By Lily O. Ramos
MANILA, June 30 (PNA) — While its full implementation is still to come in 2016, the Department of Education’s K to 12 Program keeps padding its support circuit from the local government units (LGUs) and General Parents-Teachers Associations (GPTAs.
“The K to 12 Program will remove the disadvantages for our graduates and professionals who compete in the global market. K to 12 opens the door for the recognition of our graduates and professionals under the European Standard known as the Bologna Process and the Washington Accord for the United States,” said John Marvin Nieto, acting presiding officer of the City Council of Manila, in a statement.
The City Council of Manila also noted that the previous 10-year basic education program was congested and insufficient, causing Filipino learners to lag behind compared to their counterparts overseas.
The council acknowledged the adequacy of the additional two years in high school, taking into consideration that all of the countries in the world have implemented the K to 12 Program long before, except for Djibouti and Angola.
Moreover, the General Parents-Teachers Association (GPTA) from the Division of Mandaluyong pledged their support to the K to 12 Program by committing to provide career guidance to the learners, initiating school-based interventions complementary to the schools’ academic enhancement of children and educating their co-parents on the fruits of K to 12.
More importantly, parents of Mandaluyong have pledged to ensure that their children will advance to Senior High School after Grade 10.
Supporters believe that the new K to 12 curriculum is designed to allow students to acquire 21st century skills that will help them gain access to a wide array of opportunities, should they choose to be employed, become young entrepreneurs or enter college. (PNA)