Gatchalian urges review of proposed SHS curriculum reducing programs, offering electives

Gatchalian urges review of proposed new senior high curriculum reducing programs, offering electives on demand

A comprehensive review of the proposed reduction of senior high school (SHS) tracks and offering electives on demand should be done as soon as possible to ensure a seamless transition between basic and higher education, Senate Committee on Basic Education chairperson Shewin Gatchalian said Thursday.

Gatchalian, who is part of the Second Committee on Education the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) which evaluates the performance of the Philippine education sector, said the review is crucial given that the new SHS curriculums set to be implemented in selected public and private schools beginning School Year 2025–2026 features a major restructuring of the program: reducing Senior High School tracks from four to two — Academic and Technical-Professional tracks, as well as cutting down the number of core subjects from 15 to a more focused set of five core subjects.

Likewise, the new SHS curriculum will allow students to select from a number of electives to pursue their career interests, to decongest learning content and to  provide clearer, more practical exit pathways for students whether they pursue college or enter the workforce.

Gatchalian, however, expressed doubts that the new curriculum will indeed eliminate the need for bridging programs once students reach higher education.

Likewise, the senator said the feasibility of the new curriculum in light of the challenges surrounding SHS implementation since 2016 is also not guaranteed.

“My question to DepEd is: aren’t we going into the same problem [as the current curriculum] with the electives? Because while the electives and TechPro look good on paper, implementation is a different scenario”, Gatchalian said.

“We must think not only of the intended curriculum, but of the implemented curriculum, because everything we are discussing today will depend on the capacity of our schools to implement it on the ground.”

The lawmaker argued that even if students take the electives, they may still not be college-ready because of schools’ resource limitations.

“The revised curriculum must be designed to ensure that students, regardless of school capacity or elective availability, can meet the minimum standards for college readiness. At the end of the day, what’s important is they are college-ready. It should be designed in a way that whatever electives they take, they will be ready for higher education,” Gatchalian said.

“In small schools, they might not be able to offer all the electives for the Academic track, and that then affects their college readiness,” he added.

During the recent Senate basic education committee hearing on the results of the 2024 functional literacy, education and mass media survey (FLEMMS), it was revealed that over 18 million junior high school graduates are considered “functional illiterate” or those who have problems in comprehension and understanding. —RF, GMA Integrated News