Trillanes wants K-to-12 scrapped

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Sunday vowed to stop the implementation of the K to 12 education system should he become the next vice president.

During the “Harapan ng Bise” vice presidential debate sponsored by ABS-CBN, Trillanes said the additional two years in the country's basic education system is unnecessary.

“Nais po nating ipahinto ang K-to-12 dahil ito po, hindi lang ito pabigat sa magulang, estudyante at mga teacher, kundi hindi rin ito kailangan. Pati sa ibang bansa, hindi ito hinahanap,” he said, adding that it is only the Department of Education peddling the “propaganda” that it is crucial to increasing Filipinos' viability as employees.

Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, requires students to undergo kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school. Its full implementation will begin this school year 2016-2017.

Instead of having students spend two more years for basic education, Trillanes said additional resources must be infused to raise the quality of education in the country.

“Bibigyan natin sila (students) ng classroom environment that's conducive to learning,” he said.

To ensure graduating elementary school students have the necessary skills to progress into high school, Trillanes said he wants all Grade 6 students to take a national high school entrance test.

“Doon naman sa Grade 6, para lang masigurado na preparado lahat, magkakaroon ng national high school entrance exam na yung makakapasa, diretso sa high school at yung hindi, sila ang mag-grade 7,” he said.

Aside from their thoughts on education, the four vice presidential candidates in attendance at the debate were asked on their thoughts on other issues deemed to be the most important by voters: health, , employment, food security, savings, and peace and order.

Joining Trillanes at the event were Senators Francis Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano, and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo.

With regard to improving peace and order, the senator said he believes criminality would be curbed if a national ID system is in place. He also wants additional benefits for policemen so they will not be enticed to engage in corrupt activities.

To improve public healthcare, Trillanes said he wants to nationalize all public hospitals managed by local government units so all equipment, medicine and services would be standardized. Nurses, he added, must also be placed in all health centers to cater to the public's needs.— APG, GMA News