THE UNIVERSITY is set to implement a streamlined senior high school (SHS) curriculum starting Academic Year (AY) 2025-2026, as it joins the Department of Education’s (DepEd) pilot rollout of the revised program for incoming Grade 11 students.
Under the “strengthened SHS” curriculum, DepEd reduced the four existing tracks to two — academic and technical-professional (tech-pro) — to “enhance clarity and efficiency.” The original SHS curriculum included an arts and design and sports tracks.
Despite this change, UST SHS said its six “strands” would remain: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); Music, Arts, and Design (MAD); Business and Entrepreneurship (ABM); Sports and Life Skills; Health Allied and Wellness (HA); and Humanities and Social Science (HUMSS).
“The integrity of our strands and tracks will be preserved. [We] are offering pathways to their chosen career or tertiary program, providing electives that are helpful for them,” UST SHS Principal Mary Bolaños said in an article on the UST website.
“[The strands] are still there [to strengthen] the vertical articulation of our SHS programs with the University’s tertiary offerings,” she added.
The Varsitarian has reached out to Bolaños and Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta for clarification on how these strands will align with the new DepEd SHS curriculum, but they have yet to respond as of posting time.
Another key adjustment the new curriculum brings is the reduction of core subjects to five from 15.
These will now be taught throughout the year instead of being compressed into a single term, according to DