The K To 12 Program Covers

The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School [SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills develop ment, employment, and entrepreneurship.
Strengthening early childhood education (universal kinder garten)
Every Filipino child now has access to early childhood education through Universal Kindergarten. At 5 years old, children start schooling and are given the means to slowly adjust to formal education.
Research shows that children who underwent Kindergarten have better completion rates than those who did not. Children who complete a standards-based Kindergarten program are better prepared, for primary education.
Education for children in the early years lays the foundation for lifelong learning and for the total development of a child. The early years of a human being, from 0 to 6 years, are the most critical period when the brain grows to at least 60-70 percent of adult size..[Ref: K to 12 Toolkit]
In Kindergarten, students learn the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors through games, songs, and dances, in their Mother Tongue.
Making the curriculum relevant to learners(contextualization and enhancement)
Examples, activities, songs, poems, stories, and illustrations are based on local culture, history, and reality. This makes the lessons relevant to the learners and easy to understand.
Students acquire in-depth knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes through continuity and consistency across all levels and subjects.
Discussions on issues such as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation, and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) are included in the enhanced curriculum.
Building Proficiency (Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education)
In Kindergarten to Grade 3, the child's dominant language is used as the language of learning.
Filipino and English language proficiency is developed from Kindergarten to Grade 3 but very gradually.
Mother Tongue is used in instruction and learning materials of other learning areas.
The learners retain their ethnic identity, culture, heritage and values.
Children learn better and are more active in class and learn a second language even faster when they are first taught in a language they understand.
Ensuring Intergrated and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression)
Basic concepts/general concepts are first learned.
More complex and sophisticated version of the basic/general concepts are then rediscovered in the succeeding grades.
This strengthens retention and enhances mastery of topics and skills as they are revisited and consolidated time and again.
This also allows learners to learn topics ans skills approriate to their developmental and cognitive skills.
Gearing Up for the Future
Ensuring College Readiness
Working with CHED to:
Ensure alignment of Core and Applied Subjects to the College Readiness Standards (CRS) and new General Education (GE) Curriculum.
Develop appropriate Specialization Subjects for the Academic, Sports, Arts and Design, and Technical Vocational Livelihood Tracks.
Strengthening TVET Integration in SHS
Working with CHED to:
Integrate TVET skills, competencies and qualifications in TLE in JHS and Technical Vocational Livelihood (TVL) track in SHS
Ensure that any Grade 10 finisher and all Grade 12 TVL graduates are eligible for TESDA competency/qualifications assessments (i.e. COC, NC I or NC II)
Prepare learning resources that are consitent with promulgated Training Regulations.
Develop appropriate INSET and certification programs for TLE teachers.
Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood Readiness, 21st Century Skills)
After going through Kindergarten, the enhanced Elementary and Junior High curriculum, and a specialized Senior High program, every K to 12 graduate will be ready to go into different paths – may it be further education, employment, or entrepreneurship.
Every graduate will be equipped with:
Information, media and technology skills,
Learning and innovation skills,
Effective communication skills, and
Life and career skills.

Where will the additional two years be added?
The two years will be added after the current four-year high school program (Junior High School). This will be called Senior High School or Grades 11 and 12.
Why are we implementing 12 years of basic education and not 11 years?
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. 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.
How will K to 12 help in ensuring employment for our graduates?
The K to 12 basic education curriculum will be sufficient to prepare students for work.
The curriculum will enable students to acquire Certificates of Competency (COCs) and National Certificates (NCs). This will be in accordance with the Training Regulations of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). This will allow graduates to have middle level skills and will offer them better opportunities to be gainfully employed or become entrepreneurs.
There will be school-industry partnership for technical-vocational courses to allow students to gain work experience while studying and offer the opportunity to be absorbed by the companies.
What would be the assurance that K to 12 graduates will be employed?
DepEd has entered into an agreement with business organizations and local and foreign chambers of commerce and industries that graduates of K to 12 will be considered for employment.
There will be a matching of competency requirements and standards so that 12-year basic education graduates will have the necessary entry-level skills needed to join the workforce and to match the College Readiness Standards (CRS) for further education and future employment.
Entrepreneurship is a concept taught across several subjects in the K to 12 Curriculum such as in Math, Araling Panlipunan and EPP in Grades 4-6. Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies is a common competency for TLE in Grades 7-10 and the Techvoc Livelihood Track for Grades 11-12. This ensures that graduates can venture on opportunities beyond employment.
When will the K to 12 program be implemented?
Universal Kindergarten started in SY 2011-2012.
The new curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 7 (1st Year Junior High School) was rolled out in SY 2012-2013, the new curriculum for Grade 2 and Grade 8 (2nd Year Junior High School) was rolled out in SY 2013-2014, and the rest of the curriculum is being progressively introduced in the other grade levels in succeeding school years.
Grade 11 will be introduced in SY 2016-2017 and Grade 12 in SY 2017-2018.
The first batch of students to go through Senior High School (SHS) will graduate in March 2018.
Non-DepEd schools can begin to offer the SHS Program prior to SY 2016-17 provided that they secure a provisional SHS permit from DepEd.

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and or research. Education may also include informal transmission of such information from one human being to another. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but learners may also educate themselves (autodidactic learning).[1] Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational.

