SHS Curriculum Being Reviewed by DepEd in Pursuit To Boost Graduates’ Employability
DEPED – The Department of Education is eyeing the reduction of the core subjects in the Senior High School curriculum.
A huge part of the Filipino populace in the Philippines is composed of individuals who are in their school years. In terms of education, the country is currently implementing the K+12 Curriculum in both public and private schools.
The K+12 curriculum has changed the basic education into kindergarten, 6 years of elementary education, 4 years of junior high school education, and 2 years of senior high school education. Its adoption in the education system is in line with the pursuit of preparing the high school graduates better for the field of employment.
Truth be told that many Filipinos, due to poverty, cannot manage to proceed to college right away. What these people do instead is to look for work thus, the Department of Education (DepEd) wanted to make the high school graduates fit to work.
Undeniably, the K+12 curriculum has gained divided reactions from the people. There are those who like the intention behind the said curriculum while there are those who did not like the added years in high school.
Meanwhile, the review of the K+12 curriculum is ongoing. The DepEd is even eyeing to reduce the core subjects in the senior high school to pave the way for longer on-the-job training for the SHS students.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said that DepEd is “on the right direction to reduce the core subjects” and it is planning to make the adjustments from 15 core subjects into “just five or six”.
Angara made the statement at the 2024 Regional Conference on Educational Planning in Asia. Based on the report, the eyed move aims to boost the employability of the SHS graduates even if they lack an actual work experience.
According to DepEd, there is an ongoing curriculum review for the grades 11 to 12 while the revamped K to 10 curriculum is implemented in phases. The implementation of the latter is until 2028.
The education department has already met with the academic experts regarding the review of the SHS curriculum. Based on the report, it also collaborated with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for technical assistance and professional guidance to the academic experts in the revision of the SHS program.
The Department of Education is currently under a new leadership. In July, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte transferred the leadership to Sen. Sonny Angara.