The Department of Education (DepEd) is considering rationalizing the Senior High School (SHS) curriculum by making some subjects “elective” or voluntary for Grade 11 and 12 students.
In a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 13, Education Secretary Sonny announced that under his term, DepEd plans to adjust the SHS curriculum --- mainly to decongest it.
Under the current SHS curriculum, Angara said, a Senior High School student takes 22 subjects upon entering Grade 11, regardless of the track they choose, whether it is Academic, Technical Vocational Livelihood, Sports, or Arts and Design.
“Pero yung lahat ng apat na ‘yon, kukuha ka ng 22 subjects… so siguro ang gusto natin is medyo bawas-bawasan na (But in all four of those tracks, you still have to take 22 subjects … so maybe what we want is to reduce them a bit),” he explained.
Angara noted that in other countries, there are fewer subjects in SHS. In England, for example, there are only three to four subjects under SHS. In Australia, SHS students only take six subjects, and seven in the USA.
“Hindi natin sila babawasan ng kukunin nila, pero gagawin natin voluntary or elective na lang siya (We won’t reduce the subjects they take, but we’ll make some of them voluntary or elective),” Angara explained.
DepEd, he said, will craft a “core” for all four tracks to ensure that whatever track the student takes, he or she will still be “well-equipped.”
“May reading and writing skills siya, may communication skills siya, may personal development or soft skills siya, may physical education siya, so he is a well-rounded person kahit anong gawin niya, at may foundational skills siya (They will have reading and writing skills, communication skills, personal development or soft skills, and physical education, so they become a well-rounded person, no matter what they do. They will also have foundational skills),” Angara explained.
However, he noted that the electives should align with the student's chosen fields of study.
Last week, the Senior High School National Task Force (SHS-NTF) presented its recommendations to DepEd to improve the implementation of the SHS program.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/8/8/task-force-proposes-key-recommendations-to-enhance-dep-ed-s-shs-program