We, the undersigned, are opposed to the treatment and requirements of some companies toward K-12 graduates. We call on the companies and government to:
reconsider the criteria for job qualifiers
produce jobs to reduce the percentage of poverty in the country
The Philippines adopted the K to 12 Basic Education Program in School Year 2012-2013 which includes Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education. This was made possible through the Republic Act No. 10533 Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 added two years of Senior High School (SHS) with the goal of expanding high school education for higher education, employment, middle-level skills development, and entrepreneurship.
The Senior High School (SHS) Program enhances the 21st-century skills of the learners along with their careers choices from the tracks and strands, namely:
Academic track with strands that include the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Humanities and Socials Sciences (HUMSS), Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM), Maritime, and General Academic
Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track with strands that include Industrial Arts, Home Economics, Information and Communications Technology, and Agri-Fishery Arts
Sports track
Arts and Design track
Considered as the most significant educational reform in the country, the K to 12 programs seek to provide Filipino learners with the necessary skills and competencies to prepare them to face the challenges of the 21st Century. At the end of the program, SHS graduates are expected to have fully acquired the following 21st-century skills: (a) learning and innovation skills, (b) effective communication skills, information, media, and technology skills, and (d) life and career skills which are the demand skills as part of the international standards amid the Fourth Indu Revolution (DepEd Order No. 21, s.2019 Policy Guidelines on the K to 12 Education Program.)
We the advocates, analyzed this to inform the citizens of our country about what happened after DepEd implemented K-12 back in School Year 2012–2013. While DepEd announced in 2018 that SHS graduates could be taken and offered a job since they graduated as Senior High students wherein, they were taught to be equipped for work, entrepreneurship, or higher education. We contemplate why some companies do not accept SHS graduates. According to e-Conomy SEA 2019, In SY 2017-2018, the first batch of approximately 1.2 million SHS students graduated in April 2018. After 7 years of implementation, there is still a gap between graduates of the K to 12 programs and employment. The digital economy is driving the Philippines’ emerging jobs and by 2025, the country’s digital economy is expected to be worth more than Php 1 Trillion.
References:
GOV.PH (n.d.). The K to 12 Basic Education. GOV.PH. Retrieved from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/k-12/
Burgonio, TJ. (2013, May 16). ‘K to 12’ education now a law. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/409755/aquino-signs-education-reform-law
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