File photo of education secretary ‘Sonny’ Angara from Radyo Pilipinas.
Following the expressed frustrations of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. over the seeming failure of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 program, Department of Education (DepEd) secretary Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ Angara vowed to enhance the program’s implementation in order to upgrade its curriculum.
According to the education chief, he has discussed the K-12 program with the President and since it is a law, as provided for under Republic Act 1533, its implementation should be improved” to address the apparent dismal performance since it’s inception some 13 years ago.
Angara explained that the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 introduced two additional years of senior high school, allowing students to specialize in tracks such as technical-vocational-livelihood (TVL), sports and arts and design.
However, Pres. Marcos Jr. felt that “in the past, there was no value added in the (additional) two years” so he has verbally expressed his desire for senior high school graduates to be truly employable and properly trained.
To resolve this, DepEd has announced plans to provide free certification to TVL students, which was previously unavailable.
Based on the directive of the president, the education department is being tasked to conduct proper assessments of senior high school students in order to prove to employers that they possess the necessary qualifications for employment.
Despite these plans, however, the United Nations Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF) opposes changes to the K-12 program and instead supports the implementation of a strengthened senior high school curriculum.