The Department of Education (DepEd) is looking at implementing the revised Senior High School curriculum in School Year 2025-2026, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
(Jojo Rinoza/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The official said this on the sidelines of the Chinese-Filipino Business Club Inc. (CFBCI) 13th Biennial National Convention, where she was the keynote speaker.
“Ang target pilot natin (Our target plan) for the Senior High School curriculum is next year. So, that’s school year 2025-2026,” the Vice President told the media.
Her presence in the event was an opportunity to recognize the importance of the private sector in the DepEd’s review of the current K-12 program as Duterte underlined how their inputs could produce better graduates.
“Napakahalaga ng input nila doon sa mga skills na gusto nilang makita sa mga Senior High School graduates natin, sa mga K-12 graduates natin (Their inputs to the skills that they want to see in our Senior High School graduates, our K-12 graduates, are very important),” she said, adding that the intent of the K-12 program is to make basic education graduates “employable.”
“So, mahalaga iyon na nasasabi ng market ng business community kung ano iyong gusto nilang makitang skills doon sa ating mga graduates (So, it’s important that the market of our business community can tell us what skills they want to see in our graduates),” Duterte explained.
Once these revisions are implemented in the current curriculum, these businesses can hire the graduates,” the official added.
The Vice President announced in January 2023 that the agency plans to revise the K-12 curriculum to produce more job-ready and globally competitive graduates.
She said that the program has not delivered its promise to bring more employment to the graduates.
The task force created to review the existing curriculum is responsible for reviewing existing program policies “to ensure consistency, responsiveness, and relevance” to the needs of the learners and stakeholders.
It also aims to strengthen partnerships with private sectors and various industries at the national and regional levels to improve the employability of senior high school graduates.
The K-12 program, passed during the Aquino administration, aimed to make Filipinos more globally competitive through an allegedly enhanced curriculum that would’ve made them master skills and concepts.