be displaced by the program. Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) urged the government

to suspend the K to 12 program, citing lack of preparation, especially in terms of facilities,

equipment, and the hiring, training and salaries of teachers. “We are not ready” for it, said ACT

national chair Benjie Valbuena.

Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV Pushes for Suspension of K to 12 before its

Full Implementation in 2016

"It is in the best interest of the country to suspend the K to 12 Program while we are addressing

the perennial problems of our education system, such as the lack of classrooms and school

materials, high student-teacher ratio, and low salary of teachers. In addition to this is the

government's unpreparedness to the threatened retrenchment of around 85,000 college professors

and employees when the program commences in 2016," said Trillanes, who conducted a country-

wide inspections and consultations on K to 12.

"At this point it is more appropriate to call this the K minus 12 program because of the problems

besetting the program: inadequate resources, inadequate tools, inadequate classrooms, inadequate

teachers, inadequate preparation and planning, inadequate time to prepare for its implementation,

inadequate information dissemination among its stakeholders, inadequate consultations among

affected sectors, inadequate coordination between the government and private sectors,

inadequate opportunities for those who will graduate from the program, inadequate capacity of

parents to send children for additional 2 years in high school, and inadequate heart," Trillanes

said in a statement.

Other Problems Hounding K-12 Program

Failure information dissemination

Aside from the use of mother tongue language as medium of instruction in grades one to three,

aside from additional two years in the four years of high school, what is K-12 program?

Unsuccessful linking of program to household resulted parents view senior high school as an

additional expense.

Two years is an added burden to parents

Alliance of the Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the additional two years in the four years of high

school is an additional cost to parents. “A parent does not only spend money in tuition but also in

transportation, school projects and food,” said France Castro, secretary general of ACT. “Most of

the parents are not aware of the details of this program, including the financial burden it would

bring them," said Professor Rene Luis Tadle, head of Coalition for K to 12 Suspension.

Retrenchment of teaching and nonteaching staff

Government is unprepared and has no clear vision to the threatened mass termination of college

professors and non- academic personnel of schools since there would be no incoming freshmen

in S.Y. 2016- 2017, statement supported by Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV.

Not all high schools offered and qualified for senior high school

Most rural high schools are not yet ready for senior high so students are obliged to move out

from the countryside to enroll the additional 2 years in high school wherever school offers

program that will fits their interests. This concern raised by stipulators will just lead less

fortunate students to stop after finishing their junior high school.

High student-teacher ratio and lack and unconducive classrooms

Congested classrooms with lack of facilities is a great hindrance for effective transfer of

learning. For example a ratio of 50 students is to 1 teacher, students will make noise

simultaneously added by classroom lack of facilities such as lighting and ventilation, do you

think teaching and learning process can be made possible in its better form? Clearly, it’s a no!

Rushed teachers’ trainings & lack of materials

Teachers were trained at a very short time and teaching guides are not massively

distributed. Teachers noted that trainings they have undergone were rushed and not well thought

of. France Castro, secretary general of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the time

spent for teachers’ training is not enough. “There are lots of new things for teachers to learn in

order to implement the new curriculum. One to two months training is not enough”. Castro

added, teaching guidelines and learning modules have not yet been distributed to teachers.

“Supposedly teaching guidelines and learning modules are given to teachers while they are on

training. But, according to the teachers who underwent the training, some of them have yet to

receive the said materials”. Public school teachers, believe that to properly implement the

“flagship” program of President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III, enough time for teachers’

training is essential.

Errors in textbooks

Antonio Calipjo-Go an educator has been studying DepEd textbooks for years and spotted

thousands of errors. He says not much has changed. "Once we are teaching these children in

black and white all of these errors, what happens?" As it says, the criminal of all criminals is a

teacher who is consciously and unconsciously teaching wrong to the students. Why? Because

he/she doesn’t only victimizing one at a single time but he/she is depriving the chance of

numbered children who are laying their future to him/her.

Given these problems with regards in implementation of K-12 law, many can't help but ask: Are

government, DepEd, and other affected sectors really ready for the K-to-12 program? At the end

of the day, those who will bear the burden are public school students likewise the teachers.

