By Rodolfo Dacleson II
(June 20, 2025) – An official from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday opposed the initiative to amend the K-12 program after President Bongbong Marcos joined the growing critics of the 12-year basic education.
UNICEF Education chief Fushimi Akihiro stressed that the country took the “right direction” in implementing the K-12 curriculum in its education system.
He instead backed the implementation of the strengthened Senior High School (SHS) program, which the Department of Education piloted to over 800 schools nationwide when school year 2025-2026 opened on Monday.
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“If you look at the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) of countries for example, for the basic education duration, it’s 12 years in general,” said Fushimi in a report by The Philippine Star.
Fushimi furthered that education policies must be tailored to the needs of learners and the Filipino community overall, instead of applying a one-size-fits-all model.
“Starting from early childhood education before K-12 and life learning including alternative learning education, that’s the way forward but the important thing is to ensure flexible learning pathways and opportunities,” said Fushimi.
On Wednesday, Marcos echoed the frustrations voiced by lawmakers who want to abolish the mandatory Senior High School (SHS) under the K-12 curriculum, citing its failure to produce work-ready graduates and incurring additional financial burden to students.
“Ang sinabi ko kay [DepEd] Secretary Sonny Angara, pagandahin natin nang husto [K-12] habang nandyan pa ‘yan. Kasi ano ang madalas nating marinig, mismatch. ‘Yung skills ko hindi employable’,” the President said in an interview.
Marcos, however, will let Congress decide whether to repeal or amend Republic Act (RA) No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act, which institutionalized the K-12 program.
RA 10533 was signed into law by the late former president Noynoy Aquino III to address the Philippines’ educational gap by extending basic education to 13 years to meet global employment standards.
The Philippines was the last country in Asia to adopt a 12-year basic education system.
(BR)
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