Bridging the Gap: Enhanced Basic Education

through K-12
Posted on August 12, 2013 by Ricardo Ma. P.G. Ongkiko Posted in Philippines - Law
One of the more stirring reforms in the past two decades in the field of education is Republic Act
10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (Enhanced Basic Education Act).
Passed by Congress on January 30, 2013 and approved by the President on May 15, 2013, the
law in its full name stands as An Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System by
Strengthening its Curriculum and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education,
Appropriating Funds Therefor and for Other Purposes. The law became effective on June 4,
2013.
Much debate accompanied the passage of the law. Primarily, the statute mandates the
incorporation of two more years of high school to our basic ten-year education cycle. Critics say
the added two years translate only to a financial burden to parents who can barely afford to send
their children to school, to say nothing of how it fails to accurately address the lack of quality
education in the country. Proponents, on the other hand, suggest that the added time will allow
students to learn their lessons with mastery, thereby ensuring their global competitiveness in the
long run. Wherever the debates may lead, the passage of the law urges us to look forward and
observe how the new law might create for us new gains in employment and socio-economic
growth. The first batch of students to begin the K-12 cycle will finish the full program in 2024.
(See http://www.gov.ph/k-12/#Features)
The Enhanced Basic Education Act establishes the Enhanced Basic Education Program, which
espouses the following objectives: (1) give every student an opportunity to receive quality
education that is globally competitive based on pedagogically sound curriculum that is at par
with international standards, (2) broaden the goals of high school education for college
preparation, vocational and technical career opportunities as well as creative arts, sports and
entrepreneurial employment in a rapidly changing and increasingly globalized environment, and
(3) make education learner-oriented and responsive to the needs, cognitive and cultural capacity,
the circumstances and diversity of learners, schools and communities through the appropriate
languages of teaching and learning, including the mother tongue as a learning resource (Sec. 2).
The Enhanced Basic Education Program encompasses at least one (1) year of kindergarten
education, six (6) years of elementary education, and six (6) years of secondary education.
Secondary education includes four (4) years of junior high school and two (2) years of senior
high school education (Sec. 4). The program shall be supported by and implemented through an
enhanced basic education curriculum which the DepEd shall formulate alongside the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA), in consultation with other national agencies and stakeholders including the
Department of Labor and Employment, the Professional Regulation Commission, private and
public schools associations, national student organizations, national teacher organizations,
parents-teachers associations and chambers of commerce (Sec. 5).
The Enhanced Basic Education Act offers the following salient features:
Mother-Tongue Based Multi-Lingual Education. Language is recognized to play a strategic role
in shaping the formative years of learners; hence, basic education is to be taught in languages
understood by the students. For kindergarten and the first three (3) years of elementary
education, instruction, teaching materials and assessments is to be given and made in the regional
or native language of the learners. The DepEd will formulate a mother language transition
program from Grade 4 to Grade 6 so that Filipino and English will gradually be introduced as
languages of instruction until such time when the two (2) languages can become the primary
languages of instruction at the secondary level (Sec. 4). Twelve mother tongue languages have
been introduced for SY 2012-2013, namely: Bahasa Sug, Bikol, Cebuano, Chabacano,
Hiligaynon, Iloko, Kapampangan, Maguindanaoan, Meranao, Pangasinense, Tagalog, and
Waray. (See http://www.gov.ph/k-12/#Features)
Specialized Upper Secondary Education. The law mandates that the enhanced basic education
curriculum shall be designed to ensure the global competitiveness and college readiness of
Filipino graduates (Sec. 5). In this regard, students in their senior year of high school are allowed
to choose a specialization based on their interests, aptitude, and school capacity. Their choice of
career tracks will determine the content of their subjects taken in Grades 11 and 12. A student
can choose among three tracks: (1) Academic, (2) Technical-Vocation-Livelihood, and (3)
Sports and Arts. The Academic track includes three strands: (a) Business, Accountancy,
Management; (b) Humanities, Education, Social Sciences; and (c) Science, Technology,
Engineering, Mathematics. (See http://www.gov.ph/k-12/#Features) After finishing a Technical-
Vocational-Livelihood track in Grade 12, a student may obtain a National Certificate Level II
(NC II) from TESDA, provided he passes the competency-based assessment of the agency. Such
a certificate improves his employability in fields like Agriculture, Electronics, and Trade. (See
http://www.gov.ph/k-12/#Features)
To properly guide the students in choosing their chosen career tracks, the DepEd, in coordination
with TESDA and CHED, shall regularly conduct career advocacy activities for secondary level
students (Sec. 9).
Teacher Training and Hiring
Current DepEd teachers will be retrained to meet the content and performance standards of the
new K-12 curriculum. Superintendents, principals, subject area coordinators and other
instructional school leaders will likewise be made to undergo training on school leadership (Sec.
7).
Significantly, the law also allows the hiring of non-licensed teachers as part-time teachers in high
school. Should they choose to teach full time, graduates of science, mathematics, statistics
engineering, music and other degree courses with shortages in qualified Licensure Examination
for Teachers (LET) applicants, may teach in their specialized subjects in the elementary and
secondary education, provided that they pass the LET within five years from their date of hiring
(Sec. 8(a)). The DepEd and private institutions may also hire graduates of technical-vocational
courses to teach in their specialized subjects in secondary education, provided, these graduates
possess the necessary certification issued by TESDA (Sec. 8(b)).
All in all, the new law seeks to bridge our basic education with, ultimately, employment in the
globalized world. It does this by harnessing language to improve the way we learn, and by
maximizing time spent in secondary education to equip us with skills for the careers we choose.
The implementation of the new law may be expensive, what with the need to build more
classrooms and train more teachers to accommodate two more years of basic education, but it is
about time that we invest heavily in education, if we should invest in the future of our country at
all.