Proem
The K + 12 Law will take effect on School Year (SY) 2016-2017. Beginning on SY 2016-17 the Grade 11 of the two-year Senior High School will be implemented.
The Fourth Year High School students this coming SY 2015-2016 will not be allowed to go to college but must enroll in Grade 11.
CHED Ruling
According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), on SY 2016-17 no student will be allowed to enroll in college without finishing the 2-year Senior High School (Grades 11 & 12). In effect their will be no First Year College students.
At first I thought that those who have already previously finished High School will be allowed to enroll in college. It is not to be the case according to the K+12 law.
The Effect
The Fourth Year students who graduated last March 2015 and previous High School graduates who have not yet enrolled will have their last chance to enter college this coming SY 2015-16. If they will not enroll this coming June 2015 they will be affected by the K + 12 Law. They will be required to finish the 2-year Senior High School in order to enroll in college.
They Must Continue
The students that can enroll in college this coming SY 2015-16 must by necessity continue on studying in college. They do not have the luxury of stopping because they could not continue if they stop.
Supposing a first year college student will stop after SY 2015-16 and decides to take the second year college on SY 2017-18 by skipping SY 2016-17.
By CHED ruling there will be no first college students by SY 2016-17 because nobody has yet finished the Senior High School. There will be only second year college students and above by SY 2016-17.
If the student who stopped will return in SY-2017-18 no college or university in the Philippines will be offering first year and second year college. The lowest level in college will be third Year College. So where will he (stopped student) enroll for his Second Year College?
In other words those who will stop studying in college will be left behind and will wait for another two (2) years to be abreast with those who will finish Senior High School.
Disadvantage
If the student who stopped will wait for two (2) years to be abreast with those who finished Senior High School, he will find himself in a disadvantage.
Many of the present college subjects, which the student who stopped has taken, will be placed in Senior High School.
The college curriculum for those who finished Senior High School will be different. It will be a revised curriculum to fit the new students.
When the student who stopped will rejoin the college enrollees he may find that the new subjects will have pre-requisite subjects that he has not taken. In other words he will have to take the pre-requisite subject in Senior High School.
Comment
I am not sure whether the above situation was taken into consideration by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the CHED. The cards are really stacked against the poor and those who for one reason or another will be forced to stop or be delayed in his college education.
All the while the DepEd and the CHED are only addressing the problems of the Colleges and Universities on what to do with the college teachers when there will be lack of students for four (4) years or more. The solution to this problem is not yet clear. Maybe it is the reason why the problems of the poor students are not yet addressed properly.
However, my advices to those who have not yet enrolled in college is to enroll on June 2015 and if possible do not stop until you finished college.