By Ma. Teresa Montemayor – PNA News
MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said it has absorbed professors teaching Filipino and other college subjects in line with the implementation of the K to 12 program.
“Since 2013 na napasa ang batas sa K to 12, alam na po ng mga Filipino professors at ibang professors natin sa mga colleges and universities both public and private na malilipat ang first year and second year college subjects sa Grades 11 and 12 (when the K to 12 bill was passed, the Filipino professors and other professors in colleges and universities both public and private know that first and second year college subjects will be transferred to Grades 11 and 12),” DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said in a radio interview.
“We were able to solve this problem, actually, we gave them an allowance because some of the college professors don’t have the licensure for teachers, we gave them five years, 2013 to 2018, this year is the end of that five years, that’s why other [professors] are already with DepEd,” she said.
The DepEd official made the remark as fears of unemployment of thousands of Filipino professors surfaced following the Supreme Court’s decision declaring that Filipino and Panitikan (Literature) are no longer mandatory subjects in the general education curriculum of colleges and universities.
Stressing that the K to 12 program was created to meet the changing learning needs of students, Sevilla said parents and teachers have nothing to worry about not having Filipino as core subject in college because such move will pave the way for specialization subjects, which would best prepare college students for global employment.
“Hindi naman ito mawawala, nailipat lamang ito sa (This isn’t totally removed, just transferred to) Grades 11 and 12 which are equivalent to college levels so the students will have advanced Filipino and Panitikan. This has global perspective and they can compare the works of known Filipino literary authors compared to the global environment. This also includes analytical approaches so students can manifest their analytical competence,” she added.
Sevilla stressed that students would not lose their sense of identity and cultural heritage because of the SC ruling, which upheld the constitutionality of the K to 12 program.
Under Republic Act 10533, which establishes the program, basic education is expanded to 13 years encompassing at least one year of kindergarten education, six years of elementary education, and six years of secondary education.
Secondary education includes four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school education.
