Nationalist Critique of the K to 12 (K+12/K-12) Program: Issues, Implications, and Alternatives

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Nationalist Critique of the K to 12 (K+12/K-12) Program: Issues, Implications, and Alternatives

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David Michael M. San Juan Filipino Department, De La Salle University-Manila ~~~ “Go not gently into night/Rage against the dying of the light!... Rage until the lightning strikes!” - from the song “Rage” by The Jerks (a Filipino band) 2 The K to 12 scheme is now official policy after the passage of House Bill 6643 or “AN ACT ENHANCING THE PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM BY STRENGTHENING ITS CURRICULUM AND INCREASING THE NUMBER OF YEARS FOR BASIC EDUCATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” and the corresponding measure in the Upper House (Senate Bill 3286). Under this program, a year of kindergarten is deemed compulsory (as the government has already established kindergarten schools that charge no tuition), and the former 10year basic education cycle would become 12 years, following what K to 12 advocates have labeled as the “global standard.” Aside from Grades 1 to 6 and four years of junior high school (Grades 7 to 10), a student in the Philippines need to complete two years of senior high school or junior college (Grades 11 at 12) before he gets to enroll in the tertiary or university level. Generally, pro-K to 12 advocates boast that this scheme is a step to make the Philippine education at par with global standards. Currently, Djibouti 1

Author’s own DRAFT translation of a paper presented last December 2012; this draft is very crude and still unedited but, for the purpose of understanding why Filipino nationalists are opposing the Aquino administration’s K to 12 scheme, this material will be helpful; revised version to be released soon; this version omitted some paragraphs from the Filipino original available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/115985721/Nasyunalistang-Pagsipat-Sa-Kto-12-Mga-Isyu-Implikasyon-at-Alternatibo. The original paper in Filipino was presented in the 2012-2013 Lecture Series of the Filipino Department of De La Salle University (DLSU)Manila. The 2012-2013 Lecture Series was named after Dr. Magdalena C. Sayas, a former head of the Filipino Department of DLSU-Manila. 2

Some parts of this song’s lyrics were influenced by a famous poem written by Dylan Thomas.

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and Angola are the last two countries in the world that still stick with a 10-year basic education/pre-university education cycle. Nevertheless, if official K to 12 documents will be comprehensively analyzed, it would be clear that this program has a non-nationalist agenda. This is a big issue because the Philippine Constitution through Article XIV, Section 2.1 and 3.2 emphasizes that nationalism is one of the primary elements of Philippine education. If it is proven that the K to 12 is non-nationalist, it will be justified to assert its scrapping, and the creation of an alternative progressive and nationalist education system. Conceptual and Theoretical Bases: Nationalism and Dependency Theory in the Economy, Politics, and Education Conceptually, the ideas of nationalist thinkers and the Dependency Theorists can be used to critique the K to 12 that the PDP supports as reform initiative aligned with the current regime’s development goals. The contribution of the national hero Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal on the development of nationalist thinking in the Philippines was very significant. He exposed the abuses of Spanish colonialism through his novels “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo.” Aside from this, he also expressed some ideas on developing a genuinely Filipino education and culture. In Chapter 15 of “El Filibusterismo 3,” Rizal clarified his stance on the true worth of education and life. In the said chapter, Mister Pasta (a careerist lawyer who doesn’t care about his country’s welfare because he’s living a good life anyway), and Isagani (leader of reformist youth in the novel) had a debate. Mister Pasta gave a bad advice to Isagani: “You're going to study medicine? Well, confine yourself to learning how to put on plasters and apply leeches, and don't ever try to improve or impair the condition of your kind. When you become a licentiate, marry a rich and devout girl, try to make cures and charge well, shun everything that has any relation to the general state of the country, attend mass, confession, and communion when the rest do, and you will see afterwards how you will thank me, and I shall see it, if I am still alive. Always remember that charity begins at home, for man ought not to seek on earth more than the greatest 3

Quotation from “El Filibusterismo” were lifted from the translation by Charles Derbyshire (1912). Quotes from “Noli Me Tangere” were lifted from the translation by Leon Ma. Guerrero (1961).

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amount of happiness for himself, as Bentham says. If you involve yourself in quixotisms you will have no career, nor will you get married, nor will you ever amount to anything. All will abandon you, your own countrymen will be the first to laugh at your simplicity. Believe me, you will remember me and see that I am right, when you have gray hairs like myself, gray hairs such as these!" Isagani’s reply mirrors the stance of nationalist citizens who believe that no man is an island: “When I have gray hairs like those, sir, and turn my gaze back over my past and see that I have worked only for myself, without having done what I plainly could and should have done for the country that has given me everything, for the citizens that have helped me to live--then, sir, every gray hair will be a thorn, and instead of rejoicing, they will shame me!” In Chapter 7 of “El Filibusterismo,” Basilio and Simoun had a vigorous exchange of ideas. Basilio (Sisa’s son who’s now a student of medicine) and his fellow students assert that the indios need to learn the Spanish language so that they could be of equal stature as Spanish citizens. Simoun’s nationalist stance is clear on this regard “You are letting yourselves be deceived by big words and never go to the bottom of things to examine the results in their final analysis. Spanish will never be the general language of the country, the people will never talk it, because the conceptions of their brains and the feelings of their hearts cannot be expressed in that language—each people has its own tongue, as it has its own way of thinking! What are you going to do with Castilian, the few of you who will speak it? Kill off your own originality, subordinate your thoughts to other brains, and instead of freeing yourselves, make yourselves slaves indeed!...you are trying to despoil yourselves of your own nationality!” One only had to use “English” instead of “Spanish” and “Castilian” in the abovementiond quotation and Simoun’s exhortation to Basilio would be clearer and more significant in the current context. Simoun issued a reminded too regarding how to jumpstart the sowing of the seeds of nationalism to the hearts of the people, especially to the youth: “One and all you forget that while a people preserves its language, it preserves the marks of its liberty, as a man preserves his independence while he holds to his own way of thinking. Language is the thought of the peoples.” As long as the country’s very tongue is in chains, the country cannot free itself from foreign economic dominance. Simoun further noted the relationship between the development of a unique national identity and

