“Ngayon po sa pandemya, […] ang mag-aaral, lalo na yung mga papasok pa lamang ngayon sa labor force, naantala ang edukasyon at nabawasan ang kasanayan o competencies. Ang tanong: ano ang gagawin mo para matiyak na una, sapat ang trabaho, pangalawa, matatag ang kabuhayan, at panghuli, dekalidad at up-to-standard ang kasanayan ng mga ga-graduate ngayon at papasok ngayon sa mundo ng paggawa?”
Finally, it is also about the fact that this year will be the year the first batch of K-12 students under the new curriculum will graduate. Notwithstanding existing gaps in curricula, textbooks, facilities, classrooms, desks, and equipment is the issue of the additional two years of high school. Two years is not a light ask, not especially when it means an additional two years of out-of-pocket expenses. Proponents countered that it was all in the name of preparing “graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.
So much for being the pilot batch. From junior high, senior high school, to college, we’re more akin to lab rats. And for what? Despite its promises, our education policies have left many behind, many burned out. As the first graduates of the K-12 curriculum join the workforce this year, why can’t there be better labor reforms to follow through?