The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to explain the enhancements to the Senior High School (SHS) curriculum that will be implemented this incoming school year 2025–2026.
The panel’s chair, Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo as well as committee member and outgoing Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo zeroed in on indicators that pointed out the failure of the K-12 program to make some graduates work- and college-ready.
“That was the commitment in 2012, [for SHS graduates to be] work-ready; meaning, when they apply for quality job, when they get in, they know what to do,” Romulo said in a committee meeting, citing that the additional a two-year period made students eligible for NC-II certifications only.
For Romulo, students enrolled in the additional grades 11 and 12 should make them eligible for certification higher than NC-II, considering that the two-year period is longer than the NC-II trainings the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) provides.
He pointed out that under the Philippine Qualification Framework (PQF) submitted to the committee in 2012, students who qualify for NC-II still require a certain degree of supervision, “so, (the student) can’t work alone,” said Romulo.
“(Longer) work immersion should produce a higher NC, because in NC-II, (once you render) three to six months (in) community-based (TESDA programs), there’s already NC-II,” he added.
Quimbo took note that some schools implemented bridging programs for Grade 12 graduates, which should have been unnecessary if the K-12 program had achieved its goal of college preparedness.
Dr. Edizon Fermin of the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) Technical Panel for Teacher Education acknowledged the concerns raised by the panel members.
Fermin expressed the commitment of both CHED and DepEd to address the issues and implement the committee’s recommendations to enhance the proposed SHS curriculum. “That will be corrected,” he assured the panel.
Both DepEd and CHED also dismissed as unfounded rumors and not part of any official plan the supposed implementation of a “Grade 13.” The committee urged both institutions to take steps in mitigating the spread of incorrect information and to dispel any misinformation.