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national progress: “…Distinguish yourselves then by revealing yourselves in your own character, try to lay the foundations of the Philippine fatherland! Do they deny you hope? Good! Don’t depend on them, depend upon yourselves and work!...cultivate your own (language), extend it, preserve to the people their own way of thinking, and instead of aspiring to be a province, aspire to be a nation! Instead of subordinate thoughts, think independently, to the end that neither by right, nor custom, nor language, the Spaniard can be considered the master here, nor even be looked upon as a part of the country, but ever as an invader, a foreigner, and sooner or later you will have your liberty!...” In Chapter 20 of “Noli Me Tangere,” one young character expressed Rizal’s ideas on meaningful entertainment whichis a vital element of nationalist education, more especially that the use of media is now part of the curriculum: “My plan, gentleman can be reduced to this: we must think up new entertainments that are out of the common run....” Instead of ordinary Westernized moro-moro about the “kings of Bohemia and Granada...princesses who go into battle...or else wandering forlorn in mountain and vale as if under the spell of a sorcerer,” the young character would want indigenous stories – like a play about Maria Makiling – to be presented in public. For Rizal, entertainment must mirror indigenous culture: “Would it not be a thousand times better to present a picture of our own customs and traditions, so that we may thus understand and correct our vices and defects, and extol our virtues?” In general, as per Rizal’s perspective, instead of global standards, native culture and the welfare of the Filipino people form the solid foundations of a truly Filipino education. Rizal’s perspective is not unexpectedly reflective of the perspectives of revolutionaries like Emilio Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio who are both leaders of the Katipunan. The “Kartilya ng Katipunan4” written by Emilio Jacinto emphasizes that: “A person's worth is not measured by his/her station in life, neither by the height of his nose nor the fairness of skin, and certainly not by whether he is a priest claiming to be God's deputy. Even if he is a tribesman/tribeswoman from the hills and speaks only his/her own tongue, a person is honorable if he/she possesses a good character, is true 4

The transcription of the “Kartilya ng Katipunan” was “created by Kamalaysayan on July 1992 for Katipunan, Sandaan!” and the translation was made by Paula Carolina Santos-Malay according to http://kartilya-katipunan.blogspot.com/

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to his/her word, has fine perceptions and is loyal to his/her native land.” Jacinto further said that “When these teachings shall have been propagated and the glorious sun of freedom begins to shine on these poor islands to enlighten a united race and people, then all the loves lost, all the struggle and sacrifices shall not have been in vain.” Plainly, Jacinto asserts that the true honor of a citizen is measured by his concern for his motherland. Certainly, the “propagation of these teachings” can be only achieved through a nationalist education system that values the sacrifices of those who have fought for the country’s freedom. In the poem “Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa” (Love for the Motherland), Andres Bonifacio, clearly mentioned what must be emphasized by the education system: “Nothing

dear

to

a

person

with

a

pure

heart/

is denied to the country that gave him birth:/blood, wealth, knowledge, sacrifices, E'en if life itself ends.”5 As per Bonifacio’s perspective, everything that one values in life– wisdom, education – should be offered to the country. Instead of dependence on foreigners through attracting foreign investors Bonifacio in his essay/editorial “Ang Dapat Mabatid ng Mga Tagalog” (“What Must Be Known By All Citizens”) emphasized that “...we must strive to depend on ourselves and not wait for others to provide us livelihood. Common sense dictates that we should unite in mind and in heart so that we could find the strength to seek remedy to the prevailing evil in our Nation.” Even before Renato Constantino condemned the “miseducation of the Filipino,” Bonifacio already clarified what must be done to resolve the miseducation of citizens who think like slaves: “...it’s about time to express that we have our own grievances, our dignitym our shame, and our emphathy for each other. This is a time for us to start spreading the great idea that would lift the thick veil that blinds our minds; it’s about time that our citizens realize what’s the root cause of their miseries.” The root cause of the citizens’ miseries that Bonifacio mentioned is nothing but colonialism, which in our time metamorphosed into a form of neocolonialism in politics, economy, and culture (all the more in education).

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Teodoro Agoncillo’s translation from http://kasaysayan-kkk.info/docs.ab.pagibig.htm

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It is not surprising that on October 19, a few months after independence was declared at Kawit, Cavite, the revolutionary government led by Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree establishing the Universidad Literaria de Filipinas (the first university established by Filipinos). This is congruent to the goal of the Katipunan – as expressed by Bonifacio – “to start spreading the great idea that would lift the thick veil that blinds our minds...” Revolutionaries know that the country’s independence can be completely safeguarded only through establishing a genuinely pro-Filipino education, away from the education offered by universities established and managed by Spanish friars then. Beyond Dr. Jose Rizal and other nationalists of the latter part of 1800s, among the ranks of contemporary Filipino nationalists, Prof. Renato Constantino’s writings are very popular. Constantino is an activist, researcher, historian and diplomat, victimized by Martial Law imposed by the Marcos dictatorship. He was put under house arrest because of his radical articles that provide a critical and nationalist perspective on the fields of the economy, politics and education. Constantino’s pamphlet “The Miseducation of The Filipino” is now staple reading in schools. At the outset, the said pamphlet clearly mentions the importance of a nationalist education that would secure political and economic independence for a former colony like the Philippines: “Education is a vital weapon of a people striving for economic emancipation, political independence and cultural renaissance.” Constantino’s analysis of the Philippine education system’s analysi is still valid: “...no comprehensive educational programme has been advanced as a corollary to the programmes for political and economic emancipation. This is a tragic situation because the nationalist movement is crippled at the outset by a citizenry that is ignorant of our basic ills and is apathetic to our national welfare.” Constantino elaborated on another primary reason behind the existence of colonial/colonized mentality among Filipinos then and now: “The first and perhaps the master stroke in the plan to use education as an instrument of colonial policy was the decision to use English as the medium of instruction. English became the wedge that separated the Filipinos from their past and later to separate educated Filipinos from the masses of their countrymen. English introduced the Filipinos to a strange, new world. With American textbooks, Filipinos started learning not only a new language but also a new way of life, alien to their traditions and yet a caricature of their model. This was the

