Skip to main content
Offer ‘excess’ classrooms for K to 12 use—study

Amid the apprehension of some sectors and leaders over the viability of the K to 12, state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) released a timely policy note offering possible solutions to some of the challenges cited by the reform program’s critics.

Dr. Rosario G. Manasan, a PIDS senior research fellow, recommends that higher education institutes (HEI) offer their “excess capacity”, referring to the available classrooms and the teachers who will be underutilized when HEIs receive no enrollees in school year (SY) 2016/2017.

Dr. Manasan stated this recommendation in her policy note titled “K to 12 reform: Implications of adding Grades 11 and 12 on the higher education subsector”, which assesses the effect of the demands of the K to 12 program on the supply capacities of secondary schools and higher education institutes.

The Senior High School Absorptive Capacity Study, conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), found that to accommodate all the students who are expected to enter public senior high school (SHS), the Department of Education (DepEd) must be able to build 27,000 new classrooms by SY 2016/2017, and 23,812 additional classrooms by SY 2017/2018.  DepEd would also need to hire more teachers—46,000 by 2016 and 38,700 by the following school year.

These exact demands have caused critics to be wary that the program will only create newer problems, as well as exacerbate the same old and unaddressed issues such as inadequate infrastructure, underpaid teacher salaries, and underfunded school materials.

But the government has remained steadfast that the reform program is long overdue, and that the K to 12 shift is essential to increasing the competitiveness of the Philippine education system.

Dr. Manasan’s recommendations are an addition to the government’s response through the education cluster and coordinating agencies, including the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Labor and Employment, to explore comprehensive and supplementary action, including schools applying to open secondary high schools.  

Though Dr. Manasan admits there are logistical concerns, such as uneven geographic distribution of available spaces, she still considers the scenario a “win-win” scenario.

“If all the available places in HEIs arising from the missing cohorts were made available to the SHS program, the total classroom requirement for the SHS program in public schools would drop by 57 percent from 26,955 with pure DepEd provision to 11,572 in SY 2016/2017.”

Furthermore, HEIs and the DepEd can use the opportunity to gauge the real demand for SHS facilities and adjust the infrastructure budget, and HEIs will not have to retrench faculty members during the transition period.


To make these possible, the country’s leaders need to create a policy environment that will make it easy for the HEIs to cooperate, and consider mechanisms and programs like education service contracting, concession arrangements, and credit windows for classroom construction. (PIDS)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd  of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become...

Free dormitories eyed for Nueva Era students in LC, Batac

 Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said.    Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel...

P29 per kilo rice sold to vulnerable groups in Ilocos region

BBM RICE. Residents buy rice for only PHP29 per kilo at the NIA compound in San Nicolas town, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. The activity was under a nationwide pilot program of the government to sell quality and affordable rice initially to the vulnerable sectors. (Lei Adriano) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte —Senior citizens, persons with disability, and solo parents availed of cheap rice sold at PHP29 per kilogram during the grand launching of the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice held at the National Irrigation Administration compound in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. “ Maraming salamat Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa inyong pagmamahal sa Region 1 lalong-lalo na sa bayan namin sa San Nicolas,” said Violeta Pasion, a resident Brgy.   18 Bingao in this town. The low-priced grains were sourced from the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) contract farming with irrigators' association members in the province. Along with Pasion, Epi...