CATHOLIC SCHOOLS and private education groups are pushing back against proposals to abolish the decade-old senior high school (SHS) program, calling the move “dangerously shortsighted” and a “step backward” for the Philippine education system.
In a statement on July 9, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) warned that dismantling the decade-old K to 12 program would risk producing unprepared high school graduates.
“Doubts about SHS graduates’ employment readiness must be addressed not by dismantling the program but by deepening partnerships with industry, aligning curriculum tracks with local labor market demands, and mandating meaningful work immersion reform in every school,” the group said.
The statement was also signed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’s Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education.
CEAP said repealing the SHS program would squander years of gains and investment in educational infrastructure and reforms.
“Reverting to a 10-year cycle would dismantle existing structures, waste public investment, and once again send Filipino students into college or the workforce underprepared,” it said. “Reform, not repeal, is the only rational and just way forward.”
SHS is one of UST’s flagship offerings, drawing the largest number of enrollees with over 5,000 students.
UST has also made huge investments in its SHS program, notably through the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Building, the 22-story structure built in 2017 with an estimated cost of P2 billion.
In a joint statement released on July 3, more than 50 private education groups and institutions also stood firm in defending the 12-year basic education program, describing it as a key to employment.
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“We urge the government to view these issues not as grounds for abandoning the reform, but as an opportunity to deepen its implementation and invest more substantially in public education,” the statement read.
“In light of ongoing proposals to remove the SHS program, we believe that doing so would be a step backward in our collective efforts to improve the Filipino workforce…We must move to progress, not regress,” it continued.
Although the program aimed to align Filipino graduates with global standards, many SHS graduates have expressed concerns over unfulfilled promises of improved employment and education opportunities.
Despite the program’s lapses, the groups said scrapping SHS would undermine efforts to address educational inequality.
“K-12 was meant to level the playing field and open more opportunities for all Filipino learners,” they said. “Instead of retreating, we must reform-fine-tune the program to fulfill its original promise: giving every Filipino learner, regardless of background, the full chance to succeed.”
SHS was first rolled out in the Philippines in 2012 under the K to 12 program of the late president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
The program has come under renewed scrutiny recently, with the Department of Education set to roll out a revamped and streamlined curriculum, while the Senate mulls abolition following Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s filing of Senate Bill 3001.
