House lawmakers seek to address worries over K+12 program

TWO members of Congress is calling for an investigation into the losses projected by private educational institutions once the K to 12 basic education program of government is implemented.

In filing House Resolution (HR) 2808, Representatives Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro) and Maximo Rodriguez (Abante Mindanao party-list) urged the committee on basic education and culture to determine if there is truth to the pronouncement of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) that losses will be incurred by private schools once the modified basic education program is fully implemented.

The House of Representatives is set to approve on third and final reading the enabling law for the K to 12 program, which seeks to add two more years to basic education, when it resumes session next month.

The Rodriguez brothers asked the House panel to invite officials of CEAP and the Department of Education (DepEd) to shed light on the matter.

"The private schools are afraid that they will lose million of pesos since there will be no enrolment in their collegiate courses in two years because high schools were extended for another two years," the lawmakers noted.

The K to 12 program covers kindergarten and 12 years of basic education, which is divided into six years of primary education, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school.

The enhanced basic education program aims to prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment and entrepreneurship.

Schools under the CEAP said they expect freshman enrolments to drop because under the new system, students have the option not to pursue college.

Fr. Gregg Banaga, CEAP president, earlier said the only way to address the losses of private schools is through the private-public partnership with DepEd.

Banaga urged the government to increase the subsidy under the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education and to subsidize more students in private high schools under the Education Service Contracting provision in GASTPE. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)