DepEd K to 12 Graduates Could Start Their Own Business, Seriously?

DepEd has been using catchy phrases such as "learner-centered", "holistic development", and "globally competitive" while it promotes its new K to 12 curriculum. Recently, DepEd has framed its advertisement in simpler terms. Jovic Yee of the Daily Inquirer quotes Undersecretary for Governance and Operations Rizalino Rivera as claiming that "students ... could also start their own business after graduating from the senior high school program". Rivera does start with the old lie that the new curriculum would improve employment opportunities but this entrepreneurship assertion is simply outrageous.

Above copied from the Inquirer

Teaching students to become self-employed is definitely not supported by evidence from research. The abstract of a paper published in the Journal of Small Business Management states quite clearly how much we know with regard to the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in universities:

Does entrepreneurship education (E-ed) really work to create business enterprise? We conducted a comprehensive review and methodological critique of the empirical research on the outcomes of university-based E-ed. We identified every empirical study conducted over the past decade, and found 12 that minimally met our methodologically “robust” (Storey Steps 4–6) standard. Our systematic critique of the studies' research methods found a variety of methodological weaknesses, undermining confidence in the belief that E-ed can produce entrepreneurship. The implications for both practice and policy are discussed, and recommendations are made for conducting future E-ed outcome research.

This is in higher education where results are clearly inconclusive. Starting a business, of course, requires so many factors beside education. In "Why are some people more likely to become small-businesses owners than others: Entrepreneurship entry and industry-specific barriers", published in the Journal  of Business Venturing, the following table shows one of the important factors, capital:

Table A1.

Mean years of schooling and business equity by industry.

	Industry characteristics
	Sample mean
	Years of schooling	Business equity ($)
Low-barrier industries	13.1	31,354
Repair services	12.3	13,507
Construction	12.7	40,228
Personal services	12.9	17,691
Food and child-care services	13.0	3,305
Transportation	13.0	29,603
Retail	13.7	44,191
High-barrier industries	15.3	49,562
Manufacturing	13.9	49,845
Wholesale trade	14.1	56,184
Business services	14.4	49,934
Finance, insurance & real estate	14.8	131,669
Entertainment services	15.1	10,838
Professional services	16.8	28,060

Source: 1996 and 2001 SIPP panels.

Finding evidence that entrepreneurship education could be effective at the secondary level is even more difficult. The title alone of a paper published in the International Journal of Management of Education tells us that what we mostly know are failures:

DepEd has been defending its K to 12 curriculum against its critics. The defense is nothing but a misinformation campaign. DepEd secretary Luistro even goes as far as issuing the following challenge:

"We're building the classrooms now. What will we do with the 30,000 classroooms and the other classrooms that private schools have already built? I will ask those who will try to stop it to please solve the problem on how to address the investments that have already been put in."

Actually, these should not be perceived as investments. These are in fact the much needed resources of the old ten-year curriculum. Classrooms are not going to waste even if the new curriculum does not push through. The new modules and various mass training are indeed going to waste. These, however, have long been of no value since the modules are of poor quality and the training is largely ineffective.