Academic luminaries to exchange views on new 12-year curriculum

MANILA, Philippines - Are our schools capable of implementing additional years in the curriculum? How are we performing against our academic counterparts in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world?

These are some of the questions that educators and heads of schools will try to answer during the Leadership Strategies for School Managers (LESSM) conference to be held on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City. The conference is being held in light of the impending implementation of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) K to 12 program beginning school year 2012-2013.

Prof. Isagani R. Cruz, adviser to the steering committee of DepEd’s K to 12 task force, will open the two-day conference with an explanation as to how the Department came about with the idea of adding two years to the present curriculum, from kindergarten to senior high school. The new program’s guiding principles will be explained by Dr. Erico M. Habijan, director of the National Educators Academy of the Philippines. Prof. Adolfo Aran III, national president of the Association of Marketing Educators of the Philippines, will expound on the information, education, and communication necessary to implement the educational reform.

Taking off from the fact that the Philippines (along with Myanmar and Singapore which both offer 11 years) is currently the only Asian country to have a basic education cycle under 12 years, Dr. Ethel Agnes Valenzuela will compare similar programs being practiced by the rest of Southeast Asia. Dr. Valenzuela is currently a senior specialist in the Educational Research and Innovation Office of SEAMEO INNOTECH. On the global aspect of education, Michelle Lombard, president for Emerging Markets of Pearson Education, will discuss the efficacy of the 12-year system. The principle of enhancing the curriculum will be presented by Dr. Paraluman R. Giron, chairperson of DepEd’s technical working group on curriculum.

The administrative, financial, and operational aspects involved in the implementation of DepEd’s educational reform will be talked about during the presentations of Dr. Beatriz G. Torno, executive director of the Teacher Education Council; DepEd USec for regional operations Rizalino Rivera; and Dr. Ma. Andrea Santiago, chair for research and publications of the Philippine Academy of Management. Assessment of the schools’ preparedness for K to 12 will be facilitated by Dr. Cornelia Soto, chair of the Ateneo University’s department of education. Lilia Vengco, co-founder of the LESSM program, will facilitate the open forum.

For more information, contact Yzak Vargas at 4339300, 4260030 local 111, or e-mail [email protected].