COLLEGES and universities across the country would
have no freshmen enrolling by 2016, dislocating teachers of general
education courses and may impair revenue of private schools.
“It’s
a cause of worry, I agree, but only for those who are not prepared or
have not been preparing for the K+12,” Education Secretary Armin
Altamirano Luistro told the BusinessMirror.
Luistro explained
that teachers currently teaching the general education subjects, like
English 101, should be encouraged to teach in senior high school, one of
the additional years under the K+12 program.
The
model proposed by the DepEd, the K-6-4-2, involves Kindergarten, six
years of elementary education, four years of junior high school (Grades 7
to 10) and two years of senior high school (Grades 11 to 12).
During
a forum by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines
where Luistro spoke, academic professionals also noted that the K+12
program would also impact on salary structures as well as tuition.
Education
Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Francisco M. Varela said
that education officials couldn’t do anything with the latter “as we
don’t regulate tuition.”
“You’re really free to set that,” Varela said during the open forum.
Varela added that it is only the public schools that would be financially back-stopped by the government.
“Private schools would have to do that on their own.”
Still
he added that the government is “studying these at present, including
the price points because we need to balance what could be the cost if
government were to provide financial support.”
Adamson
University Legal Affairs Office Director Agnes V. Rivera noted that by
2016, the school would lose 5,000 freshmen and expect displacement of
its faculty members teaching general education subjects.
A department chairman of the Miriam College who spoke on conditions of anonymity told the BusinessMirror that they don’t expect all teachers to opt to teach in senior high school.
A department chairman of the Miriam College who spoke on conditions of anonymity told the BusinessMirror that they don’t expect all teachers to opt to teach in senior high school.
“Some
are saying they’re going to explore higher studies, like finish their
masters degree or doctoral degree.
Some, well, the school may not be able to absorb,” the source, said noting that some teachers would see the move as a demotion.
Some, well, the school may not be able to absorb,” the source, said noting that some teachers would see the move as a demotion.
Luistro said that is just a matter of nomenclature, but that “actually, walang mawawala, and the displacement need not happen.”
The
20th president of De La Salle University said during the forum that
there’s a need to move away from the traditional notion of teachers and
that some leeway should be given.
“A
teacher in a sports academy, for example, can hire a coach; a chef to
teach omelet. They need not be called teachers,” Luistro said, adding
that this is how some schools for indigenous peoples practice. “We can
call them resource persons.”
Luistro
told the BusinessMirror after the forum that the impact to the economy
would be more positive, with an expected 1.1 million work force entering
the market by 2018. “And these are not just your ordinary workers; they
would be highly skilled and needed by the economy.”
Luistro
said during the forum that the K+12 program will be implemented this
coming school year 2012-13, which will start in June.
The
DepEd briefing material said that the new curriculum for Grades 1 and 7
(high-school Year 1) will be implemented in SY 2012-13 and will
progress in the succeeding school years.
Luistro
said the first batch of senior high-school graduates will be in 2018
while the first batch of K+12 graduates will be in 2024.