Luistro Welcomes Duterte’s Support for K to 12

Several weeks before Senior High School officially starts on June 13, 2016, Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC has welcomed the next administration’s decision to support the K to 12 program.

“I am grateful and very appreciative that the new administration [of incoming President Rodrigo Duterte] is supportive of the educational reforms that Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Commission on Higher Education (CHED), along with our stakeholders, have worked on the past six years,” Luistro said.

In a press briefing held last May 23, Duterte said he now supports the K to 12 program after it was thoroughly explained to him.

“I said I was against it early on when it was being implemented. But some of the bright guys in DepEd came to see me here in Davao and explained to me how we are lagging behind our neighbors,” Duterte said.

The Philippines is the last country in Asia and one of only three countries worldwide, apart from Angola and Djibouti, with a 10-year pre-university cycle.

“I am currently attending the 9th ASEAN Education Ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur and our discussions here are a reaffirmation of the need to take on the K to 12 reform so as to ensure that we can keep pace with the education standards of ASEAN and the world,” Luistro said.

“I trust that the next administration will build on the gains and enhance the achievements made in the education sector, while taking on the new challenges in the ever-changing landscape in this part of the globe” he added.

The K to 12 Program added two years in high school, Grades 11 and 12, and institutionalized the kindergarten program—covering a total of 13 years of basic education.

The first batch of Grade 11 students will start on June 13, 2016. (PNA) JMC/PR/EBP