The Department of Education (DepEd) said on Thursday that it plans to reduce the number of subjects in the current senior high school (SHS) curriculum to allow students to focus on work immersion.
DepEd secretary Sonny Angara stressed that the educational system of the Philippines requires “flexibility” to address the employability of SHS graduates.
“If we reduce the subjects of our SHS curriculum, the students will have more time for the on-the-job training or work immersion needed by the industry so that our senior high school graduates will become more employable even if they lack work experience,” said Angara during the 2024 Regional Conference on Educational Planning in Asia.
He furthered that DepEd was in the “right direction” to lessen the core subjects in SHS to five or six from 15.
Core subjects are taken by SHS students regardless of their chosen strand, focusing on Language, Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences.
Last Monday, DepEd consulted the Asian Development Bank for recommendations on the structure of the SHS curriculum.
A study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies revealed that only 20% of SHS graduates joined the labor force.
The Philippine Business for Education, however, reported that most job opportunities in the country for K to 12 graduates are limited to service, sales, and clerical support roles.
In August 2023, the DepEd launched the Matatag Curriculum under the leadership of then-agency head Vice Pres. Sara Duterte-Carpio. It aimed at producing “job-ready” graduates.
Last June, Duterte-Carpio resigned from her post due to alleged political differences with Pres. Bongbong Marcos. She left DepEd grappling with long-standing concerns, including a shortage in classrooms and teaching personnel, erroneous modules, and low scores in international assessments.
Last July, Marcos instructed Angara to ensure that the K to 12 system will fulfill its promise of increasing the employability of graduates.
“Kung titingnan natin ang naging resulta (ng K to 12), hindi tumaas, hindi gumanda ang employability,” he said. “We have to do something else.”
