To provide graduates with opportunities for higher education or employment, the Department of Education (DepEd) plans to reduce the current Senior High School (SHS) tracks from four to two.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), in a statement, announced DepEd’s plans to reduce the SHS tracks.
In a hearing held on the SHS program on March 13, EDCOM 2 said DepEd presented their plans to revamp the SHS curriculum and implement it in the school year (SY) 2025-2026.
As per EDCOM 2, DepEd plans to reduce the number of SHS tracks from four to two: the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track and the Academic track.
Citing Curriculum and Teaching Assistant Secretary Janir Datukan, this simplification aims to give exit opportunities for SHS graduates either to higher education or employment.
Currently, SHS has four tracks, namely: Academic Track; Technical-Vocational-Livelihood Track; Arts and Design Track; and Sports Track.
Tracks are further sub-classified into strands or specialized curricular offerings.
The Academic Track is designed for SHS learners who intend to pursue higher education or careers along four specific strands: Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) Strand; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Strand; Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Strand; and General Academic (GA) Strand.
The Arts and Design Track is designed for SHS learners who intend to pursue careers in the world of arts.
The Sports Track is designed for students who intend to pursue sports-related careers.
The TVL Track is for SHS learners who intend to pursue careers specializing in vocational learning or technical-vocational livelihood.
The TVL Track has four strands: Agri-Fishery Arts Strand; Home Economics (HE) Strand; Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strand; and Industrial Arts Strand. These are aligned with the Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) Learning Area in Grades 7 to 10.
Additionally, EDCOM 2 highlighted that the redesigned curriculum, according to DepEd, will undergo a “drastic reduction” in the number of required subjects—from 31 to an estimated seven to 20 subjects.
This includes four core subjects and up to 16 elective subjects, offering options for “doorway” or “cross-tracking” pathways.
College readiness
Amid growing concerns that the current SHS program falls short in equipping graduates with the necessary skills and knowledge for higher education, DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) were also urged to work together in refining the curriculum to better prepare students for college.
EDCOM 2 said DepEd and CHED need to collaborate on the upcoming revision of the SHS curriculum to produce college-ready graduates.
“When K-12 was introduced way back in 2013, it promised that Senior High School graduates will be job-ready or college-ready. But this is not the case we are seeing now,” said EDCOM 2 Co-chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo.
During the hearing, EDCOM 2 Co-Chairpersons Romulo and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian emphasized the need for the two agencies to collaborate on the revisions and explore ways to streamline the program’s implementation.
EDCOM 2 findings
In its Year Two Report, EDCOM 2 showed that while about 53.9 percent of SHS graduates pursue higher education, a “significant number” enter the workforce in private establishments or informal employment.
EDCOM 2 pointed out that this is due in part to the fact that SHS graduates “often lack the necessary skills for both higher education and the job market.”
“Additionally, there is a misalignment between the curricula of SHS and higher education institutions,” EDCOM 2 said.
EDCOM 2 is the congressional body established under Republic Act 11899, mandated to conduct a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector. It is also tasked with proposing legislation to address the education crisis in the country.
Collaboration
Romulo also urged CHED and DepEd to ensure that the revamped SHS curriculum aligns with the core competencies needed for college readiness.
He also emphasized that CHED, as the governing body for higher education, should provide DepEd with clear guidelines on the knowledge, skills, and abilities students need to succeed in college.
Romulo pointed out that basic education has already been lengthened, but there are “still no changes” in the General Education (GE) subjects in college because CHED says that “students are not yet college-ready and still need bridging programs.”
Gatchalian also echoed Romulo’s sentiments and urged CHED to explore removing the “bridging programs” in college curricula.
Citing a survey commissioned by his office, Gatchalian noted that most of the respondents were “unhappy” with the implementation of the SHS program.
Gatchalian then urged representatives of CHED to consider the possible removal of the bridging programs.
“The entire system promised that when we moved to K-12, we would shorten college,” Gatchalian said. “We’re strengthening basic education para hindi na mahaba sa higher ed, kumbaga specializations na lang kaso hindi nangyari ’yon eh (so that higher education would only focus on specializations, but that didn’t happen),” he added.
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