Better than blisters

IT was already beyond the normal number of days one is expected to have it and the blisters were still on my body. Thank God they did not develop on my face lest I do not have the face, perhaps, to show in the Freshmen Orientation at the University of the Philippines.

Hello college life.

Towards the end of the orientation, a commotion started to brew outside the venue then eventually when the orientation hit its last note, the chant outside the hall even became louder. The freshies were welcomed by the sentiments of the aktibista, for which UP is known of, regarding the budget cut on Education made by the Arroyo administration while more funds were given to Military and Defense.

But unlike his predecessor, P-Noy has allotted a bigger chunk of the gross domestic product (GDP) to the Department of Education (DepEd), 2.2 per cent that is. This should be especially now, and especially that the state is a prime educational stakeholder, that part of the incumbent’s Educational Reform Program is K+12 system.

The said system, in a nutshell, includes the universal kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of Junior High School, and an additional of two years for Senior High School hence the name K+12.

In the interest of the parents of the students, apparently, the new system means that they would be spending more also, with the addition of two more years in high school, than what they used to. I believe this is a main concern amongst parents.

But if you think about it, the intended benefits of the program far outweighed the costs. In a summit held in a college in Manila, Education Undersecretary for Finance Francis Valera said that the earning potential of the graduate would increase with the additional years of schooling. The income of a person who graduated from a six-year course is P35, 280 as compared to P19, 876 for a four-year high course only graduate. The difference is a lot.

For other stakeholders, especially private groups, businessmen, and non-government organizations (NGOs), the K+12 curricula means more profit that can be plowed back (and prestige of course) as supporting and investing means more publicity and media mileage.

The restructure of the basic education system also means a most-likely increase in productivity for their company or organization because the K+12 system aims to better prepare the students emotionally and intellectually. So they would have more competitive would-be employees whose market is not just restricted to the local but as well as overseas. With the K+12, Filipinos can now be more competitive than with the old system as they meet and conform to the standards in the international market.

We see that with the K+12, stakeholders have to shell out more but in the end these costs are offset by the quality of the produce.

To prepare for this ‘major, major’ change in the education sector, materials are now being prepared for the different learning areas, as well as learning resources like teachers’ guides, activity packages, and student modules. More facilities as well are expected to be procured and built.

So noble the aims of this change in the Philippine educational system but what good will it do if one, the attitude of the students towards learning remain yet to be desired. We hear students complaining about the extra two years in high school.

But for me, I’d rather whine about having chicken pox for the second time around than going to high school two more years.

This is an assignment for Education 26 Curriculum Development.