PBEd

A non-profit organization formed in 2006 by top CEOs in the country, Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) is the business community's response to the need for consensus in education reform. Its advocacy includes teacher quality improvement, workforce development, and curricular reform. For more information, please visit http://www.pbed.ph

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Fast facts about the hiring for senior high school

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What you need to know about the K-12 Transition Fund

Implementing K-12 hasn’t been without any hurdles. As the saying goes—and pardon the cliché—change is difficult. And while there is no magical cure for these growing pains, the proposed Tertiary Education Transition Fund (TETF) can serve to cushion college personnel when senior high kicks in. Here are eight things you should know about the Fund:

1. College staff can be reassigned to senior high...

During the transition, about 25,000 college personnel may be displaced from work. Worry not! In 2016 alone, a total of 36,000 senior high teachers and staff will need to be hired. Plus, if you’re part of the college personnel who want to apply, you’ll get a VIP lane made just for you.

2. ... and get bigger paychecks!

The idea of moving from college to high school might leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths, but definitely not in their wallets. The starting pay for senior high teachers is P19,940 per month—higher than what some teachers are earning in small and private colleges. A bigger paycheck for teaching the same subject to the same learner profile? Where do we sign up?!

3. Financial aid will be given...

Job displacement is a serious matter, we know. But it need not be a hopeless case. For 6 months, while in between jobs, you will receive financial support comparable to your salary when in school. Just go to your local Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) office and register.

4. ... and a helping hand to land a job.

In case the Department of Education doesn’t absorb you—which is unlikely—DOLE will take care of you. They will match your skills with what’s needed by industries with job openings, and voila!, you’re back in the game.

5. Trainings are also offered.

Got business in mind? DOLE will give you the training you need. From merely receiving instructions from academic superiors to becoming your very own boss? Not bad at all.

6. Graduate study scholarships will be available.

You’ve probably spent a bulk of your time checking student essays instead of finishing your post-graduate dissertation. Through K-12, not only can you get scholarships for further studies, but you’ll also have the time to actually finish it, all thanks to the transition gap.

7. Development grants, too...

Apart from scholarships, a big chunk of the Fund will be used for research development, training, and skills improvement, just to name a few.

8. ... and innovation grants for school!

Lastly, the Fund will help colleges and universities prepare for the inevitable globalization of higher education through curriculum development, international partnerships, and industry linkages. After all, what we really want is to bring the Philippines up to par with the rest of the world. See, there’s more to K-12 than just extending high school. 

 Here’s a little infographic to help you digest the information a bit more easily:

The Tertiary Education Transition Fund is currently under Congressional deliberation. Nevertheless, the Aquino administration is committed to its realization either as a piece of legislation or as part of the national budget. For more information on the Tertiary Education Transition Fund, click here.

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What to do if K-12 displaces you: 12 options for college personnel

Employees in colleges and universities are set to lose their jobs because of the K-12 transition stage. While some have planned out what to do after, others may have yet to decide. And if you happen to be a college teacher, we trust that you have just the skills to make it across a spectrum of career and personal options. Let us count the ways:

1. Teach in senior high

If you’re really passionate about teaching, all is not lost. As part of K-12, some general education subjects in college will be transferred to senior high, so you can still end up with what you were previously teaching. And there’s good news! College faculty will be prioritized for the 30,000 DepEd teaching vacancies in 2016.

2. Lead and manage schools

Leaving the classroom for a leadership post can be a rewarding prospect. Although giving pop quizzes will be out of the picture, you can have a wider influence on nurturing an environment where teachers have a genuine passion to teach and students are motivated to learn. Come 2016, at least 6,000 non-teaching personnel are needed, including high school principals and school administrators.

3. Pursue further studies

If you’re a college professor, chances are you already know that you need postgraduate units for you to teach. So use this time to close off that master’s degree or to pursue that PhD you’ve always wanted. The benefits of attaining postgraduate education are endless, but embarking on further studies will open multiple doors for you. Let’s not even get started on affixing that coveted “Dr.” in front of your name.

4. Dive into the development sector

The development sector, particularly youth organizations, holds opportunities for those who are passionate about ensuring the youth’s welfare. The responsibilities of youth workers cover a broad range, but they generally engage in informal learning activities. Just like formal education, mentoring is crucial in fostering young people’s personal, social, and educational development.

5. Train others…

Teachers and corporate trainers have similarities that make this career transition fairly easy. As part of knowledge and skills development, you get to speak in front of people, use a variety of learning tools and techniques, produce materials for training, and perform evaluation on employees. If that doesn’t sound like teaching to you, we don’t know what does.

6. …or be trained yourself

If you’re part of the non-academic staff and you want to enhance your skills and competencies, consider getting further training relevant to your work. A portion of the K-12 transition fund will actually be allotted for this. It’s an excellent step towards career development and advancement.

7. Tutor

Technically, tutors are teachers, only in a different setting. This can be an option for those who prefer smaller groups or one-on-one discussions. Aside from the usual tutoring for students who require extra help, tutors are often needed for homeschooled youth or, depending on your field of expertise, a group of people preparing for professional examinations.

8. Counsel students

Just like teachers, school counselors care about the success of the students. Minus all that chalk dust, of course. Students will go to you for guidance on any topics like academic support, career planning, and social relationship. You also get to work in campuses and interact with students—a win-win for you. Take note, though, that you need to take the Guidance Counselor Licensure Examination to qualify.

9. Engage in research

The pursuit of academic inquiry is crucial for teachers’ professional development. Research not only improves your understanding of your practice, but it also helps you keep up with developments in your field, which may eventually improve teaching quality. It also demonstrates the type of dedication that you want your students to achieve under your wing, which is ultimately what every educator wants. A portion of the K-12 transition fund is allocated for academic personnel’s research grants.

10. Write

Famous authors like Dan Brown, JK Rowling, and William Golding started out as teachers. And as one, writing must be second nature you. So why not use this passion and craft your magnum opus? And it doesn’t have to be a novel. If you’re more of an academic than a creative type of writer, then you can be a textbook author, a copywriter, or a journalist even.

11. Immerse in the industry

Not an education graduate? Consider taking a step back from teaching to work for the industry. Some say it doesn’t have the intellectual freedom of academia, but it has its own merits whether you’re a junior software engineer or a medical doctor. You can always go back to teaching if it’s really your thing. Or maybe not, if you realize down the road that the industry is for you after all.

12. Be your own boss

It’s never too late to start your own business. Mark Zuckerberg may have founded Facebook at 19, but Colonel Sanders started building his fried-chicken empire at 65. The great thing is, once operations are stable, you can either stay on deck or have someone run it while you teach quantum physics. You’ll never know—a dash of curiosity might just be all that it takes to hatch that million-dollar idea.

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Busted: 12 Myths about K-12

Much has been said about K-12 and how it can change Filipino lives forever. Still, misconceptions abound, endangering the very future of the country. About time they’re rounded up and finally put to rest.

1. It’s a financial burden.

K-12 will actually save families two years’ worth of expenses. Currently, students have to have some years of college just to get employed. This is difficult for families who can’t afford it. In K-12, the government pays for the additional two years that will produce employable graduates.

2. Ten years of education is enough.

Students are forced to absorb in 10 years what they’re supposed to learn in 12, so mastery becomes tough. It’s like cramming for a test, only it’s for your future. This is why we have 15-year-old graduates who are simply too young and too inexperienced for work or for college.

3. Extending schooling will just increase the number of out-of-school youth.

Students leave school because they lack interest. With K-12, students choose their electives and specializations based on their interests. So if you fancy yourself the next Christopher Nolan but break out in cold sweats thinking about pre-calculus, then there’s a track for that in the arts.

4. K-12 promotes exploitable, semi-skilled workers.

Exploitation happens partly because workers are underage. With K-12, graduates can start working at 18. They will have the maturity and the qualifications to fight unjust labor practices, empowering them to demand better compensation and working conditions in the future.

5. K-12 will only produce more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Labor migration has long existed, even before K-12. If anything, K-12 will help OFWs meet the standards in other countries. In Thailand, for example, Filipinos are paid much lower than their counterparts. In Qatar, Filipino engineers are demoted to technicians despite having the same competencies, simply because they’re two years short on basic education. Halting K-12 would only perpetuate these tragic labor stories.

6. The program is irrelevant because most Filipinos do not go overseas to study anyway.

You might not need it, but the law protects every Filipino’s right to quality basic education anywhere in the world. Filipinos studying abroad face a particular disadvantage. For example, Filipino post-graduate students in Europe have experienced receiving only a diploma, instead of a master’s degree, just because of the two-year disparity.

7. High school is not enough preparation for employment. That’s why there’s college.

Actually, high school is preparation for both college and employment. The tracks in K-12—academic, technical-vocational-livelihood, and sports and arts—will immerse students in practical learning experiences, preparing them for eventual absorption at work. Technical-vocational graduates will receive certificates that qualify them for employment even with a high school diploma.

8. Because of additional subjects, the revised curriculum will still end up congested.

Classes will only last 6 hours and 12 minutes everyday, thanks to senior high school. That’s almost a two-hour difference from the current curriculum!

9. Shortages must be resolved by adding more teachers and better facilities, not extending years in schooling.

K-12 isn’t just about extending high school. It actually entails adding necessities such as teachers and staff, as well as classrooms, books, and teaching aids.

10. At least 80,000 college personnel will lose their jobs.

Only an estimated 25,097 college personnel will be affected (Commission on Higher Education [CHED]). Also, in 2016 alone, when senior high school operations kick in, at least 30,000 teachers and 6,000 non-teaching staff will be hired (Department of Education [DepEd]). And priority will be given to college personnel.

11. High school teachers will bear additional teaching load.

K-12 will not overburden high school teachers because the law still mandates that teachers only teach up to six hours a day.

12. K-12 is a product of Filipino colonial mentality.

The Philippines is one of only three countries in the entire world to still have 10 years of basic education. We are quite literally left behind. Also, proposals to extend basic education in the country have existed since 1925. That’s even before we had our second president!

And, with a mother tongue-based multilingual approach in grade school, K-12 will actually promote a singular Filipino identity, grounded in cultural diversity. So, colonial mentality, you say?