In 2012, the education reform community made a couple of decisive steps in its drive toward quality education for all learners. First, the K to 12 Basic Education Cycle will now be powered by a full-blown enabling law. Equally important, through the same law, the bilingual education policy is now replaced by Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE).
We have about 20 million learners currently enrolled in our schools. About half a million teachers are there to look after the students’ learning needs, as best as they can with whatever they have, which isn’t all that much. We have a scenario where we need to amplify the effort of a relative few to move a great number. We’ve got the lever, but we need two more things: a good fulcrum and the right place to put it.
The first-quarter growth in the Philippine economy of 6.4 percent is great news, and the mood is very positive that this is sustainable. The buoyant stock market, with the PSE Stock Index breaching 5,200, is one of the best performing exchanges in the world. The Philippine peso continues to surge, which in general is an indication of a strong economy. More importantly, the business sector is optimistic of better things to come, with Malacañang’s determined fight to combat corruption.
When the Aquino administration came to power in 2010, the Department of Education announced a plan to introduce a new scheme into the Philippine educational system. Called the K to 12 program, its implementation started this school year.
THIS MAY run counter to the chorus of parental voices against the K to 12 education reform program, but I write it with a mind toward healthy debate and fully convinced that everyone has the best of intentions.
A few days ago, Deputy Majority Leader Magtanggol Gunigundo of Valenzuela City sent me an e-mail about the K to 12 bill pending at the 15th Congress and its repercussions to mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTBMLE). The measure was taken up at the joint meeting of the committees on higher education and on basic education with Education Secretary Armin Luistro and Commission on Higher Education Chair Patricia Licuanan in attendance.
An upbeat Br. Armin Luistro FSC, the education secretary, announced that incoming Grade 1 pupils and Grade 6 graduates rotating into the new Grade 7 level—formerly known as first year high school—would be in for a new and hopefully more fulfilling learning experience via the freshly minted K to 12 curriculum.
