K-12: The unresolved issues

By Paolo Taruc, CNN Philippines

Updated 15:56 PM PHT Fri, April 17, 2015

(CNN Philippines) — It's been nearly three years since the government began implementing its K-12 educational reform program — but the policy continues to have its share of detractors.

Last March, a coalition of teachers and staff of higher educational institutions around the Philippines petitioned the Supreme Court to suspend the K-12 law.

The program adds two years of senior high school to the country's basic education system which allow senior high school students to specialize in one of three tracks: academic, technical-vocational-livelihood, and sports and arts.

In a statement, the Suspend K12 Coalition said that the K-12 program does not take into account the labor rights of teaching and nonteaching staff who will be displaced by the program.

"Unless full protection of labor is ensured and the attack on security of tenure is ensured and the attack on security of tenure and other rights is avoided, the K-12 Law becomes a justice and peace issue."

As head of the coalition, Professor Rene Tadle of the University of Santo Tomas told CNN Philippines that the group agrees with the objectives of the program. Nevertheless, he said that the law should be suspended because the government is not yet prepared to implement it, especially with regard to labor.

"It [the law] only mentioned the word labor once...The law is incomplete in far as to address [the issue of] labor displacement."

However, Jesus Mateo, assistant secretary of planning and development of the Department of Education, told CNN Philippines that the government has set in place programs to accommodate displaced workers.

Mateo points to estimates showing that about 13,000 teaching staff will lose their jobs over a five-year period, including nearly 11,000 nonteaching staff.

However he says that the government will set aside funding over the next several years to support a transition fund and several other programs. About P20 billion in funding has been slated for 2016, as well as P26.7 billion for 2017.

Before K-12, the government said that the Philippines was the last country in Asia and one of only three countries worldwide with a 10-year pre-university cycle. Mateo says that "It is meant to ensure that we develop as a country and be competitive in the global market.