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BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Various sectors in Negros Occidental, including parents of students, have launched a signature campaign against the K to 12 program of the Department of Education, which is set for implementation in 2016.
The new program will add two additional years in the basic education curriculum, effectively prolonging to 6 years the current 4-year high school program.
Ian Evidente of the Negros Movement for Quality Education said that the group aims to gather 500,000 signatures in the province to call for the suspension of the program. The group has so far collected 2,000 signatures.
Evidente stressed that “K to 12 will be an additional expense and burden to the parents and the students.”
He said that the government lacks budget for the program, adding that 3 million students will be affected because of its implementation.
Since the 2012 school year, has lacked DepEd lacks 152,000 classrooms nationwide, 150,000 comfort rooms and water facilities, 13.23 million chairs, 25 million textbooks, and 112,000 teachers, he stressed.
“DepEd had not addressed the backlog until this time,” he claimed.
He chided Education Secretary Armin Luistro, who admitted that the teachers have no manuals for the K to 12 program and that they have to be resourceful and get from the Internet.
Aside from the signature campaign, the group will conduct protest rallies at public schools during the opening of classes on June 1.
On Monday, some 50 people, including the parents, held a protest rally in front of the office of the Department of Education-Division of Negros Occidental, Cottage Road, Bacolod City.
‘DepEd is ready’
Meanwhile, the Federation of Parents-Teachers Association in Negros Occidental has expressed support for the implementation of the K to 12 program.
Ami Ambagan, Federation PTA president, said that parents and other sectors that show resistance to the curriculum have not understood the principle behind the K to 12 program.
A resolution supporting the curriculum was drafted by the group, he said.
Michell Acoyong, chief education supervisor of DepEd School Governance and Operations Division, said that “the success of the enhanced K to 12 curriculum will be easily done with the triad partnership, which is composed of school, parents, and community.”
He stressed that the DepEd is ready for its implementation, “we are now on 5th year of its implementation,” he added.
In Negros Occidental, 77 public and 24 private schools in the province will offer senior high school program by next school year, with 46,680 students expected to register by 2016 to 2017. – Rappler.com
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