Groups rally against K-12
Members of the Unified Practitioners Against K to 12 (UPAK) together with the students from Manila Science Highschool declare that K to 12 is against the country’s need and the people’s welfare. • Photo by Kathelyn Miel Bravo
The Unified Petitioners Against K to 12 (UPAK), together with students from Manila Science High School (MaSci) and various universities, protested in front of the Supreme Court grounds on November 13 to resolve the seven consolidated petitions that aim to suspend the full implementation of K to12 program next academic year (AY) 2016-2017.
The seven petitioners are composed of the Council of Teacher and Staff Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (COTESCUP), Magdalo Party List, Manila Science High School (MaSci) Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), National Union of People’s Lawyers, Suspend K-12 Alliance, Senator Trillanes’ Camp, and Tanggol Wika.
The Supreme Court consolidated the petitions and forwarded the case in August to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), who was supposed to give the verdict after 10 working days.
The OSG has already asked for a one month extension three times from the Supreme Court, which pushed the resolution of the cases to November 5.
“Ang labanan ay sa Korte Suprema, we believe that the K to 12 Law is unconstitutional,” Brillantes stated in his speech during a joint meeting of educators at De La Salle University-Manila (DLSU) on October 30.
Representative from Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in Manila Science Highschool, Attorney Severo Brillantes, explains the unconstitutionality of K to 12. • Photo by Brandon Ocenar
Since finishing High School in four years is a vested right of every student, Brillantes added that imposing grade 11 is implementing the law retroactively. “If ever it was enacted in 2013, it can only be implemented to those who are in Kindergarten,” he said.
The meeting, attended by Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines (ACT), COTESCUP, De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, DLSU, De La Salle University –Dasmarinas (DLSU-D), Mapúa Institute of Technology, MaSci PTA, National University (NU), Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE), Philippine National University (PNU), Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), San Beda College, Suspend K-12 Alliance, Tanggol Wika, and University of Santo Tomas (UST), was held to discuss the consolidated cases against the full implementation of the K to 12 program.
During the meeting, Brillantes said that schools implemented the K to 12 program in 2012, but the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 has not yet been officially signed by President Benigno Aquino III.
He added that the government should have consulted the National Teachers Organization, National Students Organization, and National Parent-Teacher Association regarding the K to 12 curriculum. “[There’s] no valid K-12 curriculum, therefore, our children should not be forced to go to grade 11,” Brillantes stated.
