PHL's poor ranking in reading comprehension shows need for K to 12 review —solon

The Philippines' poor ranking in a global survey of 79 countries in reading literacy, mathematics and science only further warrants the need for an evaluation of the implementation of the K-12 program, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

In a press conference, ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro expressed dismay over the country's ranking in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted by inter-government group Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2018.

The 2018 PISA results showed that the Philippines ranked lowest in the list of 79 countries in a reading literacy assessment, while second to the last in mathematics and science.

"Bilang guro, nalulungkot ako dito result na ito. Sinasabi pa naman natin na enhanced basic education yung K-12," Castro said.

"The more na nagkakaroon ng dahilan para imbestigahan itong K-12, tignan natin yung mga pagkukulang, ano ba yung mga problema ng implementation ng K-12," she added.

Castro called on the House leadership to immediately calendar for deliberation the resolution she and her fellow Makabayan bloc lawmakers filed seeking to conduct an inquiry into the status of the K-12 program's implementation.

"Nananawagan tayo sa liderato ng Kongreso na sana maibaba na sa Committee on Rules itong review ng K-12 at para masimulan na ang ating imbestigasyon or inquiry para makabuo tayo ng ano ba talaga yung ikagaganda ng ating edukasyon," she said.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano himself earlier stressed the need for a review on the K-12 program, claiming that it has not been meeting its intended outcomes.

The House allocated a total of P650 million under the proposed 2020 national budget for the improvement of the K-12 program. —LDF, GMA News