CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
I. BACKGROUND
Our future growth relies on competitiveness and innovation, skills and productivity... and these in turn rely on the education of our people. – Julia Gillard.
The increase of low-income, low-skilled youth in the labor market, particularly in developing countries, is a major concern internationally. In some regions of the world, young people are nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. They are also more likely to work in the informal labor market than adults, in low quality jobs that offer limited socio-economic security, training opportunities, and working conditions. This enormous unlocked potential represents a substantial loss of opportunity for both individuals and society. With increasing emphasis being given to work- and skills-based solutions to economic competition and poverty in the developing world, comes a renewed focus on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as a means to expand opportunities for marginalized youth (Tripney, et. al., 2013).
Enhancing the quality of basic education in the Philippines is urgent and critical. In line with this, one of the discussions of DepEd which incurred on October 2010 is to enhance the basic education program of the country in a way that is least disruptive to the current curriculum, most affordable to government and families, and aligned with international practice through the K-12 policy.
The poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low achievement scores of Filipino students. Many students who finish basic education do not possess sufficient mastery of basic competencies. One reason is that students do not get adequate instructional time or time on task.
This quality of education is reflected in the inadequate preparation of high school graduates for the world of work or entrepreneurship or higher education. High school