President Aquino Signs K+12 Program Into

Law

In a historic moment for advocates of educational equity, President Benigno Aquino III approved Republic Act (RA)
10533, signing into law the K+12 program on May 15, 2013.

The K+12 program covers kindergarten and twelve years of basic education six years of primary schooling, four
years of junior high school and two years of senior high school. By adding two years to the current educational
system, K+12 aims to provide mastery of skills for lifelong learners and prepare them for career opportunities. The
program also contextualizes lessons to students, as concepts will be explained using local culture with the use of the
students respective mother tongues. The curriculum also prepares graduates to acquire mid-level skills that will allow
them more opportunities even in the global job market.


President Benigno S. Aquino III shares the stage with the students from the Center for Excellence (CENTEX)
Elementary School for a group photo souvenir during the ceremonial signing of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of
2013. Also in the photo are House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and Senator Edgardo Angara. (Photo by: Rey
Baniquet / Malacaang Photo Bureau / PCOO)

During the signing ceremony, President Aquino stated that the K+12 program that this law will empower the next
generation of Filipinos. Teach for the Philippines shares that vision as we leave our mark on our country through our
goal of achieving educational equity.



Philippines creates opportunities in overhaul of K-12
education system
9 Aug 2013
112
The Philippines is undergoing a major overhaul to bring it in line with education systems worldwide,
starting with the K-12 sector. This change to domestic education policy has far-reaching
consequences and is important for international educational institutions to consider when looking for
potential new student recruitment markets.
With the new 12-year curriculum in place, future Filipino students will be ready and better equipped
to join overseas universities at the undergraduate level. And with a K-12 student population of 20.67
million, which will only increase over the next 20 years (see ICEF Monitorsarticle New 2035
enrolment forecasts place East Asia and the Pacific in the lead), the Philippines is shaping up to be
an attractive recruitment destination.
Changes to basic education
The K-12 Basic Education Program aims to provide every Filipino child with the education s/he
needs to compete in a global context.
In May, President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines signed into law a basic education curriculum
that will see a mandatory kindergarten year and two additional senior high school years added to
what was a 10-year education curriculum to make basic education 12 years. The programme has
been adopted not only in schools in the Philippines, but also in Filipino schools abroad that follow the
departments curriculum. Gulfnews reports:
According to Aquino, the K-12 programme will pave the way for an ever
brighter future for young Filipinos by equipping them with basic education up
to international standards.
The goal of the new curriculum is to give Filipino students enough time to master skills and concepts
so that they are ready for tertiary education when the time comes.
Kindergarten was previously optional, and advocates of the K-12 programme argue that students
who went to kindergarten are better prepared for primary education than those who did not. In
addition, the K-12 programme provides for the use of the mother tongue language as the medium
of instruction for students in the basic and lower years to facilitate and expedite learning.
This fabulous interactive map of all public schools in the country could be a useful tool in planning a
recruitment strategy. It contains data on the schools budget, enrolment statistics, education
indicators, number of teaching personnel, furniture, textbooks, classrooms, plus the water and power
supply of some 45,000 schools nationwide.
10 Point Education Agenda
The move to the K-12 policy comes as part of the 10 Point Education Agenda which was set out by
the current government administration. The K-12 Basic Education Program, universal kindergarten
and instruction in mother-tongue languages are but three of the ten points Aquinos administration
want to implement in order to improve the overall quality of education in Filipino schools.
The other seven points include:
Establish the Madaris Education as a sub-system in the current education system;
Make every child a reader by Grade 1;
Improve science and mathematics;
Expand government assistance to private education;
Better textbooks;
Build more schools in cooperation with local government units (LGUs);
Re-introduce technical and vocational education in public high schools.
Australia extends a helping hand
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. Last month, the country grantedPHP
8.4 billion (nearly US $193 million) to address basic education issues and support the
implementation of the K-12 programme.
They have also funded a project to enhance the skills of school officials in managing school
processes and turn schools into learner-centred 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.
Building classrooms and adding teachers
