The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said it has decided to discontinue the Senior High School (SHS) program in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) as the K-12 program transition period ends.
In an interview with PTV Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on Wednesday, Jan. 3, CHED Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III discussed the context behind discontinuing the SHS program in SUCs and LUCs.
According to him, the institutions are "full" and cannot accommodate more students as “there is no longer a legal basis to fund them," whereas the K-12 transition period is only from school year (SY) 2016-2017 to SY 2020-2021.
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https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/2/ched-confirms-discontinuation-of-shs-program-in-su-cs-lu-cs
He explained that when the K–12 law was passed, "the problem was that there were not enough teachers and rooms for senior high students, whereas, in public universities, their classrooms and teachers are too much because they don't have freshmen coming.”
To address this, the Department of Education (DepEd) and CHED agreed that public universities can offer senior high schools to use their room capacity and teachers during the transition period.
The CHED chief explained that students' education was paid through DepEd vouchers, and now that the transition period is over, “they must use their rooms and teachers.”
However, while new SHS enrollment in SUCs and LUCs will stop, current Grade 12 students will still be allowed to finish their education.
“The Grade 12 students who are enrolled will continue until they finish, as they will not be able to get any subsidy from the National Government for these students,” he said.
When asked what would happen to the SUCs that began accepting applications for Grade 11 from their colleges last year, he said that the universities should speak with their BORs as they have the final say over student admission.
He further underscored that they will coordinate with BOR to act upon any problems that will arise due to the transition.
“We will coordinate with BOR through the regional office, and the possible problems in the transition will be acted upon by the commission. We will contact DepEd if there are any problems that need to be fixed,” he said.
He clarified that this is only being addressed now, even though the transition period ended in 2021, because of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, according to reports, the DepEd said senior high school students enrolled in HEIs will still be accepted into public basic education schools.
Education Undersecretary Michael Poa emphasized that students can also enroll in private schools and avail the voucher program.
"Our public schools will be able to accommodate those that may be displaced," he said.