K-12 Curriculum in the Philippines

Due to the government’s lack of budget, facilities, and teachers, the K-12 curriculum will be hard to implement. The Philippines is need of better education, not more education. The problem of poor education should be solved first. The Department of Education (DepEd), it is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the management and governing of the Philippine system of basic education, should first ensure the people that the quality of their education is excellent.

The problem of basic education in the Philippines is not the length, but the content. Actually, earlier than the K-12 curriculum, the DepEd started updating the way the students are taught. The Understanding by Design (UBD) was introduced as a tool for preparing lesson plans. The original authors of the UBD, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, state that the UBD is not good for preparing lesson plans. The DepEd should fix the current curriculum for better education, instead of adding new subjects which will probably increase the problem of poor quality education. The curriculum in the Philippines from the past is not good, and the new K-12 curriculum will only add complication to our present education system. The government should focus on fixing the current curriculum before adding major changes so the people would know if the change is necessary and beneficial.

Another problem concerning the implementation of the K-12 curriculum is the cost. “The government does not have the money to fully support today’s ten years. The DepEd should first solve the lack of classrooms, furniture and equipment, qualified teachers, and error-free textbooks.” (Cruz, The K+12 debate, 2010). The government must be prepared for the costs of the implementation of the K-12 curriculum. Keep in mind that the parents are also going to spend more money for their children’s education. Also, a major concern is the qualification of teachers. As a matter of fact, teachers are the reason as to why we are educated people. So it is the government’s obligation to ensure the people that the teachers are qualified for the job. If the government will impose the new K-12 curriculum, they should train quality teachers to teach the new curriculum. That would again require savings and preparation because up until now some teachers are still in need of training, and it is the government’s responsibility to solve that problem.
It has been stated that in the new K-12 curriculum, the graduates of senior high school will be able to work immediately even without a college degree. They could work in call centers, shipping, and hotels. However, this would likely increase the drop-out rates in college because most students would be tempted to work than to study. Although some would choose to work first and save up for college, it would still be a problem because there will be less college graduates for every year. Also, what would happen to the prestigious jobs? Surely there will be fewer students who would take up medicine, engineering, and many other courses that requires at least 5 years because they would be given the opportunity to work right after they graduate. The students would retort to working in Call Centers which will be a problem because there will be a whole lot of call center agents in the future.

Changing the curriculum is not necessary, fixing it is the solution. The K-12 curriculum is not needed, or maybe not yet. The government should focus on giving the Filipinos a better education. Solving a problem is not done by creating a new one, but it is fixed by knowing the roots of the problem and then correcting it. Is the Philippines ready for a major change in education when in the first place the education here is not really of good quality? The government, specifically the DepEd, should have enough funds to fix the current curriculum before adding more years for education. Even if the DepEd adds a few more years, nothing will change because the educational tools are still the same so I suggest that before they implement the K-12 curriculum, they should focus on giving the Filipinos the quality education they deserve. Education is not based on the years of schooling, but the knowledge you have acquired from those years. Quality over quantity.