House approves bill on mandatory kindergarten

MANILA – The House of Representatives has approved a bill that would require five-year-old kids to enroll in kindergarten.

If enacted into law this year, House Bill 3826 or the "Kindergarten Education Act" will be implemented in 2012.

"The child's early years are the best in terms of molding them, where the child's sense of wonder is best sharpened and learning is best initiated," said Cebu City Representative Rachel Marguerite Del Mar, co-author of the bill.

The first-term congresswoman said the universal kindergarten program would be a great help for parents who cannot send their children to kindergarten schools offering high tuition fees.

For her part, Davao Oriental Representative Thelma Almario cited a recent study stating that 40 percent of children who were enrolled in Grade one in public schools are deemed unfit.

"This is the reason why most of those who entered Grade One were not able to finish the elementary level," she said. The preschool education program is one of the solutions to eliminate school dropouts and increase the completion rate in the elementary level.”

The bill’s passage came in the heels of the Department of Education’s early registration program last Saturday for incoming students next school year. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)