The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday, Sept. 1, said that the ongoing review of the curriculum focuses on the promise of K to 12: employability for graduates.
“We are really currently reviewing the skills matching aspect to ensure that when our graduates leave Grade 12, they will be employable as promised by K to 12,” DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa said during a press conference.
Poa said that DepEd is focusing on Grades 11 and 12 or Senior High School (SHS) --- specifically in the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track. “What we want is once they graduate from Grade 12, they are employable,” he stressed.
This, he explained, can be addressed through skills matching. “Now, there's a misalignment in the skills they get when they graduate and from the industry demand,” Poa said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Meanwhile, DepEd welcomed the recommendation of Department of Trade and Industry (STI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual to shorten the number of years for a college degree and focus more on skills that companies need.
During the National Conference of Employers organized by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) last week, Pascual noted that the trend in higher education is to “shorten the numbers you need to get a college degree.”
The pronouncement of Pascual, Poa said, is in line with the current review of the K to 12 curriculum that “we are doing right now.”