Kindergarten program

EDITORIAL

This year, the Department of Education is set to implement the universal public kindergarten program for five-year-olds to give new entrants to basic education the proper preparation on the rigors of schooling.

According to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, the DepEd will focus on this first quarter of this year. The much-ballyhooed K+12 or Kindergarten plus 12 years program of DepEd to be started next year, seeks to turn the current 10-year basic education curriculum with six years of elementary schooling and four years of high school, into 12 years with a compulsory kindergarten or preschool level.

The bid to set up preschools in all public schools is part of DepEd’s campaign to bring all school-aged children to school. DepEd is confident that it remains on track to meet the country’s Education For All (EFA) commitment by 2015.

Public school teachers have expressed support to the move of the DepEd to put up kindergarten in all public schools, but said the government agency should make sure to build the necessary classrooms and hire the pre-school teachers who will provide quality pre-school education.

DepEd has set a target of serving almost 2.5 million children, giving them pre-school education in 2011 from the 1,914,137 children accommodated in public pre-schools in 2010.

“This new year, we are renewing our commitment to reach all children of school age as part of our intensified efforts towards achieving the Education For All (EFA) commitment,” said Luistro in a press statement.

In line with this, the department is set to undertake a ground mapping of all school-aged children by way of pre-registration all over the country starting January 15.

“The pre-registration will not only allow us to determine the interventions needed to ensure that the EFA commitment is within the department’s reach, but it will also enable us to have a wider reach of children who are deprived of basic education,” added Luistro.

Among the steps involved to achieve its target increase, the department intends to add more preschool teachers. Currently, there are 29,615 preschool teachers in the country. From that number, only 2,299 teachers hold permanent items and the rest are on contract of service status.

This year DepEd targets to open more than 700 permanent teaching positions and accommodate more than 10,000 teachers through contract of service.

The kindergarten course should even the playing field for the poor, middle class and the wealthy in giving basic education to children. But government should also see to it that basic social services, like jobs, are given particularly to families of marginalized children so they would be able to go to school with enough fare, food, clothes and school supplies.