Birthing pains of the K-12 education reform program

It's the first day of the implementation of the senior high school program in the Philippines. It happens to be the day after the commemoration of the 118th anniversary of country's independence from Spain, and around 1.5-million students are expected to attend their first day of Grade 11 classes in their old schools, or in another public or private school.

But alas! "glitches mar [the] senior high program," the Inquirer reported today with only some 600,000 having enrolled for Grade 11.  Some sectors aver that the K-12 program severely handicaps Filipino families financially to send their children for two more years of schooling.

Elementary school graduating class 1931-1932, San Narciso, Zambales. From Lilia Galace's collection. 

We were informed that in one of the barangay national high schools in our hometown San Narciso (Zambales), the senior high building has yet to be completed. This means that the Department of Education (DepEd) would have to rent a place to house Grade 11 or to stagger classes in all the high school levels to accommodate the senior high in the existing classrooms.

We think that the infrastructure problem is remediable. What we are more concerned about is the preparedness of teachers to tackle the senior high curricula even if DepEd conducted trainings on the "specific tracks (similar to college courses) based on the four disciplines:  Academic (includes business, science & engineering, humanities & social science, and a general academic strand), Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (with highly specialized subjects with TESDA qualifications); Sports; and Art & Design."

Another nagging question is how the town's first Grade 11 students picked their personal tracks, and how prepared and ready are their teachers and advisers in guiding them.  DepEd says that "specializations or tracks to be offered will be distributed according to the resources available in the area, the needs and interests of most students, and the opportunities and demands of the community."

Many look at the K-12 program as another burden, and believe that finishing Grade 10 is enough. But it's not. Some of those who went into graduate programs in universities abroad spent two years of undergraduate level studies before they got into their major courses. It's all because they did not go through K-12 in the Philippines.  In a forum in the University of the Philippines last year, we heard one professor advising the engineering students to get their masters as soon as possible. He said that with the ASEAN 2015 Integration, they would be equivalent to technicians because they did not go through K-12, which all other ASEAN countries have.

This discussion brings back historical memories.  When the Americans introduced their brand of public education in the 1900s, they started with a core curriculum that comprised reading, writing and arithmetic. Initially, completion of Grade IV was enough qualification to teach English.

Zambales High School class 1937-38. Photo from Lilia Galace's collection.

The elementary level was up to Grade VII. Not all towns then had high schools; hence, those who aspired for higher education had to go to the provincial high schools in the capital towns. Many high school graduates went to the Philippine Normal School to take up education. Looking at it now, it was sort of a missionary assignment from the Bureau of Education to teach in far-flung corners of the archipelago after graduation.

We were reading the editorial on 'compulsory education' in the June 1909 issue of the "The Filipino Teacher" of the Philippine Teachers' Association, and the arguments against it (from the teachers!) ring somehow similar to those who oppose K-12 (non-teachers!).

They were happy with the first education law enacted by the Philippine Assembly:  the Gabaldon Law that appropriated one million pesos for constructing school buildings in the barrios.

A bill was passed by the Assembly with a narrow margin of five votes: establishment of compulsory education in the country.  While they appreciate the "lofty purpose" of spreading public education, they found it severe, unnecessary and not justified.

There's no need to compel anyone to go to school because, they argued, "the Filipino people are and have always shown profound love for instruction." They cited that the people flocked to the schools when these were declared open to everyone right after the United States military took control of the country.

What they really wanted to say at the end was that they would be "confronted by the economical side of the question."  According to them, "the present number of schools and teachers and other necessary personnel must necessarily be increased which will involve the expenditure of more money, which, judging from the economical condition of the government, cannot now be granted,"

It's also the 'economical side' as far as the parents of senior high students and the general education faculty of universities and colleges are concerned. Regarding the latter, we heard about the possibility for them to teach senior high part time for the next two years, when there will be no college freshman and sophomore enrollment..

