Educator’s Voice: Bitter Bites of K to 12

MALAYBALAY CITY (BukidnonNews.Net/03 September) Five and fighting! The K to 12 Program of the Department of Education has been around for five years since its implementation in 2010.Yes, five years has passed yet we still debate whether K to 12 is a help or harm, bitter or better, and go or no. We still talk of it like bread out of the oven, fresh and warm.Up until now, we still share the same worries and fears. On May 9, 2015, thousands of people gathered around Liwasang Bonifacio and rallied for the suspension of RA 10533 otherwise known as K to 12 Law.The call against K to 12 was led by Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV. They laid out, one after another, bad and bitter bits of the K to 12. They argued that Philippines is not ready for that one giant step. Their concerns include lack of classrooms, shortage of teachers, and loss of jobs for those teaching in college, and more expenses for the added two years in high school. At some point, they may have a good score.The new program entails gigantic preparation. We can’t just sit around and play safe. We want to be sure than sorry. It needs further and stronger study. Better yet, get everyone involved in a survey. This big change doesn’t and shouldn’t happen overnight. It needs more time. If it was a piece of cake, it would come out half-baked. We can’t just close our eyes and play dead amidst these possible problems. Classrooms, if not out-of-number, are out-of-order. Students and teachers struggle in make-shift classrooms. Some even hold classes in the gymnasium. More than 60 students crowd themselves inside a small classroom. We even need more books, manuals, and materials,especially that pupils in primary education use their native tongue as medium of instruction due to the MTB-MLE (Mother-Tongue Based Multi-Lingual Education) which is a major part of K to 12. Add to that, teachers need to undergo seminars and trainings to orient them of the new methods, policy, and grading system. The program is in need of thousand more teachers particularly for the classes required for junior and senior high schools. Even prior to the implementation of the said program, the country is in dire want for teachers, which the government can hardly cope with. Two of the strongest points against the program are unemployment of teachers and employees in universities and colleges, and the two more years which parents and most students consider a burden. One more year and the pioneers of the new curriculum will have entered Senior High School. It is during this initial stage when enrolment to colleges and universities shall drop for two school years. This will mean massive unemployment of college instructors, employees, and staff. What will these workers do? Where will they go? - From  bukidnonnews.net