K-12 for Global Competition
by AIDA V RAMOS
Teacher III-English Department.
Muñoz National High School
The world is getting smaller. Gone are the days that we are separated by seas and oceans nor we are divided by the distance of travel. Opportunities for employment knock on every door, but these questions remain. Are we prepared? Are we qualified? Are we the workforce that the industries outside the academe expect? Are we the employees whose capabilities go beyond culture and follow standard regardless of the place and race we work on?
The kind of education we have shapes our future and determines our destiny. It somehow propels our courage to think that we can be at par to other nations. And it should not be a question of what country you studied rather it may seem to be a question of how long you are molded. Further, it asks how you are trained.
The rigid and internationally acknowledged instruction that we now have will equip us of what we can and will guide us to what we should be. We are on the right track to drive, bring out and develop the relevant skills and potentials of our learners in preparation for higher education or gainful employment here and abroad.
It is only on facing the challenges of this generation that a person will likely to succeed. For there is no escaping to the reality that preparation for tomorrow relies basically on how the schools deliver the instruction and enhance the skills which are innate in every achiever. Given the best education the Filipinos will prove their worth. As ever, they will make it to the top and you and I can humbly shout to the world, that, we are Filipinos.
Reality bites that we lag behind. Sad to say that the Philippines is the only country in Asia and one of the last three nations in the world who have the shortest span of educational preparation. This takes much sadness to note and it is much bitter to accept that studies have shown disadvantage to those people who are prepared and honed in school at a shorter time. Insufficiency in training reflects mediocrity and there is no excuse for this plight.
To emerge victorious over ignorance and incapacitation is what Kindergarten plus 12 targets to us. While we export more our manpower, curriculum for this educational reform will surely bridge the gaps between what we can and what the industries expect for us. Capability building towards this direction will make us more competitive not just her in the country but also abroad.
Empowering every individual, through a program that is rooted on sound educational principles could gear us towards excellence. Competency in every endeavor that we take requires foundation of sound training and preparation. The capacity to transform others and one’s self is what this curriculum intends.
Maybe we have been pushing our students so hard. Inducing the competencies at a short span of time in school results in a more incompetent individual. Essentialism has long been calling us to take what is important one at a time. It is in this curriculum that decongestion of the learning episodes, grade by grade, will be given due importance. That, no matter how we would like to learn, we always take into consideration the unpressured individual, capable of digesting each and every lesson, capable of mastering each and every competency.
The call for more prepared individuals for college level remains also a trust of this curriculum. And at a certain extent, who would deny the fact expenses for college education could be reduced in the advent of grades 11 and 12. These are the transition years. Enough to prepare our young students for the rigid training in tertiary education.
This is what we need, a holistic development which encompasses the totality of ourselves. We as human beings and we as productive citizens of this country who could partake on relevant transformations not just within the boundaries of this country but also in the global community.
We long to see the future and we hope to see that our graduates are not automatically recognized abroad due to a 10-year schooling. It is our dream to see that Filipinos are desired because they believe on the kind of training that we give to our students.
The size of our country maybe too small, the number of our people may not be incomparable. But we must and we can that each individual Filipino is trained over international standards.
Tomorrow may seem to be late. To act now and pursue the realization of dreams lies in every school in the country. This is the moment, this is the time, and this is what the world expects from us Filipinos.
The kind of education we have shapes our future and determines our destiny. It somehow propels our courage to think that we can be at par to other nations. And it should not be a question of what country you studied rather it may seem to be a question of how long you are molded. Further, it asks how you are trained.
The rigid and internationally acknowledged instruction that we now have will equip us of what we can and will guide us to what we should be. We are on the right track to drive, bring out and develop the relevant skills and potentials of our learners in preparation for higher education or gainful employment here and abroad.
It is only on facing the challenges of this generation that a person will likely to succeed. For there is no escaping to the reality that preparation for tomorrow relies basically on how the schools deliver the instruction and enhance the skills which are innate in every achiever. Given the best education the Filipinos will prove their worth. As ever, they will make it to the top and you and I can humbly shout to the world, that, we are Filipinos.
Reality bites that we lag behind. Sad to say that the Philippines is the only country in Asia and one of the last three nations in the world who have the shortest span of educational preparation. This takes much sadness to note and it is much bitter to accept that studies have shown disadvantage to those people who are prepared and honed in school at a shorter time. Insufficiency in training reflects mediocrity and there is no excuse for this plight.
To emerge victorious over ignorance and incapacitation is what Kindergarten plus 12 targets to us. While we export more our manpower, curriculum for this educational reform will surely bridge the gaps between what we can and what the industries expect for us. Capability building towards this direction will make us more competitive not just her in the country but also abroad.
Empowering every individual, through a program that is rooted on sound educational principles could gear us towards excellence. Competency in every endeavor that we take requires foundation of sound training and preparation. The capacity to transform others and one’s self is what this curriculum intends.
Maybe we have been pushing our students so hard. Inducing the competencies at a short span of time in school results in a more incompetent individual. Essentialism has long been calling us to take what is important one at a time. It is in this curriculum that decongestion of the learning episodes, grade by grade, will be given due importance. That, no matter how we would like to learn, we always take into consideration the unpressured individual, capable of digesting each and every lesson, capable of mastering each and every competency.
The call for more prepared individuals for college level remains also a trust of this curriculum. And at a certain extent, who would deny the fact expenses for college education could be reduced in the advent of grades 11 and 12. These are the transition years. Enough to prepare our young students for the rigid training in tertiary education.
This is what we need, a holistic development which encompasses the totality of ourselves. We as human beings and we as productive citizens of this country who could partake on relevant transformations not just within the boundaries of this country but also in the global community.
We long to see the future and we hope to see that our graduates are not automatically recognized abroad due to a 10-year schooling. It is our dream to see that Filipinos are desired because they believe on the kind of training that we give to our students.
The size of our country maybe too small, the number of our people may not be incomparable. But we must and we can that each individual Filipino is trained over international standards.
Tomorrow may seem to be late. To act now and pursue the realization of dreams lies in every school in the country. This is the moment, this is the time, and this is what the world expects from us Filipinos.
ALS ACCREDITATION AND EQUIVALENCY TEST
LARRY B. ESPIRITU, Ph.D.
Education Program Supervisor I-ALS
Division of Science City of Muñoz
The Department of Education (DepEd) through the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) is administering the ALS Accreditation and Equivalency (A and E) Test annually to the ALS learners, both at the elementary and secondary levels. The test is composed of two parts, the objective type and the essay type.
This examination serves as tool to measure the ability of the learner and to access their mastery of the competencies mandated by the curriculum of ALS. It determines if they are ready to continue next level of schooling.
It is a test designed to measure competencies of those who have not finished either the formal elementary or secondary education. A and E Test registration, administration and certification is free.
The qualified registrants for the ALS A and E Test are the unemployed/underemployed OSY and adults, formal school leavers/drop-outs, persons with disabilities (e.g. visually – impaired, but braille literate), inmates, rebel/soldier integrates, members of cultural minorities, indigenous people, non-passers of previous A and E Test, industry-based workers, housewives, helpers, factory workers, drivers, at least 11 years old for elementary and at least 15 years old for high school.
Said registrants must prepare the following for registration: two (2) recent passport size-photos with name tag, birth certificate, original and photocopies of any of the following government –issued identification: valid driver’s license, valid passport, voter’s ID, SSS/GSIS ID, postal ID and NBI clearance.
The passers of the A and E Test will enjoy the following benefits: enrol as High School Freshman for elementary level passers; enrol in post-secondary courses (tech/voc., two/three/four/five-year course of the CHED and PASUC member institutions; access to MERALCO Foundation Inc., and TESDA skills training programs and opportunity to acquire eligibility to government employment positions under CSC Resolution No. 499.
This examination serves as tool to measure the ability of the learner and to access their mastery of the competencies mandated by the curriculum of ALS. It determines if they are ready to continue next level of schooling.
It is a test designed to measure competencies of those who have not finished either the formal elementary or secondary education. A and E Test registration, administration and certification is free.
The qualified registrants for the ALS A and E Test are the unemployed/underemployed OSY and adults, formal school leavers/drop-outs, persons with disabilities (e.g. visually – impaired, but braille literate), inmates, rebel/soldier integrates, members of cultural minorities, indigenous people, non-passers of previous A and E Test, industry-based workers, housewives, helpers, factory workers, drivers, at least 11 years old for elementary and at least 15 years old for high school.
Said registrants must prepare the following for registration: two (2) recent passport size-photos with name tag, birth certificate, original and photocopies of any of the following government –issued identification: valid driver’s license, valid passport, voter’s ID, SSS/GSIS ID, postal ID and NBI clearance.
The passers of the A and E Test will enjoy the following benefits: enrol as High School Freshman for elementary level passers; enrol in post-secondary courses (tech/voc., two/three/four/five-year course of the CHED and PASUC member institutions; access to MERALCO Foundation Inc., and TESDA skills training programs and opportunity to acquire eligibility to government employment positions under CSC Resolution No. 499.