CHED mandates the removal of SHS programs from SUCs and LUCs
The welfare of the students must be prioritized by the education department after the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) stopped the senior high school programs in state universities and colleges (SUCs), and in local universities and colleges (LUCs).
The K-12 program in the Philippines started in the school year 2011-2012. High school students had to spend two more years of senior high school.
SUCs and LUCs catered to some of the SHS students when this program started. However, the timeframe covered for this program is for the school year 2020 to 2021 only. It means that this setup was in effect during the K-12 transition period, based on the report from Inquirer.
With this, there is a possibility that there will be a displacement of students if the transition will not be done properly. Senator Grace Poe said that the Education Department should make sure public schools can accommodate SHS students from LUCs and SUCs and she is right.
In private schools, it is a fact that higher tuition fees are required and this might be a sad reason for many students who can’t afford higher expenses for their education to stop.
The welfare of the students should be the main focus because they will be the ones who will be affected mainly by the discontinuation of the SHS program in SUCs and LUCs.
Sen. Poe also stressed that the SHS program should stay true to its promise that students will be employed and they will be competitive after graduation.
Senator Win Gatchalian is also right when he said that a transition plan may be needed not just to interrupt the students’ learning but also to ensure that teachers and other school employees will still have their jobs.
Indeed, stopping the SHS programs in SUCs and LUCs will mean that several teachers and school employees will also be jobless and this has to be addressed.
Sen. Chiz Escudero pointed out that the stopping of the SHS programs in SUCs and LUCs is supported by the law but CHED and the Department of Education (DepEd) need to talk about this so that no one will be left behind.