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beginning of their education. At the same time, it was the beginning of their miseducation, for they learned no longer as Filipinos but as colonials.” This echoes Simoun’s pronouncements in Chapter 7 of “El Filibusterismo.” Constantino outlined the role of those who promote nationalist education and condemned those who say only global standards matter: “What then are the nationalist tasks for Philippine education? Education must both be seen not as an acquisition of information but as the making of man so that he may function most effectively and and usefully within his own society. Therefore, education cannot be divorced from the society of a definite country at a definite time. It is a fallacy to think that educational goals should be the same everywhere and that therefore what goes into the making of a well-educated American is the same as what should go into the making of the welleducated Filipino. This would be true only if the two societies were at the same political, cultural, and economic level and had the same political, cultural and economic goals. But what happened in this country? Not only do we imitate Western education, we have patterned our education after the most technologically advanced western nations. The gap between the two societies is very large. In fact, they are two entirely different societies with different goals.” Hence, in accordance with Constantino’s and other nationalists’ perspective, an education system that does not take into consideration the people’s welfare and progress is tehcnically useless. In more precise words: an education that is not nationalist is useless even if it follows the “global standards.” The last paragraphs of Constantino’s pamphlet would be enough to summarize his thoughts in relation to the current discussion: “The education of the Filipino must be a Filipino education. It must be based on the needs of the nation and the goals of the nation. The object is not merely to produce men and women who can read and write or who can add and subtract. The primary object is to produce a citizenry that appreciates and is conscious of its nationhood and has national goals for the betterment of the community, and not an anarchic mass of people who know how to take care of themselves only. Our students hear of Rizal and Bonifacio but are their teachings related to our present problems or do they merely learn of anecdotes and incidents that prove interesting to the child's imagination? We have learned to use American criteria for our

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problems and we look at our prehistory and our past with the eyes of a visitor. A lot of information is learned but attitudes are not developed. The proper regards for things Philippine, the selfish concern over the national fate --these are not at all imbedded in the consciousness of students. Children and adolescents go to school to get a certificate or diploma. They try to learn facts but the patriotic attitude is not acquired because of too much emphasis on forms. What should be the basic objective of education in the Philippines? Is it merely to produce men and women who can read and write? If this is the only purpose, then education is directionless. Education should first of all assure national survival. No amount of economic and political policy can be successful if the educational programme does not imbue prospective citizens with the proper attitudes that will ensure the implementation of these goals and policies. Philippine educational policies should be geared to the making of Filipinos. These policies should see to it that schools produce men and women with minds and attitudes that are attuned to the needs of the country. Under previous colonial regimes, education saw to it that the Filipino mind was subservient to that of the master. The foreign overlords were esteemed. We were not taught to view them objectively, seeing their virtues as well as their faults. This led out citizens to form a distorted opinion of the foreign masters and also of themselves. We must now think of ourselves, of our salvation, of our future. And unless we prepare the minds of the young for this endeavor, we shall always be a pathetic people with no definite goals and no assurance of preservation.” In general, Constantino can be considered as an ally of those who believe in the effectiveness and truthfulness of the Teoría de la Dependencia/Dependency Theory. In past decades, Teoría de la Dependencia/Dependency Theory became popular in Latin America and other continents in the Third World. Dependency Theorists believe that industrialized countries exploit poor countries through economic neocolonialism. In a speech delivered on March 25, 1964 (“On Development”) at the plenary session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Dr. Ernesto “Che” Guevara (a physician, economist and popular guerilla leader who helped Fidel Castro in ousting Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship) summarized the Dependency Theory critique of the global status quo: "The inflow of capital from the developed

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countries is the prerequisite for the establishment of economic dependence. This inflow takes various forms: loans granted on onerous terms; investments that place a given country in the power of the investors; almost total technological subordination of the dependent country to the developed country; control of a country's foreign trade by the big international monopolies; and in extreme cases, the use of force as an economic weapon in support of the other forms of exploitation." The relevance of Dependency Theory in analyzing educational policies will be clearer if the “other forms of exploitation” that Dr. Guevara mentioned will be scrutinized. Vincent Ferraro (2008) explained what these other forms of exploitation are in a chapter entitled "Dependency Theory: An Introduction," (in the book “The Development Economics Reader,” ed. Giorgio Secondi): “The distinction between underdevelopment and undevelopment places the poorer countries of the world is a profoundly different historical context. These countries are not ‘behind’ or ‘catching up’ to the richer countries of the world. They are not poor because they lagged behind the scientific transformations or the Enlightenment values of the European states. They are poor because they were coercively integrated into the European economic system only as producers of raw materials or to serve as repositories of cheap labor, and were denied the opportunity to market their resources in any way that competed with dominant states.” In accordance with Dependency Theory, The Philippines is currently among the chief “repositories of cheap labor.” As per the data of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency/POEA (2011), there are around 3,500 Pilipino who go abroad each day to work and become Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The government brags about the Philippines’ status as one of the main centers of the Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) sector that “robs” North Americans and Europeans jobs so that such jobs will be “given” to a few Asian countries where citizens are willing to receive a lower wage rate, relative to what workers in other developed countries receive. Information Technology-BPO is among the Philippine government’s 10 “priority development areas” under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016. According to a report by Francis Earl A. Cueto (2012), the Philippines has actually dislodged India as the primary

