The Department of Education is expecting to finish the review for senior high school (Grades 11 and 12) by next year, its spokesperson said on Friday.
"By around June 2023, we are hoping to finish our review for the K to 12 (Kindergarten to Grade 12) program," DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa told reporters in a press conference at the agency's central office in Pasig City.
Poa said that they have already finished the review for the K to 10 or Kindergarten to Grade 10.
"What we will be doing from September to October is we will have consultations with our stakeholders, which they are starting to do now, so that we can get the review that was done for K to 10," he added.
Poa said the review for Grades 11 and 12 will start in November this year.
"Hopefully, we can finish the review within a year's time, which is the direction or directive given to us by our President," he said.
The purpose of the review is to assess what kind of learning competencies will be needed for the learners, Poa said.
"And also, we want to focus on literacy, specifically on foundational literacy functional literacy," the DepEd official added.
Poa, however, stressed that he cannot give a comprehensive report on the results of the review just yet as it is still being vetted.
According to Poa, the current K to 12 programs failed to fulfill its promise to produce graduates who are employable.
"That's not happening right now. So, our direction is to try to align those skills, especially the tech-voc (technical and vocational) track to the industry demand. Right now, what we see is that there was misalignment. The skills that they (students) have are not what our industries are looking for, so they do not become employable," he said.
"We don't have any concrete plans on K to 12 that I can share just yet because the review will start only this November 2022," the DepEd official added.
Implemented during the administration of the late President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, the K to 12 program aims to strengthen the basic education curriculum by adding two more years in senior high school to the previous 10-year basic education system.
