Amid the continuing closures of small and medium private schools the Federation of Associations of Private School Administrators (FAPSA) proposed to shorten the basic education in private schools by bringing back the previous 10-year education cycle while letting public schools continue the current K to 12 program.
FAPSA said this will give enough leeway to bring back students who changed schools. It will be easier for them to finish the program since it will just be 10 years and at a lesser expense.
They added that this suggestion is only until the K to 12 program is improved and strengthened.
Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, chair of the House Basic Education and Culture Committee, said that the K to 12 education has not lived up to its promises since data from the National Achievement Tests indicate that students’ scores are not really improving under the program. He suggested that further studies need to be done to see if the program really helps students.
However, some private schools did not share the same sentiment.
Atty. Joseph Estrada of the National Alliance of Private Schools said the country cannot go back to a 10-year basic education program since the reversion will entail a lot of resources wasted and that there will be an adverse effect on graduates.
The Department of Education (DepEd) stressed that it is still too early to judge the effectiveness of the K to 12 program.
“It’s still too early to judge our students or graduates kasi lumang technique, pedagogy, methodology ang nakuha nila. Ang K12 curriculum ngayon ay performance based, that’s one, critical thinking, problem solving, technology driven,” DepEd Spokesperson Annalyn Sevilla said.
The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture plans to tackle the proposal when Congress resumes session in November. (Jasper Camilo)