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destination of BPO firms. Compared with India’s 300,000 call center agents, the Philippines had 350,000 in 2011. Meanwhile, it is very easy to prove that the Philippines is one of the producers of raw materials that remain poor and non-industrialized because of the impositions of leaders who are in cahoots with big foreign capitalists. From the Marcos regime to the second Aquino administration, attracting foreign investors has been the Philippine government’s mantra. It is worth remembering that one the true reasons behind the declaration of Martial law in 1972 was the Marcos dictatorship’s accelerated implementation of pro-foreign policies in the economy and blockage of nationalist advocacies of some members of the 1972 Constitutional Convention noong 1972 (Lichauco, 1988 and Pimentel, 2006). Though the 1987 Constitution that was ratified under the first Aquino administration contains some nationalist provisions, President Cory did not lift a finger to reverse the pro-foreign policies of the Marcos dictatorship. For example, she maintained and never shelved out the automatic debt appropriation that the Marcos dictatorship imposed. This policy is the main cause of the government’s insufficient budget for social services such as health and education. Meanwhile, the Ramos, Estrada and Macapagal-Arroyo administrations are notorious for their attempts to remove the patriotic economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution (like the prohibition of 100% foreign ownership of industries in the Philippines and a ban on foreign ownership of land) through various Charter Change (Cha-Cha) campaigns. House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte and Senate President Juan “Johnny” Ponce Enrile – both allies of the second Aquino administration – also push for the same type of ChaCha. Even the second Aquino administration’s Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 is replete of pro-foreign policies too, according to a critique made by Ibon Databank. In general, contemporary administrations use the policy of attracting foreign investment as a trick to prevent the spread of nationalist consciousness that emphasize self-reliance in the economic aspect (self-dependence, as mentioned by Simoun in Chapter 7 of “El Filibusterismo”) which can be achieved through national/nationalist industrialization coupled with genuine land reform and agricultural modernization. As a

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result, the Philippines remains a mere producer-supplier-exporter of raw materials and human resources (OFWs). K to 12: Diamond Chains and Life-long Dependency If the real agenda of K to 12 in the Philippines will be scrutinized, it can be easily proven that it will only expand and worsen the country’s dependence on developed countries, through the maintenance of the labor export policy. The document “DISCUSSION PAPER ON THE ENHANCED K+12 BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM” released by the Department of Education (DepEd) on Oktubre 5, 2010, the

12-page primer “The K to 12 Program” (October 30, 2012)

published in the Republic of the Philippines online Official Gazette, and the 73-page “K TO 12 TOOLKIT: Reference Guide for Teacher Educators, School Administrators, and Teachers (2012)” released by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH) with the imprimatur of the Department of Education. DepEd’s “Discussion Paper” notes one of the main reason behind the implementation of the K to 12 (emphasis is theirs): “The short duration of the basic education program also puts the millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially the professionals, and those who intend to study abroad at a disadvantage. Our graduates are not automatically recognized as professionals abroad. Filipinos face mutual recognition problem in other countries that view the 10-year education program as insufficient. The Philippines is the only country in Asia and among the three remaining countries in the world that has a 10-year basic education program. The Washington Accordiv prescribes 12-year basic education as an entry to recognition of engineering professionals. The Bologna Accord requires 12 years of education for university admission and practice of profession in European countries.” (p. 4) Following “global standards,” catering to the needs of foreigners is the expressed reason of promoting K to 12 according to p.8 of DepEd’s “Discussion Paper” that seems to echo what was mentioned in p.4 (emphasis is theirs): “Graduates could

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now be recognized abroad. Filipino graduates, e.g. engineers, architects, doctors, etc., could now be recognized as professionals in other countries. Those who intend to study abroad will meet the entrance requirements of foreign schools. The Philippine education system will be at par with international standards. K+12 will facilitate mutual recognition of Filipino graduates and professionals following the Washington Accord and the Bologna Accord.” In the primer available at the Official Gazette of the republic, three answers were given to the question “Why are we implementing 12 years of Basic Education and not 11 years?” on page 7: “A 12-year program is found to be the adequate period for learning under basic education. It is also a standard for recognition of students and/or professionals abroad (i.e., the Bologna Process for the European Union and the Washington Accord for the United States). Other countries like Singapore have 11 years of compulsory education, but have 12 to 14 years of pre-university education depending on the track. The Philippines is the last country in Asia and one of only three countries worldwide with a 10-year pre-university cycle.” The content of DepEd’s “Discussion Paper” and the primer in the Official Gazette merely echo page 6 of the “K to 12 Toolkit” ng SEAMEO-INNOTECH that states that K to 12 produces benefits “for regional and international recognition and competitiveness” like the following: “As Filipino students learn better, it is expected that the Philippines will improve its performance in international academic examinations and gain international recognition of Filipino professionals. Academic degrees of Filipino graduates will now be recognized in other countries. The K to 12 curriculum ensures that studies, diplomas, and degrees of Filipinos are recognized as widely as possible. Significant changes in the world’s education standards brought by globalization increased cross-border provision, and continued expansion of education that have resulted in increased quality assurance of education.” In the deliberations in Congress with regard to the K to 12 scheme on October 17, 2012, the real agenda of the K to 12 is all the more exposed: turn young Filipinos into workers for developed countries, instead of molding and training them to serve their

