DepEd starts senior high curriculum consultation
(FILES PHOTO) Students of Araullo High School in Manila enjoy a light day at school on Thursday but come next school year, more than 17,000 Grade 11 students currently enrolled in state universities and colleges, and local universities and colleges might not be smiling as they could get displaced from the Commission on Higher Education order for SUCs and LUCs to stop offering the senior high school program. Last December, CHEd issued a memorandum directing the governing bodies of SUCs and LUCs to cease the SHS program as there are no longer legal bases to fund it.
PHOTOGRAPH by Joey Sanchez Mendoza
The Department of Education (DepEd) has launched an online public consultation for its revised Senior High School (SHS) curriculum, part of the basic education program slated for pilot implementation in the 2025-2026 school year.
The DepEd shared a 26-page consultation packet outlining the “strengthened” program for Grades 11 and 12, accessible online from 4 to 11 April 2025 as the agency is also inviting public feedback on the revised SHS curriculum, which has undergone a multi-year review aimed at providing “more effective and responsive education for Filipino youth.”
“To participate, we recommend starting with the Consultation Packet for an overview of the proposed changes. However, you may also review the Curriculum Guides directly before proceeding to the Consultation Platform to submit your comments,” the DepEd said in a statement.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara had previously indicated that the phased implementation of the revised SHS curriculum would begin in SY 2025-2026.
According to the consultation packet, the pilot implementation will commence in SY 2025-2026. Based on the initial results of the pilot program, the DepEd will announce whether all senior high schools will be required to implement the new curriculum by SY 2026-2027.
A key feature of the revised SHS program is the reduction of core subjects from the previous 15 per semester to just five per year, allowing more time for essential topics.
The five proposed core subjects are: Effective Communication (Mabisang Komunikasyon), Life Skills, General Mathematics, General Science, and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino (Study of Philippine History and Society).