On the K to 12 and the 2020 Bogor Deadline

The Department of Education (DepEd) Technical Working Group on Transition Management for the K to 12 plans to roll-out its curriculum based on the K to 12 model starting next school year 2012-2013 in selected pilot schools. In its transition scheme, incoming Grade 1 and 1^st year High School will have a new curriculum based on K to 12 standards and competencies.

Incoming 1^st year College will also have to enter a 5^th year High School for an alternative delivery mode for Grades 11 and 12 (Senior High School, Pre-University or Career Academy). A bridging curriculum will be set in place by “providing transition mechanisms, the major one being the offering of formal education based on a curriculum that will bridge the gap between the current 10th grade learning competencies and the academic admission requirements of the revised tertiary curricula” (Dr. Vea).

With regard to Grade 11, the transition scheme offers several problems. Among others:

· It would be very difficult to find students who will volunteer to go through Grades 11 and 12. Since this will be in selected pilot schools, they can actually opt to go to College. Why then would they enter a shady Grade 11?

· The curriculum for Grades 11 and 12 are not yet finalized. The decision on what to put on the two additional years has not yet been made.

· The logistical problem for administrators of schools who suddenly found themselves with a “neither-high-school-nor-college” population. Who will be the teachers of these students? And since HEIs would have no or little enrolment for freshmen, logically Grades 11 and 12 will be implemented by HEIs. Now, where will they get the teachers? How do you compensate them?

· Textbooks and other materials are not yet developed and printed for Grades 11 and 12.

· Increased drop-outs due to perceived irrelevance of going to Grades 11 and 12.

How do we solve these problems? The solution is simple: In school year 2012-2013, continue with the K to 12 curriculum roll-out in Grade 1 and 1^st year High School and let the 4^th year High School graduates enter College.

In this scheme, 1^st year High School students for 2012-13 will move on to Grade 11 in 2016 after they finish their 4^th year in High School. In effect, their batch's curriculum will be a continuous whole leading to Grades 11 and 12 and on to a new Tertiary Education General and Professional curricula. If we re-arrange the tertiary education curricula by pushing down some General Education subjects to Grades 11 and 12, it would be possible to have a three-year College system – almost 40 units will be deducted in College. Students who choose to enter a university can graduate by school year 2020-2021.

This scheme also gives ample time for administrators of HEIs to develop curricula in line with international standards and enough time to plan and set in place new administrative policies.

Why then does the DepEd have to expedite the process? One possible answer is international pressure. The APEC Bogor Declaration of free and open trade and investment, of which the Philippines is a signatory, is one.

The main goal of the Bogor Declaration is “to adopt the long-term goal of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific. This goal will be pursued promptly by further reducing barriers to trade and investment and by promoting the free flow of goods, services and capital among our economies.” The declaration set the deadline to 2010 and 2020:

We further agree to announce our commitment to complete the achievement of our goal of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific no later than the year 2020. The pace of implementation will take into account differing levels of economic development among APEC economies, with the industrialized economies achieving the goal of free and open trade and investment no later than the year 2010 and developing economies no later than the year 2020.

The Osaka Action Agenda set the implementation of the Bogor declaration into priority measures for member economies. One of the agenda is Human Resources Development (HRD) with eight priority action areas:

1. Providing a quality basic education;

2. Analyzing the regional labor market to allow sound forecasting of trends and need in HRD;

3. Increasing the supply and enhancing the quality of managers, entrepreneurs, scientists and educators/trainers;

4. Reducing the skills deficiencies and unemployment by designing training programs for applications at all stages of a person's working life;

5. Improving the quality of curricula, teaching methods and instructional materials for mangers and other workers;

6. Increasing opportunities for people seeking to gain skills; and

7. Preparing organizations and individuals to remain productive in the face of rapid economic and technological changes.

8. Promoting HRD toward the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. Increased international mobility of qualified persons for HRD activities will also enhance economic growth.

Priority 8 further states that:

· Enhancement of the capacity and opportunities for the movement among member economies of people who have skills relevant for economic growth is a necessary element in achieving trade and investment liberalization and standardization in the region. Thus, consistent with the goals of APEC, its HRD activities must facilitate the movement and interaction of qualified persons.

· The conduct of increased levels of exchanges of students, staff and researchers through the University Mobility in Asia Pacific and increased exchanges of education officials through EDNET cooperation are also underway and continuing.

· A series of bilateral agreements for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications between professional bodies or government are being pursued in the long-term.

· Toward this end, member economies shall share best practices and undertake training programs in the system of accreditation, curriculum development, and certification of professions in the short-term. Mutual recognition of qualification is endeavored to be realized in the long-term.

The Bogor Declaration on Free Trade sets into place mechanisms that would facilitate mobility of our students and workers in Asia Pacific. Graduates no longer have to take qualifying examinations in other countries in order to practice their professions and education experts and officials may also be part of the cross-border exchanges.

But this is only possible if our education cycle and curricula are in line with the standards of APEC member economies. That means 15 to 16 years of elementary and post-elementary education. In the APEC Joint Ministerial Statement (November 2006) it stated that “Ministers recognized the importance of standards in education and encouraged members to develop reference curricula and materials to address the significance of standards and conformance to trade facilitation in the region.” These standards in education have to be developed in line with international standards.

It therefore means that by 2020, the Philippines should have set the K to 12 Basic Education Cycle and the 3 to 4 years of Tertiary Education, in place. The first graduates who have completed 15 or 16 years of elementary and post-elementary education should be, following the Declaration, by year 2020. The DepEd transition scheme, as mentioned earlier, is two years ahead of the deadline.

The second transition scheme presented, on the other hand, will have its first graduate in school year 2020-2021. Yet we may argue that compliance to the Bogor Declaration has already been started and met during the first year that the K to 12 curriculum has been rolled-out to the Grade 1 and 1^st year students. Another important thing to note here is that APEC is easy to dismiss. It has no institutional structure or binding legal agreements. However, the Bogor Goals give developing economies like the Philippines opportunities to increase further our economic growth and level of development.

The clearer message is this: K to 12 education reform must be pushed through next year, starting with Grade 1 and 1^st year high school. Higher Education Institutions must develop their curricula in line with the Basic Education Curriculum developed while waiting for the first batch of Grade 11. Then let Grades 11 and 12 prepare the students to either the world of work or a university life. Grade 11 will start in school year 2016-2017.