Education equips an individual with the necessary knowledge and skills he/she needs to become a functional member of a society. According to the World Bank, education can also be one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty, thereupon improving the well-being of the people. However, to establish and maintain a high-quality education system, proper investments must be made. In the Philippine context, education remains a top priority. Despite the various development plans and projects formulated by the government and different sectors, the quality of Philippine education still leaves much room for improvement. As part of the efforts of the present administration to respond to the perceived needs of the education sector, the Department of Education (DepEd) had pushed for the implementation of the “Enhanced K to 12 Basic Education Program.”
What is K to 12? “K to 12” stands for kindergarten plus 12 years of elementary and secondary education. This educational system for basic and secondary education is widely adopted around the world. DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro presented the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) last March in the annual membership meeting of the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd). BESRA, as a package of reform initiatives, considers K to 12 as the flagship reform strategy. The objective of the program is to be able to produce more productive and responsible citizens equipped with the essential competencies and skills for both life-long learning and employment. From among various proposals and studies conducted to come up with an enhanced model that is suitable to the Philippine context, DepEd proposed the K-6-4-2 model or the K to 12 model. This model involves kindergarten, six years of elementary education, four years of junior high school (Grades 7-10), and two years of senior high school (Grades 11-12). The two years of senior high school intend to provide time for students to consolidate acquired academic skills and competencies. The curriculum will allow specializations in science and technology, music and arts, agriculture and fisheries, sports, business and entrepreneurship. The change is two-fold. It will give focus not only to the curriculum enhancement but also to the transition management as well. The intention of K to 12 is not merely to add two years of schooling but more importantly, to enhance the basic education curriculum.
Opportunities: Why is there a need for K to 12? In a discussion paper on the “Enhanced K to 12 Basic Education Program” prepared by the DepEd in the last quarter of 2010, it was pointed out that K to 12 is an effective cure to the deteriorating quality of the Philippine education system. The low achievement score of Filipino students in the National Achievement Test (NAT) is one of the indicators of a defective education system. The DepEd also noted that the present ten-year curriculum is congested wherein students are forced to absorb all the knowledge and skills necessary in a short and limited span of time. As a result, high school graduates are often unprepared for employment, entrepreneurship, or even higher education. They do not yet possess the basic competencies or even emotional maturity essential for the world outside the school. High school graduates who do not pursue higher education are thus unproductive or vulnerable to exploitative labor practices. In the same context, those who may be interested to put up their own business cannot enter into legal contracts yet. This partly explains why the number of unemployed Filipinos is increasing at an alarming rate. The short duration of the basic education system is also a disadvantage for the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially the professionals, and those who intend to study abroad. DepEd further claims that the Filipino graduates are not automatically recognized as professionals abroad because the ten-year curriculum is usually perceived as insufficient. The DepEd therefore strongly believes that the K to12 program will give every learner the opportunity to receive quality education based on an enhanced and decongested curriculum that is internationally recognized and competitive.
The implementation plan As a flagship education program of the Aquino administration, K to 12 has been proposed to be implemented by phases. Stakeholder consultations, policy discourses, and education summits were conducted to solicit inputs and feedback on the proposed model. Figure 1 shows a summary of the implementation plan of the K to 12 program. Universal kindergarten has already become mandatory beginning school year (SY) 2011-2012. The new curriculum for Grade 1 and first-year Junior High School (Grade 7 JHS) students were already implemented this SY 2012-2013. This scheme gives the administration ample time to prepare and provide the necessary infrastructures, materials, and trainings for the Senior High School (SHS) education which is to be launched by SY 2016-2017. By SY 2018-2019, all students would have already finished 12 years of basic education and would therefore be ready to enter college.
Challenges: issues and concerns The K to 12 program stirred mixed reactions from different sectors. While supporters strongly believed that this is the key to quality basic education, critics argued that it is merely a superficial solution and does not truly address the more fundamental problems of the educational system. Critics also questioned the relationship of the education cycle length and education quality. They cited studies by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) which revealed that longer education cycles do not necessarily result in better performance of students. But one of the major concerns of the critics is the additional expense to be incurred by the parents. The longer education cycle would be an added burden to households and would later on translate to higher dropout rates. While the government can provide free public education, the allowances, transportation, school supplies, and other schooling expenses are still to be shouldered by the parents. Meanwhile, some are worried about the rush to implement the K to 12 program. For one, according to a study conducted by a group of researchers from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the rush implementation of the program may have unintended effects on social equity if publicly funded. This is because many poor families do not reach beyond the secondary level of educational attainment. In addition, the revised curriculum is not yet fully tested. Finally, the study also raised concerns about the many reforms the DepEd is trying to implement all at the same time, including the implementation of the K to 12 program, which might result in similar reform failures in the past. It also expressed concern on the fact that DepEd might lose administrative concentration by spreading itself too thinly.
Conclusion Critics presented valid concerns regarding the K to 12 program. The government must therefore continue to address such concerns to further develop the model. Though the program is ready to take off this year, continuous monitoring, evaluation, and program enhancement must be ensured.
And foremost, it must be made clear that a longer education cycle alone could be useless without corresponding improvements in other aspects of the education system. Proper training of teachers, additional classrooms and textbooks, better facilities such as libraries and computer rooms must therefore be deemed as urgent as the implementation of this program. 