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country. To the question posed by Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino on courses or career pathways that can be chosen by students in the senior high school/junior college (Grades 11 at 12), Rep. Rosenda Ann Ocampo of the 6 th District of Manila gave this reply: “…the identification of the course offering under the K to 12 program is dictated upon the need, and also upon the job markets as they exist. Definitely, the industrialized and richer countries have an aging population that need to be cared for, and that is the reason we offer caregiving courses.” Rep. Palatino asked another question to clarify one of the objectives of K to 12: “…The Sponsor (Rep. Ocampo) mentioned that industrialized nations need a lot of workers; maybe, they should educate their people and produce enough number of graduates for their own needs, but the basic education of the Philippines should serve the needs of the Filipino people in the Philippines. So, we should be careful before we introduce some courses or topics which would benefit not our country but more for the benefit of other countries. This is one of the reasons K to 12 is being criticized because, apparently, it will equip students with skills for them to find enough work, not in the country, but to push them out of the country. So, is that one of the objectives of the K to 12, to equip students with skills so that they can work in other countries, Mr. Speaker?” Rep. Ocampo gave a frank reply that further exposed the true agenda of K to 12, which is to turn the Philippines into a huge factory of OFWs: “one of the main objectives of K to 12 is to make our students graduate with employable skills. If the end result is that our graduates end up getting jobs abroad, who are we to say that aspiring to land a job abroad is not something that many families in our country today aspire for? If the end result of K to 12 gives them the skills to land that job, then we are addressing a need and we are equipping our people, and that, I believe, will ensure a better life for their families.” In Rep. Thelma Z. Almario (2 nd District of Davao Oriental) interpellation directed to Rep. Ocampo, the latter confirmed that following global standards if one the main agenda of K to 12. In general, it is clear that the K to 12 scheme won’t turn Filipino students into patriots like Rizal, Bonifacio, Jacinto, or Constantino. Instead, under K to 12, students are right away encouraged, actually molded, manufactured as workers for

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other countries, instead of helping to strengthen local industries towards national progress. Beyond the maintenance of the labor export policy, the K to 12 na is also aimed at “accelerating” the “manufacture” of workers for foreign business through its implicit encouragement for students to no longer enroll in college. In page 5 of the primer in the Official Gazette, pathways from which students may choose after senior high school are mentioned (emphasis supplied): “...every K to 12 graduate will be ready to go into different paths – may it be further education, employment, or entrepreneurship.” On page 5 of the “K to 12 Toolkit” published by SEAMEO-INNOTECH, the mantra of encouraging poor students not to study college and instead work immediately after senior high school is all the more direct: “Families can better afford education as the cost of the additional two years in high school is significantly lower than longer collegiate or university level.” A former DepEd undersecretary who supports the K to 12, Dr. Isagani Cruz, had the same idea: “Once the two missing years are added to basic education, however, there will be time for the system to give students the skills to find jobs or become entrepreneurs.” In the “briefer” prepared by DepEd (November 2, 2010) and posted on the online Official Gazette of the republic, the following 8 reasons behind the K to 12 are enumerated: “give” the poor families an “employable child” in a short span. DepEd is trying to package K ton 12 as a “minus 2 instead of plus 2” program that they claim is a “win scenario” for families who are not capable of sending their children to college. In the government’s view, under the K to 12, it’s only necessary to spend for 2 years of senior high school instead of four years of college, for poor families to have an “employable child.” According to Nick Tenazas, a consultant of the Asian Development Bank (ADB): “If a credible high school diploma can be earned at age 18 6, students will have another career option aside from college...” A similar objective was praised too by the World Bank Philippines Quarterly Update (March 2012): “...ensuring the successful implementation of the K-12 program which shifts the country’s education system from the current 10 years to 12 years plus kindergarten to bring basic education at par with world standards, enabling high school graduates to qualify for employment even without a college degree.” 6

Average age of senior high school graduates under the K to 12.

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In general, tragedy will be the end result of the anti-tertiary education mantra that the pro-K to 12 elements are propagating. It is baffling that pro-K to 12 advocates seem not to regard tertiary education as important when it is observable that many developed countries have high levels of tertiary enrollment, while poor countries have low levels of enrollment as seen in a graph from p.14 of the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Report (2012) entitled “Putting Higher Education to Work: Skills and Research for Growth in East Asia7”:

The K to 12 scheme will certainly maintain and probably worsen the poor’s lack of access to tertiary education, which has been bad even before the K to 12 expanded secondary/pre-university education. The data below shows the percentage of the population in every socio-economic level that finished college. Because K to 12 extended the pre-university years, it is expected that more poor students would no longer study college and would become “slaves” of foreign corporations forever – lacking socio-economic mobility, lacking progress lacking professional development. It is now clear why pro-K to 12 advocates discourage students from entering college: so 7

This report emphasized that no country achieved high levels of income without increasing the number of their college enrollees and graduates.

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that they will be mired in poverty and remain incapable of lifting themselves out of the quicksand of wretchedness while the unjust “social pyramid 8” dominated by the moneyed sector of society in the past decades.

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The existence of the “social pyramid” in the Philippines is clear as per the presentation of Mr . Tomas Africa, former administrator of the National Statistics Office (NSO), entitled “Family Income Distribution in the Philippines, 1985-2009: Essentially the Same.” According to his presentation, the income share of the bottom 50% and the upper 50% of the country’s population from 1961 to 2009 almost did not change.

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It must be emphasized that developed countries usually have many citizens who finish college, hence they are able to sustain their economic development as observed from the two graphs below:

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The graph below is from the online Public Data Explorer of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 2012. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a holistic measure of development. A score of 1.0 means perfect human development, and a score of 0.0 means ho development.

