Educational stages Essay

The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior high school, and two years of Senior high school) to provide sufficient time for tmastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare garduaes for the tertiary education, middle-levels skills development, employment, and entreprenuership. The K+12 educational program is perceived by the Aquino administration as the â€Å"long term solution to poverty.† This program aims to give every student a quality education that will make them globally competitive. This will be done by decongesting the curricilum and using quality materials for learning such as textbooks. Aside from this, high quality teacher will be given priority. High standards will also be set in Mathematics, English and Science in all levels. Thus eliminating the perception the highschool education is preparatory for college. ISSUES AND CONCERNS One of the major campaign platform of Pres. Aquino is the K to 12 educational program and it is also one of the most controversial initiatives. On May 15, President Aquino signed into law the program mandating Filipino pupils to attend kindergarten, six years of elementary school education, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school. The signing officially ended the country’s 10-year basic education cycle, which now exists only in Angola and Djibouti. K to 12 hopes to decongest the curriculum, by spreading lessons over 12 years, instead of cramming them into 10. K to 12 hopes to do away with college remedial classes, by improving the quality of high-school instruction. K to 12 hopes to protect the rights of Filipino children who, at 18, are legally and emotionally still kids, unprepared for work or university.. Some problems that abound with K to 12: Lack of family, school, government resources; the herculean task of implementation; the need to address more urgent concerns such as early and massive dropouts. Many  schools are currently not ready for Grades 11 and 12. Aside from lack of classrooms, their teachers are not trained to handle higher-level subjects, like calculus for students who want to major in the sciences in university. K to 12 would be far more difficult to implement in already overcrowded and poorly equipped public schools, where many teachers are insufficiently trained, classes are often held in multiple shifts and most students struggle to make ends meet. The biggest problem of K to 12 has always been, and will always be, the cost. Even if public education is free, families have to spend for transportation and supplies. An additional two years is a burden for most Filipino families, who want their children to finish school quickly so they can work.