Melvin Flores joined the hundreds of first grade pupils who trooped to the West City Elementary School last week. While he is happy to be in school and surrounded by new friends, he is unaware that he is part of a new government program that is intended to put the Philippine educational system at par with the rest of the world.
This is the K to 12 program–where pupils enrolled in first grade will go through 12 years of basic education. For these grade one pupils who were required to enroll in kindergarten last year, this program will also make them go through seventh grade and an additional year in high school.
Another unique feature of this program is that pupils from first to third grade will be taught in the Visayan dialect, or the children’s mother tongue.
While eager to see their children benefit from the new curriculum, several parents noted apparent glitches ranging from the lack of teachers to lack of classrooms due to the expected increase in enrollment.
Melvin’s mother, Melva, however, sees the program as delaying her son’s basic education by another two years. It is a common fear, especially as several parents noticed the lack of classrooms and teachers, with each of the 14 grade one sections packed 45-47 kids to a room.
Jackylou Futalan, a mother, said adding more years to her child’s schooling would be pointless if the learning environment is not enhanced. “The lack of teachers and classrooms must first given attention. Mo agree rako sa K to 12 kung muhatag sila og new buildings og daghang teachers para mas maka learn ug maayo ang mga bata. (I would agree with the K to 12 program if they can also provide new buildings and more teachers to our children can learn better).”
Still another mother frowned on the idea of having her child learn in the Visayan dialect and not in the English language. Maricar Bigno said she fears that the children could lose their competitive edge when they start looking for jobs. “They can learn Visayan outside of the classroom,” she argued.
West City Elementary School Principal Victoria Maquiling, on the other hand, stressed that they have prepared the teachers for the K to 12 implementation through seminars from May 21 to 25. She, however, said they are still finding answers to why enrollment increased from the nine sections they had last year.
A teacher, Mrs. Juliet Pinero, assured the parents that despite their many pupils, she and her fellow teachers know how to handle their classes, banking on their many years of teaching experience.
City Schools Division Superintendent Ramir Uytico also defended the K to 12 program, saying that students can actually learn better because the pupils are allotted more time for every subject.
“Starting last school year we already initiated the advocacy programs in support of the K to12.” Dr. Uytico said, adding that training for the teachers for the implementation of the said program was still ongoing as of last week, attended by all principals of the public schools in Dumaguete. (Ma. Lourdes Barte and Ma. Joanna Reiza Pareja, SU Masscom interns)
