Following the enactment of Republic Act No. 12322, which finally removes the mandatory implementation of the spiral progression approach, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) slammed the government for treating educators and students as guinea pigs in a failed decade-long educational experiment.
ACT underscored that for more than a decade, the mandatory spiral progression approach forced teachers to handle subjects outside their areas of specialization while burdening students with fragmented instruction.
ACT highlighted the staggering waste of producing incompatible modules and conducting endless, ineffective retooling seminars. Beyond the millions of pesos squandered, the group stressed that the greatest loss cannot be measured in money but in the education of an entire generation of learners. ACT pointed out that students were deprived of deep, foundational mastery as the government sacrificed coherent learning for a superficial and fragmented approach.
“It took them over ten years to realize what the teachers on the ground have been telling them since day one: the spiral progression approach does not work in our current realities. Ginawa kaming laboratoryo, pinag-eksperimentuhan ang mga guro at estudyante,” stated Ruby Bernardo, ACT Chairperson.
While describing the repeal of the mandatory spiral progression approach as a welcome relief for teachers who have borne the brunt of the K to 12 program’s structural failures, ACT emphasized that amending the law is only one step toward overhauling the country’s deeply broken education system.
“Hangga’t 50 o higit pa ang dami ng mga bata sa isang klase, walang sapat na libro at learning materials, overworked at underpaid ang mga guro, walang sapat na kawani, pasilidad, at serbisyo sa eskwela, patuloy tayong malulugmok sa krisis sa edukasyon. Hangga’t busabos ang kalagayan ng mga guro at kawani at kumakalam ang sikmura ng mga kabataan dahil sa kahirapan, walang magiging makabuluhang pagbabago,” Bernardo stressed.
ACT underscored that addressing the country’s education crisis requires structural reforms that go far beyond changing the teaching approaches.
“Kailangan baguhin ang buong kurikulum at hindi lang ang paraan ng pagtuturo. Hindi mababago ng paraan ng pagtuturo ang oryentasyon at nilalaman ng ating edukasyon. Dapat magsagawa ng mga desididong hakbang para tugunan ang krisis sa edukasyon ng bansa. Kabilang dito ang paglalaan ng hindi bababa sa 6% ng GDP ng bansa para sa edukasyon, pagresolba sa lumolobong kakulangan sa mga silid-aralan, guro, kawani, kagamitan sa pagkatuto at iba pang pangangailan sa eskwela. Kailangan labanan ang mga dikta ng dayuhan sa ating kurikulum at isulong ang isang makabayan, siyentipiko, at makamasang edukasyon para sa ganap na kaunlaran para sa lahat,” Bernardo concluded.#
