VICE President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte said she is hoping that the business sector would provide more job opportunities for the K to 12 graduates.
Duterte said during the celebration of the 48th Philippine Business Conference and Expo Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries Wednesday, October 19, that there has been a disparity in the hiring preference of the labor sector, which hugely requires high educational attainment.
During a meeting with the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), she raised the concern of the Department of Education (DepEd) regarding the concerns of Grade 12 graduates who are not "employable" or are not immediately hired by the labor sector.
“This is a comment from the CHED (Commission on Higher Education) that there is a diploma mentality in our country. Kailangan ba’ng graduate ng four years college ang mga ine-employ ng ating mga industries? (Is it necessary for employees in our industries to graduate from four years of college?)," Duterte said.
The vice president said the government is aware of the performance of the schools in the country in the international education assessments.
She said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. tasked her to help address the country's job mismatch problem by reviewing the country's basic curriculum.
With this, Duterte said that her office is currently completing their review of the implementation of the K to 12 program.
"The previous administration finished the review of the K to Grade 10 program," she said, adding that her administration is set to review Grades 11 and 12.
She said DepEd is taking necessary steps to resolve gaps and produce quality K-12 graduates who are backed with skills and ready for employment.
“The Department of Education is already working on how to make our Grades 11-12 ready for work and are skilled-ready when they graduate from the K-12 program because the only mandatory education that is required is basic education — and that is kindergarten to grade 12,” Duterte said.
“So we hope that when we are finished with our task of making sure that our graduates, our grade 12 graduates, are ready, we hope to see the support of your sector in making sure that our grade 12 graduates are hired and employed by the industries that you participate in,” she added.
Duterte also stressed the business sector’s integral role in revitalizing the country’s economy post-pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Education chief said she welcomes the support of the various sectors as the country prepares for the full implementation of the face-to-face classes on November 2.
“These days, I am happy to share that the private sector has once again come to our aid,” she said.
“These are in the form of classroom building construction, teacher training, school grants, student competitions and awards including robotics and ICT talent competitions, nutrition education, school supplies distribution, reading materials, school preparedness advocacy, security, and mental health resources,” she added.
According to the Philippine Gazette, K-12 is a program that covers kindergarten and 12 years of basic education to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.
The K to 12 law was signed by late president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on May 5, 2013. RGL