Instead of addressing the educational crisis, students will only be deprived of opportunities to further develop their critical thinking skills with the Department of Education’s (DepEd) proposed changes to streamline the senior high school (SHS) curriculum, according to educators.
“[A]ng ating mga estudyante ay magiging robotic […] kung tatanggalin mo ‘yung mga subjects na kritikal na nagsusuri katulad ng Filipino, ng sociology and philosophy ay mawawala na [ang critical thinking]. Anong klaseng estudyante ang mayroon tayo?” ACT Chairperson Vlademir Quetua said in an interview with Tinig ng Plaridel.
Dubbed the “Strengthened SHS Program,” the recommended curriculum seeks to provide “more flexible” options for students to become “more job-ready.” DepEd launched the initial round of online public consultations for proposed revisions to the SHS curriculum from April 4 to April 25, following the implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 10 this school year.
Among the suggested changes is the reduction of the current curriculum’s 15 core subjects to five: Effective Communication/Mabisang Komunikasyon, Life and Career Skills, General Mathematics, General Science and Pag-aaral sa Lipunan at Kasaysayang Pilipino.
These will now be taught to Grade 11 students for an entire academic year, instead of only allotting a semester to teach every subject.
DepEd’s consultation packet described the existing SHS curriculum as “overly fragmented, with too many subjects, limited elective options, and inadequate instructional time.”
Aside from taking 15 core subjects, SHS students under the present K-12 program are required to finish seven applied subjects alongside track or strand-based specialized subjects, for 80 to 160 hours per semester.
Other core subjects under the same program, mostly within the humanities and social sciences domains, will be reclassified in the new program as elective subjects schools may offer to learners throughout Grades 11 and 12. Subjects such as Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person, Physical Education, and Filipino will no longer be required for all students to take.
To further streamline the SHS curriculum, schools will only offer the Academic and Technical-Professional tracks, removing the Sports and Arts, and Design programs.
The new curriculum will also allow SHS learners to take courses from other tracks aside from their own.
Students will be given options to take various electives from up to 10 academic and technical clusters to be offered by their schools.
Contrary to the idea that the SHS program would improve job prospects, DepEd cited a 2020 study from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies showing that its graduates have lower chances of employment and self-employment compared to those who had at least two years of college.
To address this, the proposed curriculum will also increase the required hours for work immersion from 80 hours to 160-320 hours.
After consultations with stakeholders, DepEd hopes the revisions will undergo pilot implementation next school year, with a full rollout expected the following academic year.
‘Falls short of solving educ crisis’
However, Quetua said that these changes, along with the K-12 program itself, fall short in addressing the employment challenges faced by SHS graduates because even college graduates also struggle in seeking jobs.
“Aminado mismo ang mga negosyante [na] hindi sila tatanggap ng isang senior high school [student] kumpara sa college student o graduate,” he elaborated.
Curriculum adjustments would also require additional training from SHS teachers who, according to University of the Philippines College of Education professor Dr. Portia Padilla, are already burdened with “having low salary but heavy workload.”
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ACT also emphasized that the education system should prioritize the needs of the Philippines and local communities over global competitiveness and market demands.
“Sa ibang bansa […] nakita nila na [mayroong] learning crisis [dahil] una, mababa ‘yung budget sa education. Pangalawa, ‘yung kanilang curriculum ay hindi tumutugon sa pangangailangan ng bansa,” explained Quetua, citing other countries’ assessment on their educational crises post-pandemic.
Government agencies under the education sector have been allocated a total budget of over P965 billion for 2025—lower than the P1.05 trillion budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
This is contrary to the Constitution’s mandate that education must receive the largest share of the country’s national budget every fiscal year.
ACT urges DepEd to consult them on the proposed revisions to the curriculum and make the process “more democratic and grassroots-oriented.”
“Ang DepEd ay nagkakaroon ng mga konsultasyon online … pero hindi ito malawak at demokratiko. Hindi nila kinokonsulta ‘yung mga malalawak na teachers’ organization gaya ng [ACT]. Tingin natin, top-down policy pa rin ang mangyayari dito sa curriculum na ito,” said Quetua.