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In the past school year, the number of Filipinos who enter colleges is increasing but this is not comparable to the number of those who study and finish college in other countries. After the implementation of K to 12, the decrease in the number of those who study college is certain – because of the anti-tertiary education mantra mouthed by proK to 12 elements in the Philippines – and it is also certain that the number of those who finish college will also decrease, all the more because the K to 12 scheme mentions nothing about increasing the subsidy for state colleges and universities (SUCs) so as to rollback the tuition fees in the said schools to which poor students usually enroll. Upon the decrease in the number of those studying college, the number of Filipino citizens who are capable of becoming administrators will also decrease, because administrative positions require high levels of education. As the country’s population soars, it needs more and more administrators in various fields, hence, in general, the impact of the decreasing number of college enrollees and graduates on the Philippines is negative.

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Consciousness in Chains: MTB-MLE and Language and Curricular Issues Aside from the anti-tertiary education mantra of K to 12 in the Philippines, some aspects of this program can be likened to chains in the consciousness and tongue of the peiple – a continuation of the “miseducation” of Filipinos. It must be noted that ALL official documents on K to 12, including most lectures, trainings, workshops, and seminars on K to 12 are in English! From the very start, it seems to instantly alienate and sideline majority of Filipinos who don’t use English for intellectual discourse. It is interesting to know to whom the government “communicated” when they planned the K to 12 scheme. AusAid, the aid agency of Australia) bragged in its “Philippines Annual Program Performance Report 2011” released on July 2012 that “In 2011 Australia consolidated its reputation with the Philippines Department of Education as a highly regarded, effective and influential partner in basic education reform, and an important source of evidence-based advice on technical aspects of implementing the new K to 12 policy.” According to a critique of the K to 12 released by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on July 2012, the K to 12 curriculum’s “...seven related themes that will guide the whole Social Science curriculum are directly lifted from the themese formed by the National Council for Social Studies of the United States. The main references of the kindergarten curriculum planners are also from the United States:: Copple, Carol and Bredecamp, Sue. eds. Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Program: Serving Children from Birth through age Eight., USA: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), 2009.; Marjorie et al. Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum: Best Practices in Early Childhood Education. USA: Pearson Education Inc., 2011.” In the elementary level, the Mother-Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) isn now being implemented as part and parcel of the K to 12 scheme. It is aimed at using some mother tongues from Grade 1 to Grade 3 as primary medium of instruction. The half-baked and misleading MLE-MTB is problematic. One, it mandates the use of Bahasa Sug, Bikol, Cebuano, Chabacano, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Kapampangan, Maguindanaoan, Meranao, Pangasinense, Tagalog, and Waray only (though it is said that 2 more languages will be added this year, and in the coming years, more

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languages will be utilized). This means more than 90 mother tongues in the Philippines won’t be used. Secondly, no one has so far explained why the mother tongues will be used as primary medium of instruction at a time when majority of children are now good in using Filipino (the national language) as they are very exposed to this language because of various media. In fact, there’s enough evidence to claim that Filipino is now the default language if many children in the regions, because of its advances as an academic field and as a medium of instruction for various subjects. The use of Filipino as a national language is now very widespread even in the regions hence its use in the primary level and beyond should be encouraged. Fourthly, the situation of those in esclusive private schools, especially those in the National Capital Region: they might claim the English is their mother tongue. The existence of such language gap between the masses and the elite (which Constantino had tackled) would be maintained and tolerated by the MTB-MLE. Fifthly, the government has no plan for people who just emigrated to the regions. For example, what will happen to Tagalog speakers who came to Davao? Will they be forced to use Cebuano, together with their classmates who are mostly Cebuano speakers? Or will the government hire a separate teacher who would teach them in Tagalog? What if only one or two students are in such situation, and hence it would be impractical to hire a separate teacher for them? This is an extreme case but in the real world, extreme cases do occur Some students will be disenfranchised and marginalized because of MTB-MLE, and it will also weaken the use of Filipino – which is currently (still) strong – at the elementary level. The next two tables from the “K to 12 Toolkit” published by SEAMEO-INNOTECH are instructive:

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DeFilipinization in the tertiary level under the K to 12 scheme is worse. No Filipino subject is mandated in the new General Education Curriculum (GEC) in the university level, under the K to 12 scheme. Proponents say majority of subjects in the old GEC will be transferred to senior high school/junior college. The contents of the Revised General Education Curriculum (RGEC) for the university level based on a presentation (29 August 2012) by DepEd Assistant Secretary Tonisito M. C. Umali, Esq. clearly prove that the current curriculum is not nationalist-oriented. All subjects are in English, and hence English would become the primary medium of instruction still, and Filipino subjects are all but wiped out.

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In general, the K to 12 scheme is pro-English because it strengthens the hegemony of English as primary medium of instruction, all the more, in the higher levels of education, despite the fact that Filipino is ready to be used as a medium of instruction at all levels, as proven by the high scores of students in Filipino in the National Achievement Test, and the increasing number of people who say Tagalog or Filipino is the language they use at home. Here’s data9 listing the national mean percentage scores of elementary students in English and Filipino in the National Achievement Test (NAT): Performance sa NAT ng mga Estudyante sa Grade 3 School Year

English

Filipino

2009-2010

61.84

62.595

2010-2011

57.755

63.03

9

Mula sa http://netrc.sysportal.net

24 2011-2012

55.825

57.79

Meanwhile, here’s data from the National Statistics Office (2012) highlighting the increasing number of Filipinos who say Tagalog (the main source of Filipino’s corpus or vocabularies) is their mother tongue:

