Education for All in the Philippines

Rule Of Law -- By Augusto R. Bundang

The great debate as to whether or not we should amend our existing 10-year basic education scheme under the public school system and make it a 12-year basic educational cycle has reignited with the plan of the Aquino administration to add two more years of schooling.

Last week, the Aquino administration announced that Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro would bare the details of the extension plan on Oct. 5, 2010. If the plan proceeds, the six years of elementary education and four years of high school under the present public school system will possibly be replaced by seven years of primary education that will include kindergarten (convertible to grade 1) for six-year-olds and five years of high school (convertible to grades 8 to 12). Admittedly, substantial costs will be incurred to fund the program but its proponents insist that it is important if we are to follow the global standard of 12 years for basic education and be on a par with the rest.

I surfed the Net to seek what educational cycle some countries adopt and found out that while 12 years for basic education appears to be the norm, the approaches utilized to achieve the 12 years of basic education differ. Apparently, once the students finish secondary education, they can already seek and find employment without need of pursuing tertiary education.

In Japan, six years are spent on primary education starting at the age of six, while secondary school is divided into three years of lower secondary school and three years of upper secondary school. In Malaysia, six years are dedicated to primary education with only five years of secondary education divided into three years of lower secondary and two years of upper secondary education. However, it also has a post-secondary education consisting of one or two years; hence, a minimum of 12 years is required before one can apply for a bachelor’s degree.

Singapore has six years of primary level and four years of secondary level but it also makes use of a post-secondary (pre-university) education of two to three years at junior colleges, centralized institutes, and pre-university centers prior to admission to universities. For Australia, schooling in most of its states and territories covers six or seven years of primary school and five or six years of secondary school. China, India, and Thailand also employ the 12-year basic educational system.

The fact that every country seems to have espoused the 12-year scheme has placed us in a situation where we are pressured into embracing it in an attempt to keep up with the trend. This should not be the reason why we have to come up with such a program. I

I welcome the 12-year educational plan in much the same way as I welcome the modernization of our armed forces and the improvement of our health care facilities. But given the meager resources we have, what to me is most essential is determining first our priorities in improving the deteriorating state of our education. What initiatives must first be undertaken to begin the process of rebuilding our educational system?

Putting more money on teachers’ training and benefits, pushing for responsive curricula standards and quality educational techniques and materials, and building workable and sturdy classrooms and facilities may be more crucial than spending billions of pesos on the immediate implementation of a 12-year basic educational program that requires not only a prior in-depth study but also the consensus of the stakeholders. Substance first before form, quality before quantity. A slow and calibrated implementation of the program by probably starting with kindergarten or preschool and then inserting a one-year post-secondary education covering technical and vocational subjects rather than a mandatory five-year high school program may be more palatable to a nation where education is most valued yet remains unreachable to many. The mind-set of the business sector too must also adapt to the eventual change in the basic educational scheme by agreeing to employ high school graduates instead of opting for college graduates to fill up jobs that require less competence and expertise.

The 12-year plan is a laudable move, but like China, India, Thailand, and the other developing countries which have adopted it, it facilitates but does not guarantee an improvement in the quality of education. And by the way: if our 10-year basic educational cycle is really way below the standards of the world, how come several countries still prefer to have us as their immigrants and secure the services of our labor force? Just asking.

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