The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would allow junior high school students to choose between two education pathways: pursuing college studies or a technical-vocational program.

With 200 lawmakers voting in the affirmative, three in the negative, and zero abstentions, House Bill 11213, or the proposed Education Pathways Act, was approved on the third and final reading.

The measure seeks to allow junior high school graduates to decide whether they would take up a two-year university preparatory program under the Department of Education (DepEd) — the current K-12 program — or a technical-vocational program under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Career guidance and counseling services will be established to assist students in making informed decisions about their preferred pathways.

If passed into law, Grade 10 students may voluntarily take an advanced placement exam, which, if they pass, will automatically consider them graduates of senior high school without the need to finish Grades 11 and 12, allowing them to enroll in their chosen college degree the following school year.

Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo and former president, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, were among the principal authors of the measure.

During the plenary debates last week, Romulo, the chairperson of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture that sponsored the bill on the floor, argued that many senior high school graduates continue to struggle to find employment despite the K-12 program's objective of equipping them with the competencies necessary for college or employment.

“The reality of the job market has not aligned with these expectations. Despite completing senior high school, many senior graduates face challenges in finding employment as the private sector continues to favor students and graduates of colleges and universities over those who have solely completed the K-12 program,” Romulo said.

A 2020 study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies found that only one in five senior high school graduates join the workforce, with the majority opting to pursue higher education.

The implementation of K-12, which took effect in School Year 2012-2013, has been a contentious issue over the years, with calls for its abolition remaining unabated.

Critics of the curriculum lament that despite years of implementation, K-12 has failed to improve the quality of education and, most importantly, has not delivered its goal of producing globally competitive and job-ready graduates.

Last year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the K-12 program didn’t improve the employability of Filipino graduates abroad, highlighting the need for a careful review of the curriculum.

DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara earlier admitted that there were hitches in the K-12’s implementation, which, he assured, would be thoroughly reviewed.