Made up of about 7,100 islands, the Philippine government could be strategically

challenged when general development is concerned, but over the years, from the year 1960

to 2008, there was a change from 72 percent to 95.4 percent of adult literacy rating

(UNESCO, 2008). With this, economic growth also took place giving Philippines a 7.3 percent

Gross Domestic Product growth rate in 2010. In the midst of the improvements, another

change came in the sector of education, and it was the implementation of the K-12 program.

The K to 12 Program in the Philippines covers Kindergarten and twelve years of basic

education. In those twelve years, there will be six years of primary education, four years of

Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School. Professor Lorina Calingasan of

College of Education in the University of the Philippines Diliman (2010) explains that K-12

means extending education by two years, so instead of having a high school graduate at 16,

we will have high schoolers graduating at 18. This could provide sufficient time for one's

mastery of concept and skills, prepare graduates for tertiary education, develop students of

their middle-level skill, entrepreneurship, employment, and develop lifelong learners. Even

though this could help the Filipinos in the future, it could create or be a problem to those who

could not even graduate from high school because of poverty.

The poverty issue in the Philippines, appears as a mystery of faults and causes and

one of the causes is that some Filipinos are either uneducated or undereducated. With K to

12 program being implemented, it will be hard for some Filipinos who are in poverty to adjust

with the program. Based on the latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey (2006),

Filipino familes prioritize consumption and spending for food and other basic needs over the

children's school needs. With Filipino families prioritizing other things over school, the addition

of two more years could lead to a higher dropout rate which could mean more undereducated

Filipinos. With more undereducated Filipinos, it could imply the rise of numbers of Filipinos

who is in and near the poverty line. This poverty issue could add to the poverty problem and
unlike the Philippines' Southeast Asian neighbors, poverty is less of a problem than before.

Some Filipinos have been wondering about the reason behind the implementation of

the program. The reason behind it is that the Philippines is the last and only country in Asia

and one of only three countries globally with a ten year pre-university cycle. The Department

of Education, also says that the best period for learning under basic education is a thirteen

year educational program. Globally, the program is also the recognized standard for students

and professionals. The implementation of the program may have it's reasons, but some critics

ask about whether it is necessary, if it is really beneficial to the Filipinos, and if it could be a

help to the Filipinos in and near the poverty line.

Some Filipinos may have fallen to the poverty because of being uneducated or

undereducated and for this reason, this paper aims to investigate on the K-12 program and

see it's benefits both present and future, what it is to other Filipinos, the issues that is

concerned with it, it's necessity, and how the program will truly help the Filipinos.

The K-12 program may have it's faults and benefits, but with the program, it could open

more jobs for the youth, even without a college diploma. With more jobs for the youth this

could improve the economy and could give more job certainty to a Filipino youth without a

college diploma.

Literature Review

Isagani Cruz (2010), in his mini critique on Pros and Cons in the K-12 Basic Education

Debate, He discussed about the advantage and disadvantages of the K-12 program. In his

critique he said Enhancing the quality of basic education in the Philippines is urgent and

critical this due to other countries using K-12 in their educational system and being able to

become more productive and effective workers or leaders. He also stated that with the k12

system the newly high school graduates will now be able to pursue a job if they want to, this
will become possible due to the added electives in different field of studies being taught to

them and for them to reach the legal age of 18 and be able to join the labor force. Also some

colleges in other countries do not accept fresh high school graduates from our current

educational system, because it is not compatible with their system.

Some downsides were stated in his critique, One of them was that Parents will now

need to pay extra tuition fee or even transportation and food for the extra 2 years added to

their child's year in K-12. He also said that This will spell financial disaster for many Higher

Education Institutions (HEIs), this due to the lack of new students in college/universities,

because students will be stuck with the added 2 years in their curriculum, also the dropout

rate of students will increase due to the added years.

