Amid the ongoing review of the country’s basic education program, an advocacy group deemed it “unfair” to dub the K to 12 program a failure.
JOJO RINOZA / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN
“I think that we must really first look at and completely really do a comprehensive assessment of the system first,” PBEd Executive Director Justine Raagas said in an interview on the sideline of the organization’s Annual Membership Meeting on Monday, May 29.
During the event held at the Shang-ril The Fort in Taguig City, PBEd also presented its State of the Education Report which outlined the challenges faced by the country's education system.
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https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/27/advocacy-group-to-unveil-the-state-of-ph-education-on-may-29
Raagas pointed out that it is “easy to say” that the K to 12 has “failed” or the system failed because of the dismal results of international assessments.
“But we have to think about the fact that K to 12 and the first entrants to they system only joined in 2012,” she explained. The graduates of the complete K to 12 system only graduated in 2022.
“It’s really unfair to say that it has failed when in fact, when in fact, those who have entered the workforce or those who have graduated were graduates of an older system,” Raagas added.
Define 'failed'
Despite reported challenges in the implementation of the K to 12, Raagas underscored the importance of identifying “failure” concerning the program.
“Does it mean then that it’s the employability side, does it mean it’s the learning poverty or they are not able to read or to write?” Raagas asked, pointing out that “these things are issues that can be addressed in implementation.”
Raagas also cautioned that it is “very radical” to just completely change the whole system because there are areas that do not work. “We can actually do some implementation and pivots within the system,” she added.
Backtracking, backsliding
For PBEd, there is a “value” in asking what other countries are also doing K to 12. “When we moved to a K to 12 system, we were one of the last three countries in the world which were doing K to 10,” she explained.
Even these two other countries, she added, “have also followed suit, really conforming to international standards.”
Raagas warned that if the Philippines were to go back to K to 10 and backtrack on K to 12, “it’s really kind of backtracking o backsliding.”