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Under the K to 12 scheme, there’s no provision for any Political Science subject. In the old GEC, the study of the Philippine Government and Constitution is a constitutional requirement. Such education system would produce students who would just go with the flow, individualistic citizens whose only dream is to go abroad. Simoun’s prophecy has come to pass about a country without identity, a nation of slaves, and the dreams for the country of Rizal, Jacinto, Bonifacio and Constantino – a free country with its own consciousness, a country with citizens who actively participate in achieving progress for their country, a country where citizens live by and implement the maxim “The nation first, before yourself” – seemed to be out of reach. K to 12 As A Road to Perdition: Towards A Mountain of Debts One of the main reasons of some representatives in opposing the K to 12 scheme is the lack of sufficient budget for its implementation. According to Rep. Almario, the government needs the following amount just to implement the Education For All (EFA) goals which the Philippines is yet to achieve: 2013 – P334 billion; 2014 – P344 billion; 2015 – P360 billion; 2016 – P409 billion; and for 2017 – P434 billion. Rep. Almario believes attaining the EFA goals must be prioritized (which means all school-

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age children and youth must be enrolled in the elementary and the secondary level) before the government decides to add two more years to the old 10-year Basic Education Cycle. Aside from this, according to Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV, the K to 12 requires “P150 billion for 152,569 new classrooms, 103,599 more teachers, 95.6 million more books, and 13.2 million more seats.” The DepEd itself has admitted that the government is yet to provide for all insufficiencies in personnel and resources for public schools, as observed from the primer available at the online Official Gazette of the republic:

DepEd’s prediction that deficiencies will be wiped out at the end of 2013 is somewhat too optimistic, because according to a critique 10 published by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on July 10, 2012, public schools still lack 132,483 teachers, 97,685 classrooms, and 153,709 sanitation facilities for academic year 2012-2013 and the Philippine government allotted only P239 billion for DepEd, which is equivalent to only P7/day for every student. The said teachers’ organization further remarked that this amount is enough only to resolve 27% of the deficiencies for classrooms, 20% for chairs, and 12% for new teachers. This is of course on top of more than P100 billion needed to implement the K to 12 scheme. ACT further notes that “Based on the latest National Budget Memorandum 113 of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the budget ceiling for DepED for 2013 is pegged at P259.25B but DepED 10

Downloadable at http://www.scribd.com/doc/100173820/Alliance-of-Concerned-TeachersACT-Critique-of-and-Call-to-Action-on-PNoy-s-K-to-12

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requires a budget of P321.91B. One big question that hounds the Aquino administration is where to get an additional P78.95 B to supply everything that DepEd needs for 2013.” Even the World Bank, in its PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY UPDATE (July 2012) admitted that “basic education budget per student has been persistently low (in the Philippines), fluctuating within the PhP5,000 – PhP6,000 band in real terms (measured in 2000 prices) since 2000, while school-age population has been growing rapidly. As the education budget has yet to catch up with population growth, schools still cannot find sufficient space to teach their children.” It is thus clear that the Philippine government has no sufficient fund for the budgetary requirement in implementing the K to 12 scheme. Page 1 of the K to 12 primer at the Official Gazette reveals how DepEd intends to fund the Aquino administration’s centerpiece educational reform: “One scheme for Senior High School is to front-load all needed capital investments, take a grant or loan from government and private banks based on annual budget, and pay the amortization yearly. We also have the support of local government units and private partners to build the needed infrastructure.” In simpler terms, the Philippine government will acquire loans to finance the K to 12 scheme. It is not surprising that the World Bank supports K to 12. In a “Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) Progress Report” of the World Bank Group (Abril 20, 2011), it is stated that “...(the Philippine government) is also considering extending the basic education cycle from 10 to 12 years under the DepEd‘s Enhanced K to 12 Basic Education Program,” and for this, the World Bank promised “to sustain technical support and assistance to the reforms in partnership with AusAID and others...Ongoing and proposed Bank operations are being aligned to this new policy context and the challenges brought about by the major policy decision to change the basic education cycle.” Hence, the World Bank is ready to finance the K to 12 Program despite the fact that it doesn’t like to provide loans for any industrialization scheme such as petroleum refineries, gold mines, steel mills etc. According to Section 13 of the K to 12 Bill or House Bill 6643 (emphasis is supplied): “The Secretary of Education shall immediately include in the Department’s

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program the operationalization of the enhanced basic education program, the initial funding of which shall be charged against the current appropriations of the DepED. Thereafter, the amount necessary for the continued implementation of the enhanced basic education program shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.” Because any deficit in the national budget (contained in the annual General Appropriations Act) is normally plugged by debts, it is now certain that the K to 12 will all the more make the country indebted to its foreign creditors.

Alternatives to K to 12 In general, instead of immediately implementing the K to 12 scheme, the researcher suggests the improvement or the overhaul of the current 11-year Basic Education cycle (Kindergarten, Grades 1 to 6 at Grades 7 to 10) and additional investments for state colleges and universities, and to the whole education sector. Allotting sufficient budget for education is the first step to improve the 11-year Basic Education cycle. Currently, the Philippines is an outlier when it comes to the percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) allotted to education. As per the standards of the United Nations (UN), at least 6% of the GDP must be allotted to education. Notice that the Philippines did not even reach the minimum standard in the past years as data from the Public Data Explorer in the website of the UNDP comparing statistics from the Philippines and from developed countries would attest (India was inadvertently added in the list due to a technical glitch which the researcher was unable to correct in processing data via the United Nations’ Public Date Explorer):

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Meanwhile, here’s the data comparing the Philippines’ education budget and the education budgets of poorer countries:

30

Hence, the additional budget that would be allotted to the K to 12 scheme will be better spent for improving the current 11-year Basic Education cycle first. Debates on whether to add 2 more years in high school should start once the 11-year Basic Education cycle from Kindergarten to Grade 10 is perfected. Additional investments in the tertiary level, more especially in the fields of research and development (R&D) are also important. The Philippines lags behind many countries when it comes to R&D expenditures, hence the country is also weak in innovation and modernization of technologies in education and other fields, as data from the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Report (2012) “Putting Higher Education to Work Skills and Research for Growth in East Asia” would prove:

