Teachers wary of 'trial-and-error' 12-year

educ program
08/10/2010 | 09:28 AM
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Public school teachers appealed to education officials Tuesday not to use trial-and-error in
implementing its 12-year basic education program.
The Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) said the government cannot afford to put the children's
future at stake with a half-baked program.
Education Secretary Armin Luistro on Monday announced a plan to implement President
Benigno Simeon Aquino III's plan to add two more years to the current 10-year basic education.
(See: DepEd to phase in 12 years of basic education)
Luistro said the Department of Education (DepEd) will present the proposal to the public on
October 5, World Teachers' Day.
Luistro explained that the reforms will be implemented gradually. It might not even be
implemented until the next administration, he said.
Benjo Basas, TDC chairman, said in an interview over dwIZ, ""Ang amin lang, huwag sana ito
magkaroon tayo ng ugali na trial and error. Hindi simple ang tina-trial dito. Kung magkaroon
ng error di simple ang maaring maging masamang epekto sa buong bansa (Our only concern is,
education officials should not turn this into a game of trial-and-error. This is no simple trial. And
if the program turns out to be riddled with errors, this will have a big effect on the nation).
Basas, voiced concern over the lack of teachers, noting that even under the current 10-year
program, there are already not enough teachers.
"Yun nga ang isa sa pinakadahilan ng ating contention. Doon sa existing 10 years kulang na
(Even in the existing 10-year setup, we do not have enough teachers)," he said.
He said the DepEd needed 120,000 teachers this year but managed to hire only 10,000. "These
are the things that must be considered and given priority," he said.
In an earlier statement on its website, the TDC had expressed apprehension about the planned
expansion of basic education by two years.
Basas had said government efforts to reform the education sector will not be effective if it fails to
address the real issues on the field.
Weve been experiencing shortages in classrooms, school buildings, teachers, textbooks and
other needs and every year the government is burdened with the backlogs of the previous year.

This is primarily due to low investment in public education." he said.

The group said it is willing to hold a dialogue with education officials and even with Aquino so
they can present the issues affecting the sector. VVP, GMANews.TV