P43 billion needed to add 2 years in basic education

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) needs P43.67 billion for the K+12 plan to add two more years to the Basic Education Curriculum.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said the K+12 plan would need more classrooms, teacher items and textbooks.

“The immediate concern right now is the current classroom shortage,” he said. However, Luistro said they are not focusing on the program’s financial aspect since the additional two years in high school will be instituted in public schools by school year 2016-17.

“That’s a long time from now,” he said.

“We’re focusing now on addressing the current shortages in classrooms of 70,000.”

After solving the current classroom shortage, the additional 55,000 classrooms deemed necessary for senior high school under the K+12 BEC plan would be relatively easier to tackle, he added.

In a presentation to public and private school teachers at the ULTRA stadium in Pasig City to celebrate World Teachers Day last Tuesday, Luistro said the latest revised model of the K+12 plan will be a K-6-4-2 model that will involve mandatory pre-school or kindergarten, six years of elementary school, four years of junior high school (Grades 7 to 10) and two years of senior high school (Grades 11 to 12).

“The two years of senior high school intend to provide time for students to consolidate acquired academic skills and competencies.

“The curriculum will allow specializations in science and technology, music and arts, agriculture and fisheries, sports, business and entrepreneurship, etc.”

In the DepEd projections, the P43.671 billion was the one-time estimated preliminary capital cost to build classrooms and procure school desks and chairs and textbooks and set up water and sanitation facilities.

Recurring costs of maintaining the infrastructure each year were projected at an additional P16.792 billion for teachers, textbooks, and maintenance and other operating expenses.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III described yesterday as “anti-poor” the DepEd’s plan to add two more years to the high school program.

“Survival rate will drop further, with the increase of high school years by two,” he said.

“Of 100 students in grade one, something like 65 survive to grade six.

“Of these 65 five, about 30 will survive to fourth year high school. Increasing the high school years will increase the drop-out numbers and further disempower the youth who want to pursue a college education.”

Sotto said a lot of parents have already sent their children to pre-school, which is two years of education before kindergarten.

Rainier Allan Ronda, Philippine Star