Education equips a human being with the essential knowledge and skills he/she needs to become a functional member

of a society. According to the World Bank, education can also be one of the strongest instruments for tumbling poverty, thereupon improving the well being of the people. !owever, to begin and maintain a high quality education system, proper finances must be made. "earning remains a top priority in the #hilippine perspective. $espite the various development plans and pro%ects formulated by the government and different sectors, the quality of the #hilippine education still leaves much room for improvement so that they pursues the achievement of e&cellent undergraduates both elementary and secondary level. At present, the $epartment of education pronounces the addition of two more years in the basic education of students, which according to them will benefit not only the 'ilipino youth but all the 'ilipinos in the #hilippines. As part of the efforts of the present administration to respond to the perceived needs of the education sector, the $epartment of Education ($epEd) had pushed for the implementation of *Enhanced + to ,- Basic Education #rogram. First let us make a general idea about K to 12? *+ to ,-. stands for kindergarten plus ,- years of elementary and secondary education. /his educational system for basic and secondary education is widely adopted around the world. $epEd 0ecretary Armin "uistro presented the Basic Education 0ector 1eform Agenda (BE01A) last 2arch in the annual membership meeting of the #hilippine Business for Education (#BEd). BE01A, as a package of reform initiatives, considers + to ,- as the flagship reform strategy. /he ob%ective of the program is to be able to produce more productive and responsible citi3ens equipped with the essential competencies and skills for both life long learning and employment. 'rom among various proposals and studies conducted to come up with an enhanced model that is suitable to the #hilippine conte&t, $epEd proposed the + 4 5 - model or the + to ,- models. /his model involves kindergarten, si& years of elementary education, four years of %unior high school (6rades 7 ,8), and two years of senior high school (6rades ,, ,-). /he two years of senior high school intend to provide time for students to consolidate acquired academic skills and competencies. /he curriculum will allow speciali3ations in science and technology, music and arts, agriculture and fisheries, sports, business and entrepreneurship.

/he change is two fold. 9t will give focus not only to the curriculum enhancement but also to the transition management as well. /he intention of + to ,- is not merely to add two years of schooling but more importantly, to enhance the basic education curriculum. 9n a discussion, prepared by the $epEd in the last quarter of -8,8, it was pointed out that + to ,- is an effective cure to the deteriorating quality of the #hilippine education system. /he low achievement score of 'ilipino students in the :ational Achievement /est (:A/) is one of the indicators of a defective education system. /he $epEd also noted that the present ten year curriculum is congested wherein students are forced to absorb all the knowledge and skills necessary in a short and limited span of time. As a result, high school graduates are often unprepared for employment, entrepreneurship, or even higher education. /hey do not yet possess the basic competencies or even emotional maturity essential for the world outside the school. !igh school graduates who do not pursue higher education are thus unproductive or vulnerable to e&ploitative labor practices. 9n the same conte&t, those who may be interested to put up their own business cannot enter into legal contracts yet. /his partly e&plains why the number of unemployed 'ilipinos is increasing at an alarming rate. /he short duration of the basic education system is also a disadvantage for the overseas 'ilipino workers (;'Ws), especially the professionals, and those who intend to study abroad. $epEd further claims that the 'ilipino graduates are not automatically recogni3ed as professionals abroad because the ten year curriculum is usually perceived as insufficient. /he $epEd therefore strongly believes that the + to,- program will give every learner the opportunity to receive quality education based on an enhanced and decongested curriculum that is internationally recogni3ed and competitive. The execution plan As a flagship education program of the Aquino administration, + to ,- has been proposed to be implemented by phases. 0takeholder consultations, policy discourses, and education summits were conducted to solicit inputs and feedback on the proposed model. 'igure , shows a summary of the e&ecution plan of the + to ,- #rogram. <niversal kindergarten has already become mandatory beginning school year (0=) -8,, -8,-. /he new curriculum for 6rade , and first year >unior !igh 0chool (6rade 7 >!0) students were already implemented this 0= -8,- -8,?.

/his scheme gives the administration ample time to prepare and provide the necessary infrastructures, materials, and trainings for the 0enior !igh 0chool (0!0) education which is to be launched by 0= -8,4 -8,7. By 0= -8,@ -8,A, all students would have already finished ,- years of basic education and would therefore be ready to enter college.

Critics, Issues, Concerns and Conclusion /he + to ,- program stirred mi&ed reactions from different sectors. While supporters strongly believed that this is the key to quality basic education, critics argued that it is merely a superficial solution and does not truly address the more fundamental problems of the educational system. But, if we face in reality one of the main problems in the #hilippines which the government needs to resolve is the lack of school and classrooms in the different parts of the country. 9t is important that students stay in a place that is conducive for study while they are away from home. 9n addition, with teachers go abroad to teach, or do another %ob, there is already a shortage of educators in schools that molds the mind of learners. And this deficiency has become a problem in the country for the past several years. 'inally, there is a need for the students to utili3e the appropriate instructional materials and school equipment for them to learn and gain the necessary knowledge in the school. /his lack of accessibility in books and other school supplies clearly manifest the scarcity in the public schools in the country.

And now in two years of + to ,- #rogram, those problems are still a problem, as one of the trainer of this program 9 notice that the $epartment of Education is not yet ready to face and provide the needs of the said program and two years from now the grade ,, and ,- is coming but the question is are we readyB /here is nothing wrong in aiming the other fraction of a hori3on, and that is what our government attempts to accomplish. 9t is in fact an indication to aspire for smoothing higher, one must carry out certain actions to achieve the goal. !owever, the administration also ought to reali3e and clearly understand what the educational system in the #hilippines needs to develop primarily. And foremost, it must be made clear that a longer education cycle alone could be useless without corresponding improvements in other aspects of the system. #roper training of teachers, additional classrooms and appropriate te&tbooks, better facilities such as libraries and laboratories (computers rooms, science laboratory, /"E rooms and speech laboratory) must therefore be deemed as urgent as the implementation of this program.

1epublic of the #hilippines LAGUNA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY Los Baos Campus "os BaCos, "aguna

Filipino 20 Cu!!i"ulum #$%$lopm$n& an' R$"$n& T!$n's

0ubmitted toD

(R) CELSO L) BANASIHAN #rofessor

0ubmitted byD

(ARION C) LAGUERTA (2A/ '9"9#9:;)