As mentioned, one of the ten points on the Education Agenda aims to address severe overcrowding
in Philippine schools and the shortage of classrooms.
In October of last year, the Department of Education signed an agreement with two winning
consortia which will undertake the construction of close to 10,000 classrooms.
The departments 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
hadnt filled over 61,500 teaching positions.
An increase in student enrolment which caused the shortage of teachers was due to an increase in
kindergarten students a result of the new K-12 curriculum, as well as students who were formerly
enrolled in private school transferring to public school because of tuition fee hikes.
Student enrolment in 2012/3 stood at 20.67 million: 1.77 million kindergarten students, 13.26 million
elementary students, and 5.64 million high school students.
For foreign education providers, this lack of qualified teachers could mean an
opportunity to partner with institutions in the Philippines to develop a teacher-
training programme or qualification.
Increased focus on vocational education
A final point on the 10 Point Education Agenda calls for a re-introduction of vocational and technical
education in high schools, which has been designed to give Filipino students practical skills to gain
employment after graduation a key component in tackling the high youth unemployment rate in the
Philippines.
Some advocates are calling for the adoption of the German model of apprenticeship. The Manilla
Bulletin reported:
The Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) wants the country to
incorporate Germanys system of dual technical-vocational education into the
K-12 basic education programme.
It is hoped that adopting the German model would help address the skills mismatch between Filipino
graduates and the jobs available. Ramon del Rosario, chairman of the PBEd, has said now is the
time to implement the apprenticeship system, because of the start of the K-12 curriculum: It is a
good time because of the development of the senior high school curriculum and that will have a track
towards technical vocational education.
In May, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) announced it had
completed the K-12 technical vocational curriculum, and everything was in place for the start of the
new school year.
TESDA Secretary Joel Villanueva said, Technical vocational education and training (TVET) will play
a central role in the new education model that prepares students for tertiary education, middle-skills
development, employment and entrepreneurship. Courses include automotive servicing,
horticulture, welding, consumer electronics, dressmaking/tailoring, carpentry, food processing and
beauty care.
With such a strong focus on promoting technical-vocational education, foreign
providers who are looking to work in the Philippines might want to consider
how they can contribute to this development.
The Philippines as a study destination
Like many of its neighbouring countries, the Philippines has its eye on becoming a study destination
of choice for students from the Asia-Pacific region.
In January of this year, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration reported that of the 203,753
foreigners in the country, 47,478 are studying in schools and universities across the country (which
is 14% higher than the 41,443 foreigners who applied in 2011). The bulk of those (31,000) are under
the age of 18 and studying at an elementary or high school or on a short-term (less than 1 year)
course.
The Bureaus Commissioner Ricardo David Jr said: Our country is fast emerging as a new
educational hub in the Asia-Pacific region. More and more foreigners are coming here to study and it
demonstrates recognition of the improved quality of our educational system. He attributed the influx
of foreign students to the quality of teaching and the use of English as the medium of instruction.
Some of those students chose the Philippines to study English, and the government is hoping to
boost ESL student numbers by making it easier for them to stay and learn.
In June, the Bureau of Immigration launched a long-stay tourist visa which
allows holders to stay for up to six months plenty of time to spend studying
on a language course.
Last year, ICEF Monitor reported that for international students studying English in Australia, the
Philippines had entered the competition as a destination option for the first time in 2011. Backing
that up, an article in The PIE News quotes Ruth Tizon, Programme Director of the Philippines ESL
Tour Program, as saying,
The Philippines can compete with the US, UK or Australia as an ideal
destination for studying the English language. Aside from its large English-
speaking population [93.5% of Filipinos speak English well], competent
schools and faculty, the Philippines has a rich cultural heritage, offers diverse
tourism attractions and activities, and warmth and hospitality not found
anywhere else in the world.
One thing is clear: the Philippines is looking ahead. With a growing population and a budding
economy, demand for quality education is high. Many Filipino parents welcome the basic education
reforms and are looking forward to more opportunities for their children in vocational and higher
education. We explore both in this follow-up piece.