‘K+12 means better college students’

An additional two years of education could delay the employment of her kids.

Thirty-two year old single mother Ivy Villaver, a security guard for a government agency raises two children.

She said she worries that extra years in school would mean additional expenses.

“The additional two years is unreasonable. We didn’t have that but I was able to find a job,” Villaver said in Cebuano.

However, officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) said that they are determined to implement the K+12 program with compulsory attendance of kindergarten in the coming school year.

“We don’t consider it a significant burden on the family,” DepEd undersecretary Francisco Varela said, during the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) education brand launch.

“This will make them (students) more prepared for college and they will become better professionals,” Varela added.

He said the education system has fundamental problems like congestion but assured that they are carefully preparing additional requirements for more academic years like classrooms, teachers and textbooks.

Valera said that the budget for education increased from P185 billion last year to P207 billion for 2011 to cater to the K+12 program.

They also allocated P1 billion for the construction of school buildings nationwide and another P4 billion for the rehabilitation of and additional facilities for schools.

The implementation of the additional two-year program on the academic curriculum received a lot of opposition during a public forum with the Cebu Provincial Board last week.

Valera said that they are partnering with the private sector to help them improve and implement education programs.

Meanwhile, RAFI Vice President Jon Ramon Aboitiz admitted that the implementation of K+12 is needed as most graduating students at 16 are “too young and lack maturity.”

RAFI is set to provide P30 million for their School Rehabilitation and Adopt a School Program for the opening of this school year.

Roberto Aboitiz, RAFI president, said “We wanted to provide a more energizing and learning environment for the children.”