The progressive group Anakbayan disagreed with the Commission on Higher Education's (CHED) decision to remove Senior High School (SHS) programs in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs).
In a statement on Jan. 4, the group emphasized that the said action is an "indictment" of both the current and previous administrations, citing "neglect of the education sector and an affront to students’ right to education."
In an interview on Jan. 3, CHED Chairman Popoy de Vera emphasized that the institutions are "full" and cannot accommodate more students as "there is no longer a legal basis to fund them (SHS programs)," given that the K-12 transition period is only from the school year (SY) 2016-2017 to SY 2020-2021.
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"As a result of this, 17,000 students will be displaced starting next school year," Anakbayan said.
Moreover, Anakbayan pointed out that the "decision to discontinue the Senior High School (SHS) program from SUCs and LUCs, far from it being merely brought by the end of K-12 transition period, exposes the Marcos-Duterte regime’s neglect of the education sector as seen in the lack of adequate funding for education and the government’s overall misprioritization in the 2024 budget."
Furthermore, it noted that the said action is likely to result in the transfer of thousands of students to private institutions that furthered the "commercialization of education."
"Rather than fulfilling the state’s responsibility to provide education as a public good, the Marcos-Duterte regime is passing the responsibility onto private institutions which put profit above all," it said.
Thus, the group calls on youths to "fight" for the establishment of a nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education system.
"Only through this can we secure our right to education and realize our full potential as youth," Anakbayan said.
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https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/2/ched-confirms-discontinuation-of-shs-program-in-su-cs-lu-cs