HOW’S the K to 12 program? A lot of issues have emerged since its implementation, including the chronic underfunding for the requirements of basic education.
Even the employability of the graduates of K to 12, a much-vaunted promise of the program, is now in question, with recent statements from the business community as to the lack of job readiness or competence for employment of the first batch of K to 12 graduates.
Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 mandates basic education to encompass one year of kindergarten education, six years of elementary education, and six years of secondary education, which includes four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school (SHS). This overhaul of the country’s basic education system brought with it a myriad of issues as reported from the field by teachers and other school personnel, parents, and students.
There have been reports of persisting shortages in schools and classrooms, particularly for senior high school, other learning facilities including computer and science laboratories and libraries. These shortages are endured everyday by teachers, other school personnel, parents and students who are forced to shell out from their own money to make school facilities and equipment available.
The government has been the increasing funding for the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Program (GASTPE) which is the single biggest program under the Department of Education (DepEd), with P13.69 billion for the SHS Voucher Program for private schools, P742.454 million for the SHS Voucher Program for non-DepEd public schools, and P1.16 billion for the SHS tech-voc track in 2018. But despite the increasing budget for the GASTPE, official government statistics show that key metrics of access to and quality of basic education such as participation rate or net enrollment rate, retention rate, completion rate, and teachers’ welfare and training profiles, leave a lot to be desired.
The K to 12 Law is also the subject of various pending petitions filed by representatives of teachers and other school personnel, parents, and students who question its constitutionality on both substantive and procedural grounds.
Before the start of the new school year, the program must be seriously assessed.
