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 Some K-12 schools have begun requiring that all students learn coding as a means of encouraging the next generation of computer scientists and of fostering higher-order thinking. What does that mean for higher education? Here are four possibilities.
1. Colleges and universities may have a ready team of student developers to help spur innovation. Ellen Yu Borkowski, CIO at Union College in Schenectady, NY, said she is looking for innovative ways to involve students in multidisciplinary design projects that can yield real products her college can benefit from. She said she sees that as the next step in her college's evolution into the digital world, and the benefits to both students and institutions can be great.
The products could serve university needs, such as apps for recruitment or collaboration on campus, but the more powerful products Borkowski said she envisions would solve real-world problems outside the confines of the college or university.
To harness the innovative spirit of incoming students who already have the coding skills to create these products, institutions may want to consider interdisciplinary courses that bring together lower- and upper-division students in different subject areas. The culminating project could be an app that solves a real-world problem. To ensure that students receive the credits appropriate to their level in school, it may be necessary to have two different course numbers for the same class section.
2. More students may go into computer science and related fields. Programming at a young age can be an effective method of providing students with experience in creating computer-based tools rather than just consuming them. According to Josh Sheldon, project manager with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Scheller Teacher Education Program and Center for Mobile Learning, he and his colleagues occasionally talk about surveying the people in their department and in computer science professions to see how many of them learned programming at a young age using Logo, the language developed by Seymour Papert to put computing power into the hands of even very young children. "Our hypothesis is that there would be a lot of people who were introduced to Logo at an early age that are now doing some computer-related task or some creative-related task."

Starting this coming school year 2012- 2013,the current education system of the Philippines will be enhanced from the 10- years of basic education into 12- years through the program called the K-12 Education Plan of the Department of Education.
The implementation of the K- 12 education plan in the Philippine Basic Education Curriculum is the key to our nation’s development. Though the government will face many problems in the long run of the implementation of the program, there really is a need to implement it because the enhancement of the quality of our education is very urgent and critical.
Here are some of the good reasons not to disagree with K- 12 education plan in the Philippines according to Isagani Cruz (2010) in one of his columns in a local newspaper:
If K- 12 will be implemented, students will be able to get sufficient instructional time to do subject- related tasks which makes them more prepared and well- trained on that subject area. On the other hand, if we remain on the old system, Filipino students would continually get low achievement scores. For instance, international test results revealed that we often come at the tail end in the exams compared to other countries.
Another good reason why we should support K- 12 is that the graduates of this program will be more prepared to enter the labor force. As we all noticed, high school graduates of the current curriculum are not yet employable for the reason that they are not yet competent and well – equipped with the skills needed in the workplaces. In addition, most high school graduates are not yet reaching the legal age of 18. With the new curriculum, senior high school students can choose a field that they are good at and that they are interested in. As a result, they will be equipped with the skills needed for a specific job even without a college degree. At the age of 18, the age when they graduate from high school, they will be employable and competitive already. Thus, adding up to the nation’s manpower.
Finally, with K- 12, Filipino graduates will be automatically recognized as professionals abroad because we are following the international education standard as practiced by all nations. There will be no need to study again and spend more money in order to qualify to their standards. With this, Filipino professionals who aspire to work abroad will not find a hard time in getting jobs in line with their chosen field and will be able to help their families more in the Philippines as well as the country’s economy with their remittances, property buying, and creation of businesses.
Filipinos are known to be competitive in the international community. While this may be true, our current education system hinders us in becoming more competitive among other countries. The K- 12 education plan offers a great solution to that problem. However, it is undeniable that there seems to be problems arising as we implement the program such as lack of government budget, classrooms and school supplies as well as the teachers. But, if we focus on the long- term effect of K- 12, we can conclude that it is very beneficial to us Filipinos. Therefore, we must have the strong will in supporting K- 12 Educational Plan for the betterment of our education system and economy. Remember, if we want change in our society, we must start it with our education system.

