Gov’t readiness on K-12 questioned

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

SENATOR Pia Cayetano questioned the readiness of the government to fully implement the K to 12 program.

In an interview, Cayetano, the Senate committee chair on education, arts and culture, admitted that there are gaps in the government’s education reform program which include inadequate budget and lack of time for its full implementation, among other concerns.

“There are really a lot of gaps. The information I have, may gaps, we have inadequate budget, we also do not have enough time to really roll it out properly,” Cayetano said on Tuesday.

Despite this admission, the senator said that it is imperative for the program to be implemented.

“I believe it has to be implemented. It’s just a question of when the K to 12 will be implemented. We have implemented changes in the past that proved to be beneficial. My question is, are we ready to implement such change? Because if we are not ready, we should not waste the time of our students,” she said.

“The question we must ask ourselves: In programs of this magnitude, does it help us to delay? Or do we have to bite the bullet and roll it out and allow the problems to surface and clean it up in the process?” the senator asked.

The K to 12 law, also known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, added two years in the nation’s current basic education system.

The first batch under the program will enter grade 11 in school year 2015-2016 and grade 12 in school year 2016-2017. AC