UP shifts academic calendar; screens 83K applicants for AY 2015-2016

Note: This photo-essay appeared in the 22-28 August 2014 issue of FilAm Star with the title "UP grind begins with new academic calendar, screening of applicants by the thousands." This author/blogger is the special news/photo correspondent of the said newspaper.

UPCAT day scenes at Melchor Hall.

The weekend of 16-17 August 2014 saw some 83,000 high school seniors taking the UP College Admission Test or the popular UPCAT in various testing centers around the country.  The UPCAT is a five-hour multiple-choice examination in English and Pilipino comprising language proficiency, science, mathematics, and reading comprehension.  Last year, out of around 74,000 examinees, 13,028 qualified for admission, which is roughly the number that can be accommodated by the various academic units in the different campuses of the University of the Philippines System.

We were in the Diliman campus at about noontime of 16^th when the morning batch of examinees had just finished the test and they were getting out of the engineering building.  The afternoon batch was preparing to move inside, and we noted two lines: one of students and the other of parents/chaperons. The UPCAT, as usual, became a family event. The parental duty, of course, could only go as far as the entry door of the building.  We chatted briefly with several of them to learn of their first and second choices of courses and campuses.

It was almost the same time last year when the UP freshmen (freshies) of this Academic Year 2014-2015 took the UPCAT. They could have recognized their own predicaments a year ago when they saw the faces of this year’s UP applicants: those who have taken the test and those who are about to take the bout using Mongol pencil 2.

It was barely two weeks past when classes started in UP Manila (August 6) and UP Diliman (August 7).  UP Los Baños and UP Baguio opened on August 11 and 12, respectively; and Mindanao, on August 18 yet. 

Mural at the College of Fine Arts.

This means that the freshies had a four-month vacation to fortify themselves for the first bout with UP life: the enrolment process, and the surprises and perplexities inside/outside the classrooms during the first week/month. 

It’s all because the UP shifted its academic calendar the first semester from June-October to August-December, and the second semester from November-April to January-May.

The second semester will no longer be interrupted by the long Christmas break. It will start right after the scholars of the people (mga iskolar ng bayan) return from a happy holiday, hopefully, unless the first sem performance is gravely disappointing.  The calendar shift is most welcome to parents of students going home for the holidays because they will save in transportation fares.

UP President Alfredo Pascual emphasized in his press statement that “the decision to shift the academic calendar is part of the continuing efforts of UP to develop into a regional and global university and to maximize the opportunities offered by ASEAN integration and global educational partnerships”.

The UP Charter, Republic Act 9500 of 2008, mandates UP as the national university, and one of its purposes is to “serve as a regional and global university in cooperation with international and scientific unions, networks of universities…in the Asia Pacific Region and around the world”.

The academic calendar shift comes in synch with ASEAN 2015, when the Action Plan of the ASEAN Economic Cooperation is expected to be fully implemented in the member countries. The Plan includes promotion of the free flow of goods and services among said countries.

The historic AS Steps

UP is a member of the ASEAN University Network (AUN).  According to Pascual, synchronization of the academic calendar with those of ASEAN, European and American academic partners “will create more joint programs and partnerships with other universities, allow students to get transfer credits, particularly under ASEAN and ASEAN +3 Credit Transfer System (ACTS), and address the problem with semestral gaps with partner universities.”  Thus, this synchronization will enhance the mobility of students and faculty within the region.  Most universities in Asia, Europe and North America also start their classes in August or September. 

Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle University are also members of the AUN. According to reports, they plan to shift their academic calendars next year.  The University of Santo Tomas shifted this year to July, and will adjust to August next year.  Other universities may eventually adopt a new calendar.  As far as we know, the Department of Education has yet to decide if the elementary and high school academic calendars will also shift to harmonize with the universities.

“Padayon mga Iskolar ng Bayan! (Carry on, Scholars of the People!),” Pascual exhorted the freshies of UP Diliman during their welcome assembly on August 11. 

Fine Arts freshies with artsy headgear.

