Senator Sherwin Gatchalian (Senate PRIB)

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has slammed the government’s policy on the hiring of K to 12 senior high school graduates, calling it a great disservice to learners and their families who had to shoulder the financial burden of two more years of high school.

In a public hearing on the proposed Batang Magaling Act (Senate Bill No. 2022), Gatchalian observed that under the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 12 s. 2019, government corporations and agencies that accept high school graduates do not make a distinction between those who graduated from senior high school and those who graduated from the old 10-year system of basic education.

This policy goes to show that for senior high school graduates who want to apply in government, two more years of high school have no added value, Gatchalian said.

“This is an unfair practice being done by the government,’’ he said.

‘Ipinangako natin noon na ang K to 12 ay magbibigay ng trabaho sa ating senior high school graduates pero gobyerno mismo ang hindi nagbibigay sa kanila ng oportunidad (We promised to give jobs to senior high school graduates but government itself is not giving such opportunity). We’re lumping them together with graduates of the ten-year high school system. Again, there’s no added value for our senior high school students in the eyes of the government,” Gatchalian lamented.

“For example, I’m a senior high school student but when I apply in government, I’m actually equated to a graduate of the 10-year high school system. There’s no increase in value for me so why would I add two more years if I’m equated to a graduate of 10 years of high school,” he added.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education demanded that the CSC submit a definite timetable on addressing challenges linked to the government’s hiring of senior high school graduates.

The CSC assured that solon, however, that it is currently revising the Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resources Actions so that senior high school graduates could also be considered.

A 2018 study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) previously pointed out that education requirements of first level positions in the civil service have not been adjusted to consider senior high school graduates.