The K-12 Basic Education Program aims to provide every Filipino child with the education s/he needs to compete in a global context.

In May, President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines signed into law a basic education curriculum that will see a mandatory kindergarten year and two additional senior high school years added to what was a 10-year education curriculum to make basic education 12 years. The program has been adopted not only in schools in the Philippines, but also in Filipino schools abroad that follow the department’s curriculum.

The goal of the new curriculum is to give Filipino students enough time to master skills and concepts so that they are ready for tertiary education when the time comes.