The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
When Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte announced the new K-10 education scheme, many Netizens, particularly parents, hailed the move.
"No more K-12, it's back to K-10," reads part of a Facebook post shared on August 10. Some believed K-10 would "replace" the K-12 and eliminate two years of high school.
However, this is not the case.
The Philippines has not scrapped the final two years of high school, contrary to false posts shared on social media which have misrepresented remarks by Duterte. An education spokesman told AFP that only legislation can prompt such a change. No law shortening the archipelago's basic education has been passed as of August 25.
"K-12" refers to the Philippine national education programme which mandates 13 years of schooling, from kindergarten to 12th grade.
The scheme was established in 2013 in a bid to align basic education in the country with the rest of the world.
Before this, the Philippines had a 10-year basic education system, consisting of six years of primary education and four years of high school.
The Facebook post features a clip showing Philippine Vice-President and Education Secretary Duterte announcing the launch of an adjusted curriculum that covers "K to 10" — the first 10 years of schooling.
The clip has been viewed over 430,000 times.
Similar posts were also shared on Facebook and YouTube. Comments left to these posts indicate many social media users believed the claim that the high school years were reduced.
"This is true, students graduating in 2024 won't be part of the K to 12 program," one wrote in Tagalog.
Another said: "For a parent like me, this is good news!"
The claim is false.
Nowhere in her speech does Duterte announce K-12 had been scrapped. Instead, she announced changes in the first 10 years of basic education that would take effect beginning school year 2024-2025.
The adjusted curriculum will focus on literacy and numeracy skills, and the number of subjects in the first two grades will be reduced from seven to five, she said.
Duterte added that the curriculum for the final two years of high school "is currently being reviewed".
Education spokesman Michael Poa also refuted the claim, telling AFP on August 24: "K-12 is mandated by law. DepEd cannot unilaterally change that without legislation."
A bill filed at the House of Representatives in April proposed making the final two years of K-12 required only for students pursuing tertiary education.
A check with the House website shows the measure remains "pending" at the committee level as of August 25.
ALSO READ:
The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
This time around, Trump wants the Senate to give up that gatekeeping role and allow him to make 'recess appointments'
world3 days ago
Police allege the offences took place between 2001 and 2019 against 8 victims; the youngest was 17 at the time of the offence
world3 days ago
The two countries have a mutual defence treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea
world3 days ago
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger on Narendra Modi in Abuja on Sunday
world4 days ago
The titleholder's winning answer focused on using each individual's strengths
world4 days ago
The suspects would be interrogated jointly with the Shin Bet internal security agency, police said
world4 days ago
The attack took place at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Jiangsu province
world5 days ago