C. Recommendations and Solutions

Mitigations initiated to address various problems in the implementation of the K-12

Curriculum

Public Private Partnership in filling numerous gaps in the program implementation

o The Department of Education signed an agreement “with two winning consortia

which will undertake the construction of close to 10,000 classrooms.”

o The department’s Public Private Partnership for School Infrastructure Project

(PSIP) will give schools the physical space they need and “provides the private

sector the business opportunity to invest in the design, construction and

maintenance of classrooms.” Philippine Education Secretary Armin A. Luistro has

said he hopes that by doing so, the classrooms would stand as a testament to

Filipino capability and efficiency. Progress is well underway; construction of more

than 9,000 classrooms began in March of this year. But making more room for

students is only half the solution; someone has to teach them and as of early last

month, the Department of Education still hadn’t filled over 61,500 teaching

positions.

o The only solution of the government to fill in the shortages in the country’s

education system is through Public-Private Partnership projects. According to the

PPP website, the PPP for school infrastructure project (PSIP) seeks to supplement

the current initiatives and program of the DepEd on classroom construction

nationwide. “The objective of the government is to expand the supply of

classrooms in all public school systems as fast as it could reasonably be done and

cut the current shortage of around 66,800 classroom units nationwide.”

o The project was awarded to consortiums of Citicore Holdings Investment, Inc.-

Megawide Construction Corp., Inc. and BF Corp.-Riverbanks Development

Corporation last Dec. 12, 2012. The project would involve the design, financing

and construction of about 9,300 one-storey and two-storey classrooms, including

furniture and fixtures, in various sites in Region I, III and IV-A.

o The PSIP is now on its second phase where 10,680 classrooms are targeted to be

constructed, including school furniture and comfort rooms – in 14 regions

nationwide. The government targets to close the gap in classrooms nationwide by

2013.

Cooperation with other countries to help provide for various needs

o Australia extends a helping hand

o Australia has long been a friend to the Philippines – donating time, funding and

other resources, as well as working with the nation to develop and ensure quality.

The country granted PHP 8.4 billion (nearly US $193 million) “to address basic

education issues and support the implementation of the K-12 program.” They have

also funded a project to “enhance the skills of school officials in managing school

processes and turn schools into learner-centered institutions that continually

improve and build on its best practices.” In return, Australia is surely hoping

Filipino schools and students will select Oz as their destination of choice for

partnerships and study. As ICEF Monitor reported in February, the Philippines is

one of the top ten student markets for Australian schools, colleges and universities.

Assistance to those whose employment were directly affected by the implementation

of the program

o Jesus Mateo, assistant secretary of planning and development of the Department of

Education, told CNN Philippines that the government has set in place programs to

accommodate displaced workers. He says that the government will set aside

funding over the next several years to support a transition fund and several other

programs. About P20 billion in funding has been slated for 2016, as well as P26.7

billion for 2017. Amid claims that a number of teachers stand to be unemployed

because of the K to 12 Program, Luistro gave his assurance saying, "The situation

is manageable. We will be hiring an estimated 30,000 to 41,000 high school

teachers for 2016 and 2017 and we will give priority to the displaced teaching and

non-teaching staff."

o DepEd Green Lane – The Department of Education needs to hire 30,000 new teachers and 6,000 new non-teaching staff in 2016-2017 alone, and about the same number again for 2017-2018–more than enough to absorb all the displaced personnel from the higher education sector. DepEd will open a “Green Lane” to prioritize and fast-track their hiring, in keeping with RA 10533, and will match them according to locality and salary. 

o DOLE Adjustment Measures Program – Those who will opt not to transfer to DepEd, on the other hand, will benefit from the Adjustment Measures Program of the Department of Labor and Employment. DOLE will provide income support for a maximum duration of one year, employment facilitation that matches their skills to the current job market, and training and livelihood programs in case they may want to pursue entrepreneurship, 

o CHED Development Packages

o CHED, for its part, has designed the following development packages for faculty and staff who will experience a much lower workload during the transition, with the view of not only curbing the adverse effects of the transition but also, and more importantly, upgrading higher education in the country:

o ■Scholarships for Graduate Studies and Professional Advancement – CHED will give a total of 15,000 scholarships to higher education personnel: for 8,000 to complete master’s degrees and another 7,000 to finish doctorate degrees.■Development Grants for Faculty and Staff – Those who may not wish to go on full-time study may still avail of grants that will allow them to retool, engage in research, community service, industry immersion, and other programs throughout

the transition period.■Innovation Grants for Institutions – Higher education institutions may likewise apply for innovation grants to fund the upgrading of their programs through: (1) international linkages, (2) linkages with industry, (3) research, or (4) the development of priority, niche, or endangered programs. 

Recommendations and Solutions, as perceived by the reporters:

o The creation of several task force to keep track of the infrastructure, facilities and

material needs for the delivery of lessons in the curriculum

o Create regional committees to review content, appropriateness and effectivity of

the delivery of lessons especially those that were introduced as new / added topics

or subjects like the use of mother tongue in the delivery of lessons.

o Constant, effective quality assurance measures to ensure that the students acquire

competencies expected of them to exhibit at various levels in the curriculum

o Portal to input valuable feedbacks from the various stakeholders for the effective

implementation of the curriculum and improvement of various processes.

o Continuous program to address skills gaps especially to teachers in the TVL tracks

and other strands needing the same.

o Prompt responses to address operational problems distinct to provinces and

various areas across the country.

