The graduating students of the K-12 program are not ready to enter the workforce according to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). Businesses are still hesitant to hire these students if they should decide to work after graduating, says the Philippine Business Education (PBEd). If that is the case, where does that leave the senior high school batch of 2018?
The K-12 is still considered a young curriculum, producing its first batch of graduates this March 2018 since the former’s approval last 2012. The Department of Education stated before that the program’s vision is to produce graduates who are ready for the global stage. The preceding program, the Basic Education Curriculum proved to be a few years short of providing the education necessary for Filipinos to work abroad, hence the launching of K-12.
DepEd also promised that students will be work-ready if they finished senior high school. However, PCCI claims that the first batch of graduates experienced less than the minimum amount of time required for the on-the-job training (OJT) with only 80 hours (2 weeks).
According to DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali, the coordination with the Commission on Higher Education at Technical Education and Skills Development Authority when they formulated the K-12 curriculum deems the program fit to practice a student for work should he decide to not pursue a college education.
He also stated that the purpose of the 80-hour OJT was to help students balance their time with their studies as well.
The fact that the first graduating batch is deemed unsuited to be a part of the workforce may not sit well with the majority, especially those who were against K-12 in the first place.
The state of the program experienced by the pioneer batch of K-12 is not ready to teach students the skills they need to know for the professional world because everything is still experimental and new, therefore it cannot be expected that things are ironed out on the first go.
It is possible that things may change in the near future in order to make the curriculum more able to fulfill the promises it once held.
The hesitancy of the companies and businesses in hiring people who only graduated senior high school is understandable. Choosing between unemployed senior high school graduates and college graduates, they may lean more into the latter as they exude a more mature, ready, and professional energy.
It may help if DepEd formed relationships with more industries and business groups in order to know how to train students into becoming work-ready individuals.
Jessie Anne Mari Fabillon | Regina Lucis High School
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