A party-list congressman on Tuesday filed a resolution asking the House Committee on Agriculture and Food to investigate the state of the local garlic industry following the steep increase in the price of garlic over the past weeks. The price of garlic has risen dramatically, with the current price hovering between P300 and P400 per kilo in major markets in Metro Manila. In light of this, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon filed House Resolution No. 1521 urging the House panel look into “the sudden spike in the price of garlic in several areas in the Philippines and assess the status of the local garlic industry in light of the said occurrence.” “Instead of resorting to larger imports, there is a need for Congress to assess the current situation of the local garlic industry, especially in Central Luzon and the Ilocos regions, which produce about 70 percent of the country’s total garlic production,” Ridon said. Ridon added that while increasing garlic imports may ease prices in the short term, it might not be enough to assure the stability of garlic prices in the long run. The National Garlic Action Team (NGAT) has previously proposed the approval of 932 permits for the importation of garlic to increase the supply in the following months. The NGAT which is tasked to investigate the hike in garlic prices, has pinpointed two factors that may have contributed to the increase - the supposed lower supply of imported garlic, and the high demand for local garlic produce that is driving the price up. However, the DA's special action team has yet to determine the actual causes. Possible "artificial shortage" caused by hoarding of supplies by garlic traders is also being probed by the government. Ridon said that while the DA's effort to track down hoarders is "laudable", it will not be sufficient in the long run. The lawmaker also pointed out that by increasing the garlic imports, the administration showed its lack of framework for the sustainable development of the local garlic industry. Furthermore, he said that the government was not able to adhere to the free-market framework of the World Trade Organization and the Asian Free Trade Association. Prior to the Philippines' entry to WTO, there was a law that actually prohibited the importation of onions, potatoes, garlic and cabbages - Republic Act No. 1296. “The said law protected the budding local garlic industry from foreign competition, thus largely contributing to its sustained growth during that time. However, Congress repealed this law in 1996 through Republic Act No. 8178 or the Agricultural Tarrification Act to adhere to WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture,” Ridon explained in HR 1251. Ridon also called on the Congress to craft much-needed legislation to help revitalize the said industry for nationwide self-sufficiency, considering that garlic is one of the staple cooking ingredients, with each Filipino consuming an average of 1.5 kilos of garlic annually.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is investigating the spike in garlic retail prices despite sufficient supply.
Farmers from various regions said traders have not been buying their produce, causing depleted supply of local garlic in Metro Manila.
“It appears that traders are not buying the produce of farmers. So as far as [the] farmers are concerned, there is no shortage of supply. So, we are investigating why this is happening,” DA Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS) Director Leandro Gazmin said in a press briefing Monday, June 9.
Around 30% of the country’s garlic requirement is produced locally while 70% is imported.
Imported garlic prices rose to as high as P290 per kilogram, while local garlic is now at P180 per kg in supermarkets and major trading centers in Metro Manila.
The prevailing retail price for local garlic is double the average farmgate price of P100 to P130 per kg.
The DA also convened Monday the National Garlic Action Team to determine the cause of the price spikes and come up with solutions. The team is composed of representatives from the DA High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), academe, and the private sector.
The committee findings will become a basis for the imposition of possible sanctions against traders found responsible for price manipulation.
Gazmin said such traders may suffer sanctions under the Price Act, which punishes such offenses with imprisonment of not less than a year but no more than 10 years and fine of not less than P5,000 but not more than P1 million.
For the meantime, the DA AMAS is assisting farmers’ cooperatives in Mindoro, Nueva Vizcaya, and Batanes to distribute their produce in major trading centers in Metro Manila.
Over the weekend, DA-AMAS fielded 50 trucks to sell 435,000 kg of locally produced garlic in public markets in Marikina, Pasig, and Commonwealth and Nepa-Q Mart in Quezon City.
Local garlic will be sold at a suggested retail price of P170 per kg.
“Garlic prices usually rise at this time of the year but not in this magnitude,” Gazmin said.
Gazmin added the DA-AMAS would continue to assist farmers in the distribution of their produce while supply is abundant.
“This will be done under our regular market distribution program,” said Gazmin.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the national harvest of garlic increased in 2013 to 8,650 metric tons from 8,490 MT during the same period last year.