President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday that the K-to-12 education system failed to improve the employability of Filipino graduates as the program has not equipped students with the skills needed for work.
In a media interview in Sulu, Marcos said the anticipated outcomes that the students needed to have under the K-to-12 curriculum did not materialize as it did not align with industry needs.
Incoming Education Secretary Sonny Angara was one of the co-authors of Republic Act 10533, also known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, which established the K to 12 program in the Philippines.
This legislation reformed the country's basic education system by mandating one year of kindergarten, six years of elementary education, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school for Filipino students.
“We implemented K-12 because the additional years of training were required for our applicants abroad. Here in the Philippines, it was said that our education was lacking because it only had 10 years. So, we did it to make our graduates more employable,” Marcos said.
“But if we look at the results, employability did not improve. We need to do something else. That's why we were examining things like mini-courses, 3 or 6 months, 1-year short courses for specialties,” Marcos added.
Marcos also mentioned that the government will coordinate with the private sector so that the private sector will also be able to have a guaranteed supply of skilled workers that will be coming into their own industries.
"This kind of coordination is important because sometimes things happen but there are still no jobs,” Marcos said.
“We need to make sure that upon graduation, there is a good chance, a good opportunity for employment, if not directly already to an industry employer," Marcos added.
The President also touched on the country's performance in international objective tests, especially in Science-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
An earlier study by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed that Filipino students were among the lowest scorers in reading, math, and science.
“The second part that we are looking at are also the results in the international objective test that we are getting, especially in the STEM subjects, because that's where we're falling behind and that is the area that is most in demand right now because we're getting more and more technical,” Marcos said.
The Department of Education is currently reviewing the Grades 11 and 12 curriculum to produce more job-ready and responsible graduates.
Angara emphasized that the K to 12 program has been institutionalized by law and must be followed. He acknowledged that there were some issues with the implementation of the senior high school program, warranting a thorough review.