By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
Three years after the Senior High School (SHS) under the K to 12 Program was officially rolled out nationwide, some parents still find the education reform a “burden.”
Yelyn Mistiola, mother of Grade 11 student Christopher, shared that while the K to 12 has “good intentions,” parents like her could not help but be “burdened” by the additional two years in the basic education cycle.
Yelyn Mistiola and her son, Christopher, a Grade 11 student shared that while the K to 12 has ‘good intentions’, the education reform is still a ‘burden’ because of the additional expenses (Ina Hernando-Malipot / MANILA BULLETIN)
Mistiola, a mother of two, shared how sending her kids to school has been a “struggle” especially when the SHS of K to 12 Program was implemented. “The K to 12 program is good but when it comes to daily expenses and projects, it can be hard to make ends meet,” she said in Filipino. “If there’s no K to 12, my child would have been to college already and would be a step closer to his dream of becoming a doctor,” she added.
With the planned review of the K to 12 program, Mistiola expressed hope that policy makers will also take a look on the toll of the program to the parents who “barely have enough” to send their children to school. “All parents would want their children to finish their studies so we do everything to make this possible but when we barely have enough money to spend, their education is also affected,” she added.
Review K to 12
Earlier, Pasig Representative Congressman Roman Romulo announced that the House of Representative (HOR) will conduct an oversight review of the K to 12 program to assess its implementation and gauge its effectiveness.
“Next year, we will call for an Education Summit to talk about the challenges of the adults who are implementing these education reforms, what we want is to help them address the challenges and ensure that no child will be left behind,” Romulo said in the recently-held First National Summit on the Rights of the Child in Education.
Meanwhile, Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla noted that the agency “looks forward” to the review of the K to 12. “When we we’re having budget hearings, we’ve been talking about this in the House and in the Senate,” she said.
Sevilla noted that the K to 12 review is “really expected” because part of the K to 12 law is monitoring and evaluation. Until after the K to 12 review has been completed, she said that DepEd will still stick to its position.
“We’re just starting with the K to 12 and we really need this because we need to catch up in terms of new ways of teaching, new ways of learning and if we start to go backwards, this might have a bigger effect on our learners but also to the development of our country as a whole,” Sevilla added.
Parents, students still need help
In an effort to help parents and children who are affected by the K to 12 program, a non-profit in the State of Florida started a mission here in the Philippines.
Believing how education could empower even the marginalized members of the society, the 4Ever40 Sisterhood Association, Inc. started its “Akbay Pag-Asa” project in 2016.
Three years ago, 4Ever40 Sisterhood Association, Inc. Founder Rose Demille visited the Philippines and spearheaded the “Akbay Pag-Asa” project in coordination with a local church, the United Methodist Church, represented by Ma. Luz Polinar in Deparo, Caloocan City.
During her first visit, Demille shared that “hundreds of marginalized families in the poverty stricken area were interviewed, selected, and given their much-needed hope.”
Demille added that elementary and high school children - whose parents are jobless, some are sick, and some are orphans - were selected to be the beneficiaries of the pilot episode of this project. “They we given financial assistance for ‘baon,’ transportation, and projects,” she shared.
This year, Demille is once again visiting the Philippines and hold the activities in line with the “Akbay Pag-Asa” program. Aside from feeding program for at least 250 less privileged kids in Caloocan City, the association also met with students who need financial assistance.
Demille talked to needy students in high school and college who might “need tuition fee for the semester, books or any education related” as part of the association’s mission: to “educate the marginalized members of our countrymen by giving financial assistance” through various sponsorship and pledges.
For Noweille Ramirez, 21, assistance given by organizations like the 4Ever40, gives hope to students like him. “When we receive support like this, I feel that we are inspired to become better in our studies because there are people who believe in us,” he said. Along with his father Rolando, Noweille was among those that were interviewed to receive continued assistance from the association.
Meanwhile, Polinar, who is the program coordinator in the Philippines, shared how the assistance from the association continues to give hope to children and parents who are affected by the K to 12.
“Many of the students and parents say that they are struggling to send their kids to school especially with the K to 12 that added up two years of schooling,” she said in Filipino. “While the financial assistance is not that much, we take pride that we continue to change the lives of the children by sending them to school, finish a degree and hopefully, get jobs in the future to help their own families,” she ended.