D. Conclusion

According to George Bernard Shaw “Progress in impossible without change, and those who

cannot change their minds cannot change anything”.

The hardships and setbacks experienced in the migration of the country’s educational system to

the K-12 curriculum is no different from the experiences the citizen have with other agencies in

the government.

The lesson from COMELEC

In 1997, RA 8436 was passed into law, authorizing Comelec to implement an automated system in the May 1998 elections, and in subsequent national and local elections. However, “lack of preparation, time and funding” led to the use of the automated process

only in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in the 1998 elections. In 2001, the COMELEC’s failure to launch a public education campaign on the new election process led to the unintended exclusion of an estimated 3 to 6 million voters (Schaffer, 2009).

In 2007, RA 9369, amending RA 8436, was passed “to encourage transparency, credibility, fairness, and accuracy of elections.” An automated electoral process on a nationwide scale was first enforced in the 2010 elections, which brought President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to power. The multinational company, Smartmatic, was chosen to supply the hardware and software for electronic voting. A few weeks before the elections, the memory chips of the vote counting machines were found to be faulty, and candidates like former President Joseph Estrada petitioned to postpone the elections and revert to manual polls. Elections pushed through as scheduled, however, because all technical problems were deemed to have been addressed. Four hundred sixty-five vote counting machines were reported as malfunctional, but 75,882 machines worked smoothly. Compared to past elections where the winners were known after weeks or months, local winners were determined in a few hours, while half of the national winners were known after a day. As Rep. Raymond Palatino wrote, “Most people are satisfied with the election process and the voting results.

Foreign media and world leaders have already congratulated the Philippines for the successful conduct of its first automated elections.”

(http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/filipiniana-library/filipiniana/70-features/275-a-history-of-automated-elections-in-the-philippines)

The learnings from GSIS

GSIS received numerous complaints when they started reforms by implementing change

to electronic handling of data and in the administration of members’ benefits. Some

members even stopped paying their monthly amortizations in disgust of perceived

inefficiency of the agency in processing claims and updating members’ records.

The GSIS has also announced that it will be replacing the IBM-DB2 with Oracle. Based on its research, the Oracle Database Management Software (DBMS) is very much capable of addressing the problems that IBM cannot solve. Oracle's DBMS is currently used in 65 percent of all SAP deployments, attesting to its reliability and wide-of-use in different markets and industries globally. It will also upgrade its servers and operating system that runs the GSIS database system to those manufactured by Hewlett-Packard or HP.

The GSIS will commence with the final stages of the data migration to a new and better system within the first few days of December. During this period, the GSIS assures its members that it will accept applications for claims and loans, over the counter.

(http://www.gsis.gov.ph/default.php?id=136)o Today GSIS has renewed reputation and the services they render is generally seen

to be efficient and effective.

In conclusion allow us to quote

“Without mistakes there are no lessons. Without lessons there is no progress. Without progress

there is no achievement” Paul Irvine.

References:

ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL and IGAL JADA SAN ANDRES, Bulatlat.com, May 30, 2012

ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL and PARTICIA LOURDES VIRAY, Bulatlat.com, May 30, 2012

Paolo Taruc, CNN Philippines, April 17, 2015

Miguel Ortilla, CNN Philippines, June 25, 2015

http://www.ched.gov.ph/index.php/ched-k12-transition-program/the-k12-transition-in-higher-

education/

http://www.deped.gov.ph/press-releases/deped-gears-k-12-full-implementation

http://k12philippines.com/three-practical-benefits-of-the-philippines-k-to-12-curriculum/

http://www.deped.gov.ph/press-releases/industry-partners-back-full-implementation-k-12

http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2015/04/17/k-12-unresolved-issues.html

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/692757/act-joins-call-for-k-to-12-program-

suspension#ixzz46f63cqvn 

http://www.trillanes.com.ph/media/press-releases/trillanes-suspend-implementation-of-k-to-12/

http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/05/30/two-years-is-an-added-burden-%E2%80%93-parents/

http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/03/07/15/trillanes-spearheads-coalition-vs-k-12

http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/05/30/rushed-trainings-lack-of-materials-mar-implementation-of-

k-to-12/

http://cnnphilippines.com/incoming/2015/06/25/Problems-hounding-K-to-12-program-Part-2-

Errors-in-textbooks.html

http://hubpages.com/education/The-Implementation-o-the-K-12-Program-in-the-Philippine-

Basic-Education-Curriculum

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