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Marc Jason Cayabyab - The Philippine Star
May 9, 2025 | 12:00am
Students of Araullo High School in Manila head for home after classes yesterday. At least 17,000 Grade 11 students might be displaced after CHED ordered state colleges and universities to stop offering senior high school program beginning in academic year 2024-2025.
Ernie Peñaredondo
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday led a review of the Department of Education’s plan to strengthen the senior high school (SHS) program.
Gatchalian led a Senate basic education committee hearing and showed a March 23-29 Pulse Asia survey his office commissioned which bared that 42 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the K to 12 program, while only 32 percent were satisfied.
The same survey also showed that regarding the SHS program, 40 percent were dissatisfied and 33 percent were satisfied.
Gatchalian said the satisfaction on the program was declining because of parents’ complaints that they have to shell out more money for the additional two years in high school, even though it is not an assurance for graduates to have a job.
Gatchalian also lamented the failure of the program to reduce the college years by two years, as was promised during the committee hearings when the program was tackled in 2012.
“Parents have to shell out more money for their children, but they don’t see the value. Because an SHS diploma is not enough to get a job. They still have to go to college,” he said.
Gatchalian presided over the hearing to find out how the DepEd’s plan to strengthen the SHS program would decongest the curriculum and help students transition to college.
Under the strengthened SHS program, the core subjects are reduced from 15 to five – “Effective Communication,” “Life and Career Skills,” “General Mathematics,” “General Science” and “Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino.”
The strengthened SHS program would be piloted in 727 public and private schools in the upcoming school year 2025-2026, and be fully rolled out next year.
The program would also offer electives to help students become well-rounded and prepare them for college, said DepEd Undersecretary for curriculum and teaching Gina Gonong.
While the strengthened SHS program seeks to streamline the senior high curriculum, Second Congressional Commission on Education executive director Karol Mark Yee however noted that the lack of teachers forces some to teach subjects even though they are not qualified.
Gatchalian also noted the lack of rural schools among the pilot schools, saying the aim of the study is “to learn what’s wrong and what’s right, and to correct the wrongs.”
