WHAT IS K TO 12 PROGRAM?

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 development, employment, and
entrepreneurship.

SALIENT FEATURES

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.
In Kindergarten, students learn the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors through
games, songs, and dances, in their Mother Tongue.

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.

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.

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 and skills
approriate to their developmental and cognitive skills.

TVET (TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL

EDUCATION & TRAINING) NATIONAL
CERTIFICATE

After finishing Grade 10, a student can obtain Certificates of Competency

(COC) or a National Certificate Level I (NC I). After finishing a TechnicalVocational-Livelihood track in Grade 12, a student may obtain a National
Certificate Level II (NC II), provided he/she passes the competency-based
assessment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA).
NC I and NC II improves employability of graduates in fields like
Agriculture, Electronics, and Trade.

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.

IMPLEMENTATION AND TRANSITION MANAGEMENT

Program implementation in public schools is being done in phases
starting SY 20122013. Grade 1 entrants in SY 20122013 are the first
batch to fully undergo the program, and current 1st year Junior High
School students (or Grade 7) are the first to undergo the enhanced
secondary education program. To facilitate the transition from the
existing 10-year basic education to 12 years, DepEd is also implementing
the SHS and SHS Modeling.

TRANSITION FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Private schools craft their transition plans based

on:
(1)current/previous entry ages for Grade 1 and
final year of Kinder,
(2)duration of program
(3)content of curriculum offered.

K TO 12 CURRICULUM

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PLANS

ADVANTAGES/BENEFITS OF K TO 12:

To Individuals and Families

The improvement that K to 12 education program brings will provide the

following benefits to Filipino learners and their families:
Learners with decongested study loads have more time to master the
desired learning competencies. Further, they will be given opportunity to
learn beyond academics through a career pathways program, thus allowing
for a more holistic development with life skills.
Graduates will not only gain a high school diploma but they will acquire
Certificate of Competencies or National Certitification in their field of
specialization. Graduates will be better prepared for higher education.
Families can better afford education as the cost of the additional two years
in high school is significantly lower than longer collegiate or university
level.
Moreover, one year preschool is now mandatory and is provided for free
through Republic Act 10157.

ADVANTAGES/BENEFITS OF K TO 12:

For the Society and the Economy

K to 12 will contribute to economic growth bringing progress to

society and to the nation. Research studies show that:
Each additional year brings 10% increase in wage earnings
Longer time spent in education increases likelihood of
employment
An additional year increases the average 40-year growth rate
in Gross Domestic Product by about 0.37 percentage points
A year of schooling typically shows a 25-30 percent rate of
return

ADVANTAGES/BENEFITS OF K TO 12:

For Regional and International Recognition and

Competitiveness

Academic degrees of Filipino graduates will now be

recognized in other countries.
The K to 12 curriculum ensures that studies, diplomas, and
degrees of Filipinos are recognized as widely as possible.
Significant changes in the worlds education standards
brought by globalization increased cross-border provision, and
continued expansion of education that have resulted in
increased quality assurance of education.

DISADVANTAGESOF
K-12
SHORTAGE IN TEACHERS, CLASSROOMS,
TEXTBOOKS, SEATS, TOILETS ETC.
SHORTAGE OF 34,000 CLASSROOMS
ON COLLEGES PROFESSORS WILL LOSE
85,000
-STUDENT
FUNDS / EXPENCES TO CATER THE
SHORTAGE

ISSUES

the Trends in International Mathematics and

Science Study (TIMSS) which revealed that
longer education cycles do not necessarily
result in better performance of students.

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.

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
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.

LAWS
R.A. 10533 OR ENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF 2013

Technical

Education and
Skills Development Authority
INSTITUTIONS

(TESDA).
DepED
Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)
the private and public schools associations, the
national student organizations, the national teacher
organizations, the parents-teachers associations and the
chambers of commerce on matters affecting the
concerned stakeholders.

RECOMMENDATIONS

TRANSFER OF TEACHERS FROM COLLEGE TO SENIOR

HIGH

FACILITIES MUST BE UNDER TESDA AND CHED

ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

OPEN THE FACILITIES OF COLLEGES ROOMS FOR THE

SHORTAGE OF CLASSROOMS

SEE TO IT THAT POOR FAMILIES WILL BE ABLE TO

FINISH SHS THROUGH GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS. NOT
ONLY FREE FROM SCHOOLING ALSO THE NEEDED
MATERIALS AND EXPENCES OF THE STUDENTS.

REFERENCES: