By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan
A youth group leader expressed mixed reactions on Jan. 29 to the House of Representatives’ passage of a bill reforming the K-12 education system, calling it a step forward but highlighting the need for broader reforms to make education accessible to all.
Kabataan Partylist Panay chairperson Thea Kryshna Dayata told Aksyon Radyo Iloilo that while House Bill No. 11213, also known as the Education Pathways Act, has spurred important conversations about the effectiveness of the K-12 program, significant issues remain unaddressed.
“In our experience and conversations with students and parents alike, [our educational system] was a failure and hasn’t provided [learners] quality education, even with K-12,” Dayata said.
“K-12 promised that after senior high [school], one could already work, but the [job market] demands the youth to at least be college graduates. Students want to go to school, but K-12 added to their burden due to the expenses and resources needed,” she added.
Despite the bill’s passage, Kabataan Partylist Representative Raoul Manuel did not vote in favor of it, citing concerns over its provisions.
If enacted, the bill would offer high school graduates two pathways: the University Preparatory Pathway, designed for Grades 11 and 12 students aiming for college, and the Technical-Vocational Pathway, developed and supervised by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The bill also introduces an Honors Examination for Grade 10 students pursuing the University Preparatory Pathway. Those who pass could skip Grades 11 and 12 and proceed directly to college.
Dayata criticized the proposed system for treating higher education as a mere option rather than an accessible right.
“When we look at either of the options, there is no win for the youth and no benefit, when their right, primarily, is to go to school,” she said.
She argued that the K-12 system should ultimately be scrapped to alleviate the financial and resource burdens it places on students, families, schools, and teachers.
Dayata also emphasized the need for a higher budget allocation to support the Philippine education system.
She cited the Philippine Science High School system and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) as examples of institutions that limit enrollees due to insufficient resources.
“The issue right now, even as K-12 exists, is that there is a great educational crisis. Teachers are overburdened due to the number of students who want to go to school. They are underpaid and overworked, and their salaries don’t match their effort,” she said.
She added that teachers often face a mismatch between their expertise and the subjects they are assigned to teach because the country’s curriculum frequently changes and fails to align with educators’ professional training.
Dayata concluded by calling for structural changes and increased support for education to address the systemic challenges facing students and educators.
