It was only in 2013 that the Philippines required high school students to complete grades 11 and 12 as a requirement to complete secondary education. There was a lot of push back from parents but eventually, there was a gradual acceptance of the additional 2-year requirement.
I believe that the K-12 program made Filipino students globally competitive. This became evident to me when I started working as an immigration lawyer. One of the more popular programs in Canada is the Express Entry program.
It is a points-based system where candidates who want to immigrate to Canada put their profile in the Express Entry pool with the hope of getting invited to apply (“ITA”) for permanent residence in Canada. The higher your score (based on your age, education, marital status, English/French language ability, and skilled work experience), the higher your chances of getting invited to apply for permanent residence in Canada. The drawing of profiles/names are done every two weeks.
In earlier years, a Philippine-based candidate would have difficulty getting an ITA because the cut-off score is so high. One of the hindrances is the low score they assign to Philippine education. There are points assigned according to the level of education of a candidate in the Express Entry pool.
Prior to 2013, a student is only required to finish Grade 10 to obtain a high school diploma in the Philippines. From there, students enrol in university to finish their Bachelor's Degree (four-year course). Unfortunately, a Philippines Bachelor's Degree is only recognized as such, in the Philippines. Those who graduated in the Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in 2018 or earlier only have an equivalent of a two-year diploma in Canada. In the education factor alone, candidates in the Philippines are held with at least 20 to 22 points in the comprehensive ranking system of the Express Entry program. A Master’s Degree holder in the Philippines only has an equivalent of a Bachelor’s Degree in Canada and so on and so forth.
Now that Philippine students are actually required to complete 12 years to obtain a high school diploma had made them at par with other countries like Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, etc. (at least in the number of years). Hence, a recent graduate (class of 2019) from the Philippines, if he/she decides to get his/her education assessed by one of the education credential organizations (i.e. World Education Services – WES), their Bachelor’s Degree is now equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree in Canada. This gives Philippine graduates a fighting chance as they can now score higher in the comprehensive ranking system of the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
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