Binay vows to 'fix' K to 12 program

Opposition chieftain Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has something up his sleeve in dealing with the problematic K to 12 education program.

"I agree with the noble purpose behind K to 12, but I feel that stakeholders are ill-prepared for such major adjustments in their schedules and resources. We will fine-tune the system to prepare the schools and the students to be ready for the changes," he said.

The presidential standard-bearer of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) says he reckoned that the K to 12 must be complement by an "apprenticeship program" similar to the University of Makati’s (UMak) Dualized Education System.

Binay plans to implement the UMak template in the entire country.

"K to 12 must also be complemented by an apprenticeship program. Private sector enterprises — through their sectoral councils — must be encouraged to work with higher educational institutions in developing a college curriculum that is more attuned to the requirements of the labor market," he said.

Binay said he wants to make schools more accessible to the students through the creation of an educational council responsible for coordinating efforts between different educational institutions.

"We will institutionalize the coordination and linkage of CHED (Commission on Higher Education), DepEd (Department of Education), TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) and private sector through the setting up of the National Educational Council directly under the Office of the President."

"This is to better harmonize efforts in K to 12 implementation and to address the recurring problem of mismatch between academic outputs and needs of industry," he explained.

Critics of K to 12 have scored the current government's alleged lack of preparation to tackle such massive undertaking.

A petition is now pending before the Supreme Court questioning the expanded educational program.