1 million expected in public kindergarten this June

MANILA, Philippines - At least one million preschool children are expected to troop to public kindergartens when the school year opens in June, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said yesterday.

Luistro said 1.12 million preschool children signed up during the early registration campaign of the Department of Education (DepEd) that began in January to assess student enrollment for kindergarten for the implementation of the K (Kindergarten)+12 Basic Education Curriculum plan this year.

Luistro said the universal public kindergarten program for 5-year-olds will give new entrants to basic education the proper preparation on the rigors of schooling.

“Studies have shown that school children who went to preschool are better prepared for schooling and have greater chances of finishing school,” Luistro said.

Universal kindergarten is the first step under the plus 12 basic education program of the government which makes kindergarten mandatory, and adds two years to the current 10-year basic education curriculum (BEC) with six years of elementary and four years of high school.

With the K+12 program, high school graduates from public and private schools are better prepared to get jobs, even out of high school, the DepEd said.

“We always say that education is a great equalizer. This universal kindergarten program will do just that as it democratizes access to pre-school education which used to be enjoyed only by those who can afford it in private schools,” Luistro stressed.

The pre-registration campaign allowed DepEd to determine what is needed to ensure the program can be properly implemented by including more school-aged children.

DepEd records showed the pre-registration netted a total of 1,126,722 preschoolers nationwide.

Among the regions, Region III had the highest turnout of pre-registrants with more than 110,000, followed by Region IV-A with more than 105,000.

To accommodate the kindergarten students, DepEd intends to add more preschool teachers to accommodate the expected number of enrollees.

Currently, there are 29,615 preschool teachers. This year, DepEd targets to open more than 700 permanent teaching positions and accommodate more than 10,000 teachers through contract of service.

Luistro said children who were born on Oct. 31, 2006 or earlier are eligible for enrollment in kindergarten.

Those who were born on Oct. 31, 2005 or earlier, with or without kindergarten experience, are eligible for enrollment in Grade 1.

The birth certificate of the child as proof of age should be submitted in June or within the school year.

Luistro added the DepEd is working closely with local government units, barangay officials, parents, civic organizations, the business sector and other education stakeholders to make the necessary preparations and address potential needs when classes open in June.

Luistro earlier revealed that DepEd was given the go signal to push ahead with their plan to add two years to the BEC with the completion of regional consultative meetings in all 17 regions of the country to discuss the K+12 BEC plan with education stakeholders.

According to Luistro, the results of a survey conducted on participants of the regional consultative meetings showed the K+12 BEC plan had gotten support from 77 percent of participants.

“We’re very happy with the results,” Luistro told a press briefing at the DepEd central office last Monday where they discussed updates on the program.

Luistro noted there were even several regions, namely Regions IV-A, IV-B, V, 7, 8, 11 and Caraga, that had a surprising 100 percent supportive position on the program from all participants who attended their respective regional consultative meetings.

DepEd is bent on adding two years to the BEC, seeing it as a vital reform measure that will solve deficiencies in the competencies in the core subjects of English, Math and Science among a majority of Filipino high school graduates, as well as to gain recognition of Filipino professionals among employers abroad.

The Philippines is one of only two countries in the world that has a 10-year BEC, along with Myanmar.

A consequence of the 10-year BEC of the country is the unwillingness of companies abroad to recognize Filipino professionals on the need for additional schooling.

Luistro earlier cited the results of the National Achievement Test (NAT) for Grade 6 in school year 2009-10 where the passing rate was only 69.21 percent.

“Although this is already a 24 percent improvement over the 2005-06 passing rate, further reforms are needed to achieve substantial improvement,” Luistro stressed.