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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
June 4, 2025 | 12:00am
This file photo shows the Department of Education.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — Industry-based training will be integrated into the strengthened senior high school program this school year, per a memorandum signed by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
The initiative bridges classroom learning with real-world skills, preparing learners for employment, self-employment or entrepreneurship, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said yesterday.
Angara signed the deal with PCCI president Enunina Mangio and Alberto Fenix Jr., president of the PCCI Human Resources Development Foundation.
Changes to the SHS program include a decongested curriculum and an increase in work immersion hours to 640 from 340, DepEd Undersecretary Gina Gonong said.
The upcoming school year is set to begin on June 16 and end on March 31, 2026.
Grade 10 and 12 graduates are now eligible for first-level government positions, per the Civil Service Commission.
Classroom shortage
At a meeting with DepEd officials in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, Angara said the agency is working to revive a public-private partnership program aimed at addressing a nationwide classroom shortage of about 165,000. The program had facilitated the construction of 12,000 to 15,000 classrooms, he noted.
Officials also discussed improving Filipinos’ functional literacy and numeracy through summer programs and the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning program.
Under the ARAL program, free tutorial sessions will be provided to about three million students struggling with functional literacy.
Angara said the pilot rollout of the Bawat Bata Makababasa Program in Zamboanga Peninsula is a direct response to President Marcos’ directive to improve learning outcomes amid low literacy levels among early grade learners.
Paperwork reduced
Public school teachers’ paperwork requirements have been reduced by 57 percent, Angara said.
From 174 school forms, teachers only need to complete five forms.
Thirty-one forms can be accomplished for teacher ancillary tasks and 39 for teaching-related assignments.
“For every teacher unburdened by unnecessary tasks, a child will learn,” Angara said.
