K-12 destroys PHL educational system – COTESCUP

Not only is the curriculum of the K-12 program totally wrong, but an additional two years for senior high school can only destroy the Philippine educational system, the Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (COTESCUP) said on Thursday.

"Yung K-12 na ginawa ng DepEd, yung curriculum nila ngayon, ang sinasabi namin tutol kami diyan kasi talagang there is something wrong with the curriculum. It is not just the additional two years. There is something wrong with the curriculum, it will destroy our educational system," the council's lead convener Rene Tadle said on GMA News TV's Balitanghali.

Tadle also disagreed to the Education Department's stance that the K-12 can help Filipinos become more globally competitive.

He added government should instead focus on improving college courses since this is where most graduates are forced to enter bridging programs.

"Yung resulta na gusto nila to make our graduates competitive, hindi mangyayari yun kasi yung ating mga graduates na hindi tinatanggap sa ibang bansa, hindi sila tinatanggap dahil mali yung subject nila sa college so minsan nagbi-bridging program sila," Tadle said.

Tadle emphasized the best solution to address to problems of K-12 is to suspend the program to rigorously study its advantage and disadvantages.

"I think the best solution pa rin is pag-aralan mabuti kung maari pang isuspend ang K-12. Parang yung costs does not outweigh the benefits. Kitang kita ngayon ang gobyerno, sila na ang nagsasabi na preparado sila pero in reality nung tiningnan natin ang Facebook ng DepEd, lahat puro reklamo ang nakikita namin," he said.

COTESCUP was one of the groups that filed a case before the Supreme Court calling for a temporary restraining order and/or a writ of preliminary injunction against the implementation of the K-12 program.

If the program is not suspended, Tadle said DepEd must ensure the curriculum is well made since studies showed an additional two years of basic education is not equal to more jobs and added competitiveness. 

"Right now, there are a lot of studies that show that it will not attain what they [DepEd] want. Hindi magkakaroon ng mas maraming trabaho at hindi mas magiging competitive yung ating estudyante pagka-graduate nila sa K-12. Parang we are just wasting our government's money," Tadle said.

He added countries who adopted the K-12 program also under perform in the fields of science and math.

Tadle said even the United States is reviewing its basic education system.

"May nakita rin silang problema. Ngayon we are rushing to be part of K-12 pero ang hindi natin alam in ways it will only benefit a few people. In ways this is just a business thing. Gusto namin kung talagang gusto umunlad at maging competitive ang ating graduates, improve ang college," he said. 

Earlier, incoming DepEd chief Leonor Briones said she favored the K-12 rollout even if the program is far from perfect. 

Briones said it is too late to stop the K-12 now since the government has been preparing for the program since 2013, including the introduction of a new curriculum for Grade 5 students, additional funding, and helping displaced teachers.

Outgoing Sec. Armin Luistro had dubbed this year as the “best school opening thus far' as most complaints they received were very solvable even with the introduction of senior high school. 

Luistro said DepEd created the K-12 tracks according to student preference surveys conducted by the agency.

Before its implementation, the Philippines was the lone Asian country with a 10-year basic education system joining African countries Djibouti and Angola. — Joseph Tristan Roxas/RSJ, GMA News