By Anna Valmero
MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA—Department of Education (DepEd) secretary Armin Luistro said five-year-old kids who did not enroll and pass kindergarten would not be able to enroll in Grade 1.
The DepEd has launched a universal kindergarten program and started pre-registration of 1.2 million children for kindergarten prior to the start of classes in June.
The program is part of the K-12 basic education program that requires 12 years of basic education from kindergarten to high school for Filipino students. The mandatory kindergarten program will be implemented for the school year 2011 to 2012.
Meanwhile, implementation of the new curriculum for Grade 1 in elementary and first year high school will commence in school year 2012 to 2013.
The first graduates of K-2 will complete their 12-year basic education course in 2018.
For this year, DepEd will reconsider and study the cases of children who were unable to enroll in kindergarten before moving to elementary, said Luistro.
“We suspect that the turnout of pre-registration for kindergarten is affected such that those parents who live far from schools did not pre-register their children,” said Lusitro during the National Education Forum on Wednesday.
To resolve the issue, DepEd is working with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to map out the locations of DSWD-run daycare centers in barangays.
“Daycare centers that are strategically located in remote areas will be requsted to hold classes in the afternoon for the 'extension kindergarten program' as a means to accommodate five-yer-old children who are unable to pre-register,” said Luistro.
DSWD was the main government provider of daycare service before the duty was devolved to LGUs. Under Republic Act 6972 or the Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act, LGUs are mandated to establish one day care center per barangay.
There are over 50,000 daycare centers nationwide. As of 2006, there are 42,000 barangays in the country, according to a report by the National Statistical Coordination Board.
Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the House committee on higher and technical education, urged local government units (LGUs) to pool their special education funds to fund the universal kindergarten program.
“The issue of universal education is not only the business of the DepEd. We should also tap LGUs and their special education funds which is in the tens of billions that can be used to fund education projects. Angara urged LGUs to share best practices in the kindergarten programs,” said Angara.
Meanwhile, Luistro urged parents to do their part in teaching the basic alphabet, writing or reading skills to their children, alluding to how national hero Jose Rizal received his basic education at home from his mother, Teodora Alonso.
“During the time of Jose Rizal, his mother read stories to him and taught him to write. But today, most parents rely on the schools to teach their kids. Good education is a shared product of partnership between parents, teachers and students,” he added.
