PCCI supports government's K+12 education program

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the largest business group in the country, has expressed support for the government’s move to extend the country’s basic education program by two years.

The PCCI likewise welcomed the challenge of the government to rally the business community in crafting the mandate for the K-12 Program of the Aquino administration.

K-12 or kinder to 12th grade is part of President Benigno Aquino III’s proposed educational reforms which shifts Philippine basic education system to 12 years plus kinder from the current 10 years. The Philippines together with Myanmar are the only two remaining countries with a basic education system of less than 11 years.

PCCI honorary chairman Edgardo Lacson underscored the importance of a strategy-oriented and competency-based basic education curriculum as a key to making our graduates globally acceptable and competitive.

“The Department of Education’s proposed K-6-4-2 model is a positive step to uplifting the standard of education. I believe that the “specialization” training that would be incorporated in the last two years of high school would greatly increase the competencies and skills of the students thus making them more employable after graduation,” Lacson said.

Bridging the gap between academe and industry to reduce unemployment has been one of the major advocacies of PCCI. PCCI’s think-tank — the Universal Access to Competitiveness and Trade or U-ACT in partnership with the International Labor Organization released a study on employment mismatch which underscored the need to develop competency-based curriculum programs that will match the technical skills of graduates with the requirements of the industry. The same study noted the need to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on the proposed 12-year basic education track.