The Department of Education is considering piloting the updated Senior High School (Grades 11 and 12) curriculum in the upcoming school year, while also planning to return to the pre-pandemic class opening schedule.

“Our target pilot for the senior high school curriculum is next year, so that’s school year 2025-2026,” Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte told reporters on the sidelines of the Chinese Filipino Business Club’s 13th Biennial National Convention where she was the keynote speaker.

The DepEd is currently reviewing the senior high school curriculum in a bid to produce more job-ready graduates.

Earlier, DepEd Undersecretary and Spokesperson Michael Poa said the department targets to complete the review of the senior high school curriculum in May this year.

Meanwhile, the department is pilot-testing the revised K to 10 or Matatag curriculum in 35 schools in seven regions in the country curriculum that it said targets the “decongestion" of the current curriculum to improve the quality of basic education in the country.

Among the revisions in the K to 10 program include reducing the number of competencies and greater emphasis on the development of foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills to Kinder to Grade 3 learners.

The current curriculum has seven competencies namely Mother Tongue, Filipino, English, Mathematics, Araling Panlipunan, MAPEH, and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao.

However, under the Matatag curriculum there will be five competencies namely Language, Reading and Literacy, Mathematics, Makabansa, and GMRC.

Meanwhile, Duterte also said that the DepEd will partner and collaborate with the business sector to gather their input on what skills should be taught to students, particularly in senior high school.

“Their inputs on the skills that they want to see in our senior high school graduates or K to 12 graduates are very important. It is important that they can tell us what are the skills they are looking for in our graduates,” the DepEd chief added.

Duterte said it is the vision and intent of the K to 12 program which was first implemented during the administration of the late president President Benigno"Noynoy" Aquino III, when it was introduced to produce graduates who are competent and whose skills will enable them to land a job.

Duterte earlier said the program failed to deliver on its promise to bring more employment to graduates.