More Pinoys believe K to 12 is okay

By Marie Angelie Villapando

Monday 18th of June 2012

PASIG CITY, June 18 -- More than half of Filipinos believe that the Department of Education’s K to 12 basic education reform program will give students more sufficient knowledge and preparation (65%), and encourage them to finish senior high school because graduates are better prepared for work, higher education and business (61%), a Social Weather survey revealed.

Moreover, 59% of the respondents believe more will be encouraged to finish the K to 12 senior high school program because it is equivalent to two years of college at a high school rate, the survey result showed, according to a press release from DepEd.

The first quarter 2012 Social Weather Survey, conducted from March 10-13, 2012, found that 65% believe that the K to 12 Basic Education Program will give students more sufficient knowledge and preparation for work and college compared to those who finished only 10 years of basic education.

Those who believe (% strongly believe and % somewhat believe) have always been a majority: it was 59% in June 2011, 63% in September 2011, 57% in December 2011, and 65% in March 2012.

Compared to the previous quarter, the proportion of those who believe this statement rose by 15 points in Metro Manila, from 53% to 68%, by 12 points in the Visayas, from 49% to 61%, and by 8 points in Balance Luzon, from 58% to 66%.

By class, it rose by 11 points in class D, from 55%in the previous quarter to 68% now. It slightly changed in class E, from 58% to 60%, and in class ABC, from 70% to 67%.

The same survey revealed that 61% believe more will finish K to 12 senior high school because graduates will be better prepared for work, higher education, and business even with the additional cost and number of years in high school. The latest figure of 61% believing (% strongly believe plus % somewhat believe, correctly rounded) the statement is 9 points above the 52% in the previous quarter.

Moreover, 59% believe more students will finish senior high school under K to 12 because it is equivalent to two years of college or post secondary courses at a high school rate. This figure is 10 points above the plurality 48% in December 2011.

Compared to the previous quarter, the proportion of those who believe that more will finish K to 12 senior high school because it is equivalent to 2 years of college at a high school rate rose from pluralities to majorities in all areas. It rose by 15 points in Metro Manila, from 46% in December 2011 to 61% in March 2012, and in the Visayas, from 44% to 59%. It went up by 11 points in Balance Luzon, from 48% in the previous quarter to 59% now. It has always been majority in Mindanao, hardly changing from 55% to 57%.

The same survey showed that 49% of adult Filipinos say they were previously aware of the 12-year basic education in other countries, while 51% say they learned about it from the survey. The latest figure of 49% previously aware is 10 points above 39% in December 2011, and the highest since SWS began monitoring it in June 2011.

Compared to the previous quarter, prior awareness of the 12-year basic education rose by 18 points in Metro Manila, from 50% to record-high 68%.

The March 2012 Social Weather Survey was conducted from March 10-13, 2012 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, ±6% for area percentages).(DepEd)