31

Additional budget for the tertiary level is important in ensuring that more students will finish their schooling. It has been proven that the “rate of return” of investment in studying in college and beyond is huge, as contained in a World Bank Report entitled “Skills for the Labor Market in the Philippines” by Emanuela di Gropello, Hong Tan and Prateek Tandon (2010):

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According to World Bank East Asia and Pacific Region Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department Report entitled “Education and Wage Differentials in the Philippines” (Xubei Luo at Takanobu Terada, 2009): “Tertiary education is to a large extent a prerequisite for high-paid occupations.” Thus, it is now established that the anti-college education mantra of the K to 12 advocates will not be beneficial to the country in the long run. In the PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY UPDATE of the World Bank entitled “Investing in Inclusive Growth Amid Global Uncertainty” (July 2012), the following statistics on college graduate income are tallied:

Therefore, instead of encouraging students not to study in college under the K to 12 scheme, the government must maximize investments in tertiary education so as to attract more students to enroll and finish their college degress. This is one of the keys to

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progress, as proven by developed nations. A country with highly educated citizens would certainly enjoy high levels if sustainable growth in the long run. Reoryentasyon ng Edukasyon at Ekonomya Any additional budget for education will be useless unless the education and economic systems of the country are not reoriented. We can change the subjects as frequent as we can but we should emphasize inculcating nationalism in the hearts and minds of Filipinos so that our citizens would be transformed into citizens who can fulfill the dreams of Rizal, Bonifacio, Jacinto and Constantino: citizens who work for their country’s progress. Hence, the country’s labor export policy must be scrapped, including the related policy that treats schools in the Philippines as mere manufacturers of workers and professionals for export. To complement such endeavors, job opportunities within the country must be broadened through implementing a comprehensive economic plan that focuses on selfreliance

or

self-dependence.

This

can

be

done

through

national/nationalist

industrialization, agrarian reform, and modernization of agriculture. Hence, the Philippines must utilize its resources for its own citizens’ progress, and not merely as exports to other countries. The Philippines has all natural and human resources needed by a country to become developed and powerful. These resources are waiting for Filipinos who are ready to endeavor to use such resources for the country’s welfare, and not merely for the welfare of foreigners. REFERENCES: Alliance of Concerned Teachers. Kritik at Panawagan ng Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) laban sa K to 12 ni PNoy. Hulyo 2012. Mula sa: < http://www.scribd.com/doc/100173820/Alliance-of-Concerned-Teachers-ACT-Critique-of-and-Call-to-Action-on-PNoy-s-K-to-12>

AusAid. Philippines Annual Program Performance Report 2011. Hulyo 2012. Cruz, Isagani. For the record: Pnoy on education. 11 Hunyo 2010. Mula sa

34 Cueto, Francis Earl. Philippines overtakes India as top BPO provider. (News Article). Manila Times Online. 21 Enero 2012. Mula sa:

Department of Education. DISCUSSION PAPER ON THE ENHANCED K+12 BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM. DepEd Online. 05 Oktubre 2010. Mula sa: Umali, Tonisito M. C. Esq. The K to 12 Basic Education Program: Transition Management. Mula sa: Ferraro, Vincent. “Dependency Theory: An Introduction," sa The Development Economics Reader, ed. Giorgio Secondi. New York: Routledge, 2008. p.58-64 Mula sa: Guevara, Che. On Development. Che Guevara Internet Archive, 1999. (Binigkas noong Marso 25, 1964) Mula sa: Ibon Foundation. The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016: Social Contract With Whom?. Ibon Foundation Online, 21 Hunyo 2011. Mula sa: Lichauco, Alejandro. Nationalist Economics. Quezon City: Institute for Rural Industrialization, Inc., 1988. p. 200-204 National Statistics Office. Philippines in Figures 2012. Mula sa:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Education at a Glance 2012: OECD indicators. 2012. Sakellariou, Chris. Access to and Equity of Higher Education in East Asia. Background paper prepared for World Bank 2011, World Bank, Washington, DC., 2010. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO). The K to 12 BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM. Official Gazette ng Republika ng Pilipinas, 30 Oktubre 2012.

35 Mula sa: Pimentel, Jr. Aquilino Q. Martial Law in the Philippines: My Story. Mandaluyong City: Cacho Publishing House., 2006. p. 39-42, 73-74 Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). POEA restores validation of OFW exit clearance at NAIA terminals. (News Release). POEA Online, 09 Pebrero 2011 Mula sa: Rizal, Jose. El Filibusterismo. Charles Derbyshire (trans.). Manila: Philippine Education Company, 1912. _________. Noli Me Tangere. Leon Ma. Guerrero (trans.). London: Longman Group Ltd., 1961. Shalom, Stephen Rosskamm. The United States and the Philippines: A Study of Neocolonialism. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1986. Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH). K TO 12 TOOLKIT: Reference Guide for Teacher Educators, School Administrators, and Teachers (2012). Mula sa: Tan, Kimberly Jane. Enrile calls for changes in economic provisions of PHL Constitution. GMA News Online, 23 Hulyo 2012. Mula sa: Tenazas, Nick. OPINION: The Economics of K+12. 07 Disyembre 2010. Mula sa: Transparency International-Philippines at Center for People Empowerment in Governance/CenPEG. A Glimpse on the Philippine Constitution and Moves to Change It. CenPEG Online, circa 2005. Mula sa: World Bank. From Stability to Prosperity for All (PHILIPPINES QUARTERLY UPDATE). March 2012. ________. Putting Higher Education to Work: Skills and Research for Growth in East Asia (World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Report). 2012. ________. Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) Progress Report for the Republic of the Philippines. 2011. ________. Skills for the Labor Market in the Philippines. 2010.

36 ________. Education and Wage Differentials in the Philippines. 2009.