Some parents who studied in exclusive private schools may have noticed that a number of their high school subjects are now being taught to their children in the elementary grades. There is so much more to learn in a world where advances in science and technology are changing lifestyles, revising old concepts and adding new information at warp speed.
Some private schools have extended class hours or started elementary pupils on whole-day classes at an earlier grade. Public schools, with student populations that grow larger every year with no corresponding expansion in school facilities, cannot afford such moves. These days a proposal to add two years to elementary and high school, which will make the number of years the same as those in many Asian countries, has been revived.
The proposal is laudable – if it can be backed by the necessary resources for effective implementation. Additional years in primary and secondary schools will require more teachers, classrooms, and all the other facilities and equipment for education. As it is, the government’s teaching pool is already stretched thin, especially in schools that have been forced to hold classes in three shifts to accommodate the booming student population. More textbooks – free of factual and grammatical errors – must be produced. Do we have the resources for all of these?
Equally important is the quality of education that will be imparted in the additional years. If the added years will simply allow the slow learners more time to absorb what has already been learned in previous years, this will be a waste of precious resources. This concern has been raised particularly by parents with limited resources, who must provide transportation and snack money to their children apart from miscellaneous school fees throughout the year.
A sound investment would be in free, universal kindergarten in public schools. Numerous studies have shown the unusually high capacity of young minds to absorb information. Children from financially well-off families get an early edge over their poor counterparts, beginning kiddie school at three years old and entering kindergarten at five.
There is general agreement that the country needs to raise the quality of education to improve national competitiveness. In all these proposals, the government must not lose sight of the objective: not just to stay longer in school, but to learn more.
The Philippine Star, June 28, 2010