TO ADDRESS concerns on job mismatch, the Department of Education in Central Visayas plans to review courses offered under its K to 12 program.

Cristito Eco, assistant regional director of DepEd-7, admitted that the department rushed the start of K to 12, particularly its technical and vocational livelihood aspect.

“The planning and some of the principals and the learners and the parents have decided to choose courses that right now are not anymore needed,” Eco said.

“Hence, the regional office will be working with the division office and the principals on the adjustment of the courses that we are offering in our schools because we want to offer the right course for the learners, for our students, that are in demand,” he added.

He pointed out that K to 12 courses were primarily designed to help senior high school graduates land a job.

“When we offer the right courses to our learners to respond to a demand then eventually they will be employed and they will be liberated from the chain of poverty,” Eco said.

“Therefore, we would like to make all our course offerings responsive to the needs of the community to realize the vision of the DepEd that our education must be relevant and liberating,” he added.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Administration will help review the graduates of the accredited schools.

“There were a lot of concerns when DepEd decided to make it K to 12. First is the job mismatch. We have a lot of jobs in the market, but most of these jobs are skilled and we don’t have the human resource. We don’t have graduates who should fill in these jobs available in the market,” Eco said.

“We are also working in the identification of senior high schools that offer TVL courses that may be used as assessment centers,” he added.