The welcome program of the University Freshie Month was intended to make them feel at home. The student proctors also made sure that the freshies kept a buoyant spirit when their deans introduced them to the university president.  Hence, they did some gimmicks to lighten up the event, and student organizations rendered presentations to cheer them up too. The contingent of Fine Arts freshies came with artful headgear, which led us to ask the proctors if they are already preparing them for their first Lantern Parade in December. 

Probably their first bewilderment was the call for a bonfire at the UP Diliman Sunken Garden on August 9, two days after the opening of classes:  what’s the hullabaloo about the Fighting Maroons clobbering the Soaring Falcons of Adamson University at a UAAP Season 77 basketball game?

The last time the Maroons won was two years ago. They were UAAP champions in 1986 long before the freshies were born. Probably their only popular ‘connect’ to that event was Benjie Paras who was in that champion team, and his son Andre who was a Fighting Maroon until he moved to San Beda earlier this year.

By now, the freshies may have found favorite places to go to for budget meals if they do not have their own ‘baon’:  snack stalls of the ‘Samahan ng Manininda sa UP Campus’, eateries along JP Laurel Street, ‘kainan’ street, and those inside the shopping center, among others. Late afternoons may see them around Mang Larry’s Isawan, which non-UP students also patronize.  Of course, there’s always the quick and cheap comfort food is the iconic banana delicacy: turon!

Ikot! or Toki! around the campus.

He/she must now be thinking of ways to manage the time for attending classes in different locations especially when the schedules are tight.  Classes in buildings around the academic oval are navigable with strong legs. But if these are outside this loop, say in the new engineering complex, the UP Ikot, which runs counter-clockwise around the campus, or the UP Toki, which takes the reverse direction, may be the substitute for legs. These jeepneys ply different routes, one of them going through the messy traffic on CP Garcia.

After the welcome assembly with the UP president, the university has more events for the freshies, and one of them is the University Freshie Student Council elections on August 26. This reminds us that in our time, freshmen were not represented in the university student council, nor were we allowed to vote. 

Outside of these official events, some freshies may opt to have a political baptism by joining the Junk STS [Socialized Tuition System] unity march around the academic oval on August 27, and Boycott the BOR [Board of Regents] rally at the Executive House on Aug 28, being organized by Gabriela Youth.

It is likely that the Gabriela Youth will culminate the march with a program at the A.S. Steps. Historical events took place here such as:   UP President Salvador P. Lopez declaring support of the UP community in 1971for the Diliman Commune; Senators Ninoy Aquino and Gerry Roxas speaking on national issues before the declaration of martial law in 1972; and students launching the protest movement following the Aquino assassination in 1983.

On August 27, other freshies may want instead to go to the Film Center’s Cine Adarna to witness the awarding of the 2014 UP Gawad Plaridel, an annual media award of the university, to Nora Aunor for her "unique artistry and versatility as a singer,: and for "portraying with keen intelligence and uncommon sensitivity an amazing range of cinematic roles."

CMC@50 

The UP Gawad Plaridel was established by the College of Mass Communications (CMC) “to recognize Filipino media practitioners who have excelled in any of the media (print, radio, film, and television) and who have performed with the highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service.”  It is named after the propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel), known to history students for the reformist La Solidaridad of the expatriate Filipinos in Spain in the late 1890s.

Freshies may not fail to note the CMC poster announcement that its 50^th anniversary will be next year and the Plaridel image is their embodying logo for the theme “Midyang Malaya at Mapagpalaya”.

By the way, Chancellor Michael Tan wrote that "it's still go for the sunflowers for next year's graduation, for the sake of tradition, and science." The protest against the calendar shift used the sunflowers as an argument. But a shorter variety of sunflowers that were planted in June are now blooming. The tradition lives on, and the freshies today will have sunflowers on their graduation four or five years from now. Padayon, mga iskolar ng bayan! 

Noble warrior of UP Vargas Museum.