Where to add two years

Where in the basic education cycle should the two years be added?

Several answers have been proposed. Let me label them as Options and outline the pros and cons of each one.

In Option A, there will be a Grade 7 and a Fifth Year High School.

The advantage of this option is that several private schools already have a Grade 7. This means that all DepEd has to do is to adopt the curriculum of the existing Grade 7.

The disadvantage of this option is that two Bureaus will be affected (the Bureau of Elementary Education and the Bureau of Secondary Education) instead of just one. Those that work in government know how difficult it is to institute change in a Bureau, much less two Bureaus.

In Option B, a pre-school can be required of all students, the present Kindergarten can then be converted into a Grade 1, the present Grade 1 renamed Grade 2, and so on. Fifth Year High School can be added to complete the 12 years.

The advantage of this option is that DepEd and DSWD already have pre-schools or day care centers in place; these schools just have to be upgraded to become real pre-schools and Kindergartens.

The disadvantage is that all the existing Grades will have to be reconceptualized, something the BEE cannot realistically do within Aquino’s term. In any change management process, it is better to keep the changes gradual and minimal; otherwise, resistance from stakeholders will pose tremendous problems.

In Option C, there will be a Fifth Year and a Sixth Year High School with the same curriculum for all students.

One advantage of this option is that it will cost the government very much less than a Kindergarten or a Grade 7, because there will be fewer students. Another advantage is that it gives DepEd a lot more time to prepare for it, since only those students starting First Year in 2011 will go through the extra years. (An iron-clad academic rule, both legal and pedagogical, is that you cannot change a student’s curriculum in midstream.)

The disadvantage of this option is that it fails to take into account the recommendation of the Presidential Task Force on Education (PTFE) that not all students need to go to college to get jobs. Streaming (classifying students according to aptitude) should be done in high school, which means that the curriculum should not be the same for all students.

In Option D, there will be two kinds of Fifth and Sixth Year High School. Sometime before the end of Fourth Year High School, students will be asked to decide if they want a job immediately after graduation or if they want to go on to college. Those that do not want to go to college will have two years of technical or vocational education. Those that are college-bound will have subjects to prepare them for higher learning.

The advantage of this option is that it follows tried-and-tested systems in advanced countries, where streaming is routinely practised. It also helps alleviate poverty and answer the mismatch of education and industry, since there will be more employable citizens entering the job market. (There are more high school than college graduates.)

The disadvantage of this option is that it will take a minor miracle to convince parents that their children need not go to college. The status of a college diploma is so attractive that parents are willing to be slaves abroad just to send their children to a university.

In Option E, there will be a Fifth and a Sixth Year High School, but only for those college-bound. Those that opt to join the job market immediately will be given a high school diploma after the current ten years.

One advantage of this option is that government need not spend for those that will not go to college. Parents also need not wait for another two years before their children can contribute to the household income.

The disadvantage of this option is that the entire high school curriculum will have to be reconceptualized, in order that job skills will be taught before Fourth Year. The academic subjects that will be displaced, of course, can be reinstated in the Fifth and Sixth Year, but it will still take a lot of curriculum development efforts on the part of BSE.

In Option F, basic education will be retained exactly as it is now, but a two-year Pre-University will be instituted for everyone going to college. We can just say that the Pre-University is part of basic education, even if it will be taught by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

The advantage of this option is that the Pre-University was recommended by the PTFE after extensive consultations with most stakeholders in education. This option, of course, is the Arroyo formula, but although most Filipinos are glad Arroyo is history, it is important not to throw out the baby with the bath water.

The disadvantage of this option is that it will cause President Aquino to renege on one of his major campaign promises. The expectations are very high that we finally have a president who will be true to his word; frustrating those expectations will exact a huge price in political stability.