Gawad Kalinga offers classrooms nationwide for DepEd’s universal kindergarten program

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said that DepEd was grateful for the offer of the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation (GKCDF) of 346 classrooms nationwide to be used for extension classes for five-year-old children who are enrolled under the Department of Education’s universal kindergarten program.

“Our gratitude goes to the foundation for offering not only their facilities but their teachers as well,” a beaming Education Secretary Armin Luistro said.

Under the arrangement, children are officially enrolled in public elementary schools but shall attend or hold classes in GKCDF classrooms under a volunteer teacher from the foundation. The teacher will use the National Kindergarten Curriculum Guide developed by DepEd.

DepEd’s started implementing the universal kindergarten program this year as the initial phase of their ambitious K (Kindergarten) +12 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) program, to give five-year-olds enough preparation on the rigors of regular schooling. Many studies have shown that a learner who has a pleasant preschool experience is more likely to complete basic education.

The sudden surge of enrolment in preschool which is offered by the government for free aggravated the perennial problem of classroom shortage in public schools.

“We welcome this offer of GKCDF because it concretely addressed classroom and teacher shortages which we all know is a continuing challenge for DepEd considering the increasing number of enrollees which do not go lower than one million new entrants every year,” stressed Luistro.

DepEd is duty-bound to accept into its fold all students who want to enrol in public schools as part of its mandate to make education accessible to all Filipinos.

The universal kindergarten program is the first step in the K to 12 basic education reform program under the Aquino administration aimed at producing high school graduates who have the skills to enter the world of work, better prepared for college education and ready for the global market.

Luistro directed all school officials beginning at the regional level to coordinate with GKCDF coordinators in their areas and identify the public elementary schools needing additional classrooms and thus, make use of the foundation’s facility. He also urged them to monitor and provide technical assistance to the GKCDF volunteer teachers.

“We will also invite the foundation’s volunteer teachers to participate in school-based and division training so that we can also help in further honing their teaching skills,” Luistro said.