On another article reviewed, the article Philippines K-12 program could leave many

school-less according to Joe Torres' article (2015), only half of the Filipinos currently studying

in 4th year high school will be able to continue their studies in the next 2 years added by the

k12 system. The k12 program will be able to help Filipino students to have more educational

opportunities, but because of the added 2 years in their program, it can cause a problem with

the poor communities. Therefore some students will not be able get their college degrees due

to the added financial burden given to the poor by the k12 program. It seems that the k12

program is pro-rich and not being able to cater the people with financial problems. Also the

gap between the rich and the poor in the Philippines is already getting bigger, and if the

problem with poverty won't be solved faster it can affect our economy in total.

The government already implemented the k12 program, even though it can affect the

lives of some Filipinos in the short run, they believe that it can help our country in the long run

to be save from poverty and become more competitive against other nations.

On the article, Benefits of the K 12 curriculum for Filipino students by Uyquiengco

(2014), the K-12 education system has been a question to the new parents and it is not very
clear what K-12 means and its impact to their kid's future. What is K-12 Education? It is to

describe primary and secondary education that includes kindergarten all the way to grade 12.

Many new parents start hearing about K12 since before their children are born. However, they

are not very clear about what K12 means, and why is necessary for them to start inform

themselves about it as it will impact their childrens future.

K-12 is a type of education that prepares the children for their years in college and

future employment that isr why it is important for parents to understand what is K-12

education and choose educational plan for their children.

Many of the K-12 education institutions prepare educational plans for parents

depending on their personal circumstances. This gives parents the opportunity of choosing

the K-12 institution adequate for their personal situations. It has also become a focus for

governmental programs aimed to improve education and provide children with equal

opportunities. The chldren who attend these institutions have move more chances of getting

into their university or college of choice. It is really important for parents to understand what is

K-12 education for the best plan for their children.

Another article about the K-12 program by Abueva (2015), K-12 Basic Education

Program, says that the development of K-12 Program has been made possible by the

collaborative efforts of members of the Steering Committee which is composed of DepED,

CHED, TESDA and other stakeholders. Enhancing the quality of basic education in the

Philippines is urgent and critical. Education outcomes in terms of participation, completion

and achievement rates attest to the urgent needs. The poor quality of basic education is

reflected in the low achievement scores of Filipino students in National Achievement Test

(NAT) or other internationals tests. Students do not get adequate instructional time on task

and this is partly due to the congested curriculum. The high school graduates are not

adequately prepared to pursue higher education and they still have to undergo remedial and
high school level classes in colleges and universities. The Philippines is the only country in

Asia and among the three remaining countries in the world that has a 10 year basic

education cycle. The K-12 basic education program seeks to enhance the quality of basic

education. The societal and individual benefits of K-12 program outweighs its costs to

individuals and families,and for the society and the economy. Thus, the education will ensure

a smooth transition to the K12 program.

The article of Joe Torres (2010) and the mini critique of Isagani Cruz (2015)

investigates about the K-12 program advantages and disadvantages. It shows that the

program has a great impact in the Filipino society, the advantages of it, is that it can help the

society in the future and to be able to keep up with other first world countries, also graduating

after Grade 12 can already find a work, because they are already 18 years old., in the other

hand, the downside is that it will cost more tuition and that there are many poor sectors in the

Philippines.

On the article by Uyquiengco (2014), the author tried to investigate about the child's

future with the benefits of the K12 system to further explain it to the parents. While on the

other article by Abueva (2015), the author tried to investigate about the child's future with the

benefits of the K12 system to further explain it to the parents. In the article "Kto12 Basic

Education Program", the author discussed the advantages of having the K12 education

system in the Philippines. The study of Abueva and the other article show the benefits of

having the K12 system. It could be hard for other students in the start but the studies shows

that it would give the imdividuals, families, society and the economy a better future for the rise

of the country.

The articles of Joe Torres (2010), Isagani Cruz (2015), Uyquiengco (2014), and

Abueva (2015), investigated on both the advantages and the disavantages of the K-12

program. These discussion failed to consider how the program could solve the disharmony
between the pacing of the program and the Filipinos.

The researchers would like to investigate on the the negative and positive effects of the

K-12 program to the country, and what could be done by the Filipinos who will be affected by

it.

This study would like to answer the following Research Questions:

1. How will the K-12 system affect the development of our country's economy?

2. What are the benefits that one can reap from following the system of the K-12

program?