DepEd Assesses Graduating Senior Highs to Rate K12 Effectiveness

by Francesca Magtanong

The Department of Education subjected the new Senior High School graduates of the first batch of the K12 curriculum to an exit assessment in order the determine the effectiveness of the program.

The exit assessment was adminitered last March to all Grade 12 graduating students both in public and private senior high schools nationwide as dictated by a memorandum signed by DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones.

The assessment aims to gauge the outgoing senior high school students’ learning progress and their ability to cope with the program and standards, Briones stated. The measure will also provide the department the needed feedback to “improve instructional practices, monitor the Philippine education system and schools for public accountability, assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the education service delivery, measure students’ aptitude and occupational interest for career guidance,  assess prior learning for placement, accreditation and equivalency, and gain empirical information as basis for the improvement of the curriculum and assessment for policy review and formulation”.

Recently, around 1.2 million pioneer senior high students from over 20,000 public and private senior high schools  graduated nationwide. They are the first batch of students to graduate since the government implemented the program in 2016.

Of the  1,252,357 learners of first batch of Senior High School (SHS) completers,  61.13% (765,588 enrollees) took the Academic track; 38.32% (479,866) took the Technical-Vocational-

Livelihood track); 0.38% (4,758 enrollees) from the Arts and Design track; and 0.17% (2,145

enrollees) from the Sports track.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones

           The Education chief stressed that catching up with change can no longer be done on a “one

at a time” basis. “There have been changes and there will be more changes as  the country draws closer to welcoming the first batch of graduates of the K to 12 Basic Education Program in April,” said Education Secretary Leonor Briones.

Companies Hesitant to Hire SHS Fresh Grads

          The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed their doubt that the pioneer senior high school graduates of K to 12 program would be ready to work in the professional world.

PCCI stated that the curriculum requirement of 80-hour on-the-job training completed by the senior high students wont be enough to get the sufficient training and gear them into real world skilled workers. Regular college students render an average of 500-hr of ojt during college.

          However, the Department of Education assures the public that despite PCCI’s observation, the grade 12 graduates are satisfactorily equipped with knowledge and training to be able to cope up with professional workplace requirements.

           DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali said that the on-the-job training or immersion is not the main focus of the K-12 curriculum. Its main objective is to help poor students who can’t afford to go to college to still attain a job through quality education provided by  the K to 12 program.

           He said that this new system was formed with the help of government agencies like the

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and that they will stick with the new curriculum.

           Last year, The Philippine Business for Education also expressed the hesitation of some private companies to hire senior high school graduates even for entry level jobs amidst the association’s effort to encourage industries to hire K to 12 graduates.

          "Naiintindihan naman natin kasi (We understand because, it's something new, so what we're trying to do is find companies, pilot companies, and accept K to 12 graduates as an experiment, as a pilot, so that we can prove to companies na puwede na ang K to 12 (that K to 12 graduates are already employable), PBEd president Chito Salazar explained.

          Salazar also said that companies still prefer college graduates as there are a lot of unemployed college graduates every year and hiring them wont cost the companies anything.

         George Barcelon, President of PCCI stated that taking into consideration the law of supply and demand, there is an "array of people" with credentials that hiring managers can choose from.

         A recent survey conducted by Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) revealed that only one out of five companies are willing to hire senior high school (SHS) graduates. Meanwhile, 3 out 5 companies said they are open to the idea.

        Recently, Jobstreet.com, an international job portal used by most people around the globe to look for jobs, conducted a survey which revealed that only 24% of employers in the country are willing to hire K to 12 graduates. These companies are mostly from manufacturing, professional services, retail, machinery and equipment, and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries.

Sources:

Rappler

ABSCBN News

Journal.com.ph

Inq.com