Teachers and school officials gathered for the annual National Conference on Teacher Training, organized by the Philippine Association of Japanese Government Scholars (PhilaJames), in cooperation with the UP Samahan ng mga Kurikulista at the Benitez Theater of the College of Education at the University of the Philippines.

Now on its fourth year, this year’s teacher training conference opted for the theme, “Initiatives for the K-12 Basic Education.”

Members of the academe from different educational institutions in the country exchange ideas on the implementation of the new K-12 system and improvement of the educational standards in the country.

Opening the program were PhilaJames president Dr. Amelia Fajardo and Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) of the Embassy of Japan researcher and adviser Shinichiro Kato. Department of Education representative Elvin Ivan Uy was present to give an in-depth view on the status of the development of the K-12 system in the country and to answer questions from the audience.

The conference was also a venue to discuss emerging K-12 curriculum initiated by different schools in the country. Several schools took part in this sharing of concepts, headed by Asia Pacific College managing director Maria Teresa Medado, Rizal Experimental Station and Pilot School of Cottage Industries head teacher Marites Romen and UP College of Education Dean Dr. Dina Ocampo. Representatives from Miriam College, Systems Plus College Foundation, Philippine Science High School and Ateneo de University Loyola Schools were also present to discuss their respective school system models in relation to the K-12 program.

The conference ended with an open discussion among the guest speakers and members of the audience.