SINCE the start of the year, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) has been conducting regular meetings and consultations as part of its mandate to perform a comprehensive assessment of the Philippine education system. As one of the commissioners of EDCOM 2, I can say that we will look into every aspect of education in the country and leave no stone unturned in our goal of coming up with the necessary reforms to address the weaknesses and other issues hounding the sector.
Part of EDCOM 2’s work is to evaluate the K to 12 program. Enacted on May 15, 2013, Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, institutionalized the K to 12 program in the country. K to 12 composed of at least one year of kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school.
One of the main arguments made when the K to 12 program was being debated in Congress was that it would put the Philippines at par with the rest of the world by increasing the number of years in basic education to at least 11 years. it was argued then that Filipino professionals, including engineers and nurses, were not qualified to practice in many countries due to the requirement of the host countries for a graduate to complete at least 12 years of basic education. Nurses from the Philippines for instance would end up being employed as nursing aides only in some countries before the K to 12 was institutionalized.
Promises were also attached to the K to 12 program, including improving the employability of its graduates. According to the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Basic Education Report, only a little over 10 percent of K to 12 graduates were able to land a job. Vice President Sara Duterte, in her capacity as the Secretary of Education, noted that few employers were willing to hire the K to 12 graduates even though they have acquired many skills and underwent work immersion.
The DepEd and EDCOM 2 will work hand-in-hand in reviewing the K to 12 program and come out with recommendations to improve the curriculum, which the DepEd has found to be “congested, that some prerequisites of identified essential learning competencies are missing or misplaced, and that a significant number of learning competencies cater to high cognitive demands.”
An immediate and practical response to the problem of employability would be for the government to take the initiative of hiring more K to 12 graduates. There are many functions of an office that do not require college graduates to perform. What is important is that the K to 12 graduates are given the opportunity to make some money while gaining work experience and invaluable exposure in an actual workplace environment. Once this initiative gains traction, I am optimistic that the private sector will follow the lead of the government in hiring more K to 12 graduates.
Another problem faced by our K to 12 graduates, particularly those who choose to take the technical-vocational-livelihood track, is the absence of an acceptable certification system on the level of skills they acquired in their senior high school years. Employers from the private sector are often hesitant in hiring the K to 12 graduates, even with their skills training, because of this problem with certifications. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has been issuing certifications for its Tech-Voc students and so it is all a matter of applying the same to the K to 12 graduates.
The Commission on Human Rights also came out recently with a report on the transition from school to work of the youth in the context of the implementation of the K to 12 program and the COVID-19 pandemic. It showed that the graduates had a difficult time adjusting to the workplace, due in large part to their lack of soft skills. The lack of soft skills has been a problem among the youth even before the pandemic. It’s one of the concerns our educational system needs to address going forward, alongside poor reading comprehension and competency in mathematics and science.
Clearly there are many issues hounding the K to 12 program and changes have to be made to make it more responsive to the needs of our students. In the coming months and years EDCOM 2 will come out with its policy recommendations after its consultations with DepEd, TESDA and the stakeholders of the education sector.
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Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 18 years—9 years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and 9 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.
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Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara/PN
