A decade has passed since the institutionalization of the K-12 curriculum, yet there remains no reform, or even an assessment, in the education system. It now falls in the hands of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration to fix a system that has long stunted the quality of education amid a worsening learning crisis in the country.
The K-12 curriculum promised a strengthened basic education and increased employability for high school graduates. But after its implementation, only 14 out of the 70 leading companies in the country were inclined to hire senior high school graduates, according to a report by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. The unmet goals of the K-12 program to increase quality education and the exacerbating effects of learning loss due to the pandemic prove the urgent need for a new curriculum that fits the needs and conditions of Filipino students.
Last January, Sara Duterte, secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), said that the administration is working on a review of the curriculum through the formation of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). This is in line with Marcos’s legislative agenda on education in his development plan. The commission aims to address the perennial issues that beset the education system such as overcrowded classrooms, insufficient teachers, and a congested curriculum, among others.
But this is not the first time the government has promised to assess the education system. A provision in the K-12 program states that an assessment has to be done five years after its implementation, but the Congress Oversight Committee failed to provide a review in 2018. DepEd also conducted a review in 2021 and planned to implement changes in the following year. The assessment, however, was never released and reforms were not launched by the agency.
Delays and failures in the curriculum review are caused by the government’s lack of accountability in addressing the needs of the education sector, according to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT). “Ang isang mayor na dahilan para sa amin dyan ay iyong hindi handa ang Department of Education na harapin iyong karumal-dumal na katotohanan sa kapalpakan ng K-12 na abutin iyong mga goals na itinakda nito,” said Raymond Basilio, secretary-general of ACT.
Basilio also said that the government has not been democratic in its review of the curriculum, noting that its mechanism has been overly fixated on a top-down approach. Even with ongoing consultations with the EDCOM II, ACT expressed concern over the lack of assurance that its comments would be incorporated into the reform.
Problems that persist in the education system should be addressed quickly by the administration to prevent the country from spiraling deeper into catastrophe. The education crisis is like a time bomb that may explode anytime if left unaddressed, said Basilio. “Hindi laruan ang kinabukasan ng mga bata. So kailangan talaga natin precisely i-address iyong crisis at pigilan iyong pagputok ng bomba.”
Contrary to other countries that have been swift to address the problems of the education system, the Philippines lagged in coming up with concrete actions to mitigate the effects of the crisis on its constituents.
Vietnam implemented its remote learning program last 2020 and was made available through 28 television stations nationwide to promote accessibility to students, according to a report by the World Bank. Countries like China, Singapore, and South Korea have also invested in learning modes based on information and communication technology systems, and improved training programs for teachers. Meanwhile, remote learning in the Philippines was riddled with problems due to scant resources for students and teachers.
It would take more than the reopening of schools to remedy the effects of the learning crisis. Rectifying the broken system must be supported by policies and programs to improve the quality of education.
ACT maintains its stance to formulate a new curriculum through an open consultation among all its stakeholders given that the implementation of K-12 has done minimal changes to the state of education in the country. The group also proposes the allocation of six percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to education to fund the hiring of more teachers and non-teaching staff and the establishment of additional classrooms. Currently, only 3.6 percent of the country’s GDP is allocated to the education sector.
Holding the administration accountable for its sluggish measures in addressing the problems in the curriculum becomes a priority to promote the welfare of students and teachers. Students with learning gaps will inevitably suffer when they reach industries, which will also affect the progress of the economy in the long run. Only through timely and participative assessment of the curriculum can the country significantly solve the problems hounding its education sector. ●
