New SHS program ’not enough for students to be college-ready’ -DepEd

The five core subjects set to be implemented through the strengthened Senior High School (SHS) program are not sufficient alone to prepare students for college, according to the Department of Education (DepEd). — File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The five core subjects set to be implemented through the strengthened Senior High School (SHS) program are not sufficient alone to prepare students for college, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).

During Thursday’s hearing of the Senate committee on basic education, panel head Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked DepEd whether the new SHS curriculum will enable students to become college-ready and if the agency could guarantee that what the students took up in SHS will no longer be taken up in college.

READ: DepEd eyes enforcement of reduced senior high school subjects in 2025

At the end of Gatchalian’s questions, DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching Gina Gonong confessed that she wants to be as realistic as possible.

“The five proposed core subjects are not enough for students to be college-ready,” Gonong simply said, quickly explaining that in order to equip learners, they need to take electives.

“So for example, [if] a student wants to do a STEM course later on in college, we need to guide our student to take science-related electives,” she said.

To better guide students in the choice of electives, Gonong said they have asked the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) to give them a list of basic requirements of subjects to pursue courses like engineering, chemistry, and teaching.

“So kapag nakuha namin ang list na yon sa Ched, we will be able to guide our students better in the choice of electives,” said Gonong.

(If we obtain a list from Ched, we will be able to guide our students better in the choice of electives.)

“So the core subjects are not enough. We need the electives to prepare our students for college, and the electives must be chosen very well depending on the career path that they want in college,” she added.

‘Massive dissatisfaction’

Gatchalian, in the same hearing, said there is a massive dissatisfaction with the implementation the SHS program because of the following reasons:

• Parents have to shell out additional money for transportation, food, and education for their children
• Filipinos believe that an SHS diploma is not enough to get a job so they still go to college
• Every family dreams of having a child graduate from college, not only the SHS

With this, Gatchalian said going to college is still the end goal of Filipinos because they know that SHS is not enough.

“So naging double whammy, kailangan ng college dahil hindi makahanap ng trabaho — dinagdagan ang senior high school pero ang SHS hindi naman enough o hindi sapat para makakuha ng trabaho, pero pagpunta ng college — apat na taon pa rin, hindi dalawang taon na pinag usapan during the hearing in 2012,” said Gatchalian.

(So it became a double whammy, an individual needs to go to college because he won’t be able to get a job. SHS years have increased by two years, but it’s still not enough to get a job. Once in college, one still needs to study for four years, not two years like what was earlier tackled during a hearing in 2012.)

DepEd said the strengthened SHS program is set to be implemented in the school year 2026-2027.

It will be piloted in 727 schools — 567 public and 160 public — nationwide.

A key change introduced to the strengthened program is the reduction of core subjects from 15 to the following five:

• Effective communication
• Life Skills
• General Mathematics
• General Science
• Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino