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DepEd chief: K+12 curriculum may shorten college to 3 years
With changes in the curriculum and the two more years added to basic education, colleges and universities may soon drop some subjects that are essentially “remedial high school courses,” thereby shortening college to three years from the usual four years, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said. Luistro also clarified that some private schools already have K+12 (Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary education) program while a few even have up to 13 years of elementary and high school curriculum. He said the Education Act of 1982 provides only for a “minimum” of 10 years, so that private schools can even offer more than the 10 years. There are 7,613 private grade schools and 5,682 private high schools as of the latest count of the Department of Education, Luistro said in his “State of Basic Education” report before the annual meeting of the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) in Makati last Wednesday. The DepEd chief explained that the public school system needs Congress to amend the Education Act of 1982, so DepEd can have legal basis for seeking the budget for the additional two years of senior high school. Former Finance Secretary and now PBEd chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. said the K+12 and other DepEd reforms represent a “monumental change in the way we prepare our youth.” Saying that “now is the time to take bold steps,” Del Rosario assured Luistro the support of the PBEd in efforts to convince Congress to pass a law needed to implement the K+12 program, adding that without the (new) law, the proposed eduction curriculum "would be put at risk.” New curriculum Luistro said the two years of senior high school will happen starting June 2016 – not this year because for the School Year 2012-2013, only the universal kindergarten; the new curriculum for Grade 1; and the changing of First Year high school to new curriculum for Grade 7 will be phased in. Also, Luistro said those who finish the K+12 program "will graduate twice" because they will earn two certificates: one for completion of the DepEd subjects at Grade 10 and the other for finishing the technical skills subjects integrated into the curriculum. For these technical subjects, DepEd is working with the Department f Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Data of the National Statistics Office show that 35 percent of the unemployed are high school graduates. On the other hand, the DOLE said many high school graduates do not get hired because they lack skills and qualities employers look for. Luistro said the K+12 program will address this concern of employers. Not just adding 2 years In explaining the K+12 program, Luistro stressed that the new curriculum "is not just about adding two years, not just about preparing students for jobs, but preparing them for life." Prior to 2016, Luistro said the DepEd will have some “model high schools” try out the senior high school reforms so any implementation issues can be spotted and rectified before full roll-out in June 2016. The DepEd has also been phasing in an array of other reforms such as:
- Subjects in grade school and high school will be taught in the mother tongue or local languages of the students;
- Books and other learning materials being translated into 12 major Philippine languages;
- Science concepts will be integrated into Health and other subjects while separate science classes will come in the higher grade levels;
- Public school teachers to undergo training on the K+12 curricular changes in April and May;
- “Blended learning” and other measures to address dropout and congestion problems;
- Census of in-school and out-of-school youths with the help of barangay officials and other local government officials; and
- “Unique Learner Reference Number” to track individual students as they go through the education system from the time they first enroll to until they leave or graduate.
