FACT CHECK: Arroyo did not say the K to 12 program will be abolished

The claim: Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now House senior deputy speaker, confirmed that the K to 12 program will be abolished.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: YouTube channel Showbiz Fanaticz posted a video on April 29 with the title “OFFICIAL: Matapos ang PAGPAPAHIRAP | Cong. ARROYO TATANGGALIN NA ang K-12 ni PNOY | MAGULANG NAGBUNYI!” (Official: After the hardships, Cong. Arroyo to remove PNoy’s K-12 | Parents rejoice!). The video has 5,115 views, 173 likes, and 33 comments as of writing. 

The YouTube channel, which currently has 710,000 subscribers, has also been fact-checked by Rappler multiple times. On April 29, the channel published three videos all making claims about the K to 12 program, including one about senior high school supposedly being replaced with mandatory military service.

The bottom line: There are no official announcements that the K to 12 program has been discontinued. 

On April 24, Arroyo filed House Bill 7893 which proposes a “K+10+2” program to replace the K to 12 curriculum. In her explanatory note, Arroyo stated that the current program has failed to produce job-ready graduates. 

The Pampanga 2nd district Representative wrote: “In a country like the Philippines where the poverty incidence is 18%, there should be an option for the young to graduate from basic education soonest, after four years of high school, so that they can help their parents in their farms or micro-businesses.”

Arroyo’s K+10+2 program covers compulsory kindergarten and 10 years of basic education, with two years of optional post-secondary or pre-university education for those who want to take up professional degree studies such as accounting, engineering, law, and medicine.

The bill is set to be discussed by the House committee on basic education and culture and the committee on higher and technical education when Congress resumes session in May.

More from Rappler: Rappler has fact-checked multiple claims regarding the abolition of the K to 12 program:

1. FACT CHECK: Senior high school has not been replaced with mandatory military service – published on May 5, 2023 
2. FACT CHECK: No law passed abolishing K-12 program – published on February 22, 2023 
3. FACT CHECK: Video falsely claims Sara Duterte will scrap K-12 – published January 27, 2023 

For official announcements regarding education and the K to 12 curriculum, visit the official Facebook page and website of the Department of Education.  – Katarina Ruflo/Rappler.com

Katarina Ruflo is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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