THE ROOTS AND FRUITS OF K-12 CURRICULUM

PRINCESS MAYLENE M. MANIACOP

Education is one of the rights of every Filipino citizen as it serves as one of the weapons in enhancing the skills and competencies of a person that he/ she can use outside teaching-learning environment.

In the past years, the educational system of our country is being left behind because of the 10-year curriculum that we have. Many Filipinos find it hard to seek for employment outside the country because of their educational attainment that is not aligned with other country’s educational system.

K-12 program became one of the hot issues, especially during its pilot implementation, wherein there was a big change in our educational system. Two more years were added to the curriculum and Kindergarten became a prerequisite for a child to enter primary level of schooling. The Department of Education exerted effort in implementing the new curriculum successfully so as to address the problems of the previous curriculum.

The new curriculum prepares students for future employment and also prepreparation for a college degree. A Senior High School may get a National Certificate, proving that he/ she has attained the skills required for the strand that he/ she had. This National Certificate can be used in seeking for a job that is suited to the skill that he/ she had.

K-12 curriculum is also a preparation for a college degree. As the learner pursues his/ her studies in the tertiary level, it is expected that he/ she has a backgroundonwhatwillbelearned/studiedinhernewleveloflearning.

The new educational system has advantages and disadvantages. There is no such thing as perfect pilot implementation. All changes in our system undergo failures and mistakes, the important thing is, the government is still trying its best to resolve these failures and they are making their way on ensuring successful implementation of the new curriculum. As Filipino Citizens, one of our roles is to support the government with regards to the changes that they are making in order to improve the quality of education.

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The author is Teacher III at Macabebe Elementary School, Macabebe East District