#SONA2017: In Lyceum, students weigh in on K to 12

In President Duterte's alma mater, the graduating Grade 12 students deduce if they are ready to work or not.

WAITING Students anticipate President Duterte's second State of the Nation Address. Photos by Timothy Gerard Palugod

INTRAMUROS, Philippines — For two years, Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) has no freshmen and sophomores to handle.

NOT ENOUGH Aubrey Kate E. Bernabe, 18, says Grade 12 students can't keep up yet with college graduates.

When former president Benigno Aquino III signed the K-12 bill into law on 2013 and was fully implemented last year, LPU Manila reassigned their college professors to teach the Grade 11 and 12 students so they could keep their jobs.

The university has not harbored freshmen in 2016 and sophomores in 2017 because of the K to 12 program. (READ: LPU getting ready for K+12)

Affected students in high school were provided with different tracks to choose from: Academics, Sports, Arts and Design, and Technical-Vocational-Livelihood. (INFOGRAPHIC: 10 things about K to 12)

The tracks offered in LPU are namely the Accounting, Business and Management (ABM) strand, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand, and the Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) strand.

President Duterte, convinced by some Department of Education (DepEd) officials, supported its implementation in order for Filipinos to keep up with neighboring countries in the Southeast Asia region. (READ: K to 12 under Duterte administration faces new challenges)

In time for President Duterte's second State of the Nation Address (SONA) today, July 24, which coincides with LPU's first day of class, senior high school (SHS) students assessed their capability to work and interact with the professional environment.

Carmela Felisa C. Grabador, 18

"Nakakatulong [yung curriculum]. Kasi sa Grade 12, yung mga components na ibibigay sa atin sa college, matututunan natin ngayon. Like yung basics ng psychology, social sciences, pag-communicate, and yung critical thinking. Pwede rin naman akong hindi mag-college kung possible na hindi ko ito ma-pursue. Pwede pa rin akong mag work as a professional kasi meron kaming OJTs (On-The-Job training)."

(The curriculum helped a lot. Because in Grade 12, we learn the components taught in college. Like the basics in psychology, social sciences, communication, and critical thinking. I have the choice to not go to college if there comes a time that I can't possibly pursue it. I can still work as a professional because we have On-The-Job trainings.)

John Michael P. Nofuente, 18

"I think the basic enhanced education program didn't help me at all since the curriculum only tackled the things that I already learned in junior high. I think the curriculum itself is not ready for the standards that the Department of Education assumed that it will aim [for]. It didn't help me since the subjects studied in the K to 12 program is very low in terms of the quality. The subjects and the lessons that I learned are not compensating for what I want to pursue in the near future." 

Shaira Grace Baliong, 17

"Sa tingin ko naman nakatulong yung K to 12 kung hindi man ako mag-pursue ng college kasi may practical kami na tinetest na kami para sa work. May mga performance task na pinapagawa sa amin na katulad ng sa business. Tinuturuan din kami kung paano makipag-discussion sa isa't isa."

(I think the K to 12 helps if ever I don't pursue a degree because we have practical activities that test us for professional work. There are performance tasks given to us related to business. We are also taught how to discuss plans amongst ourselves.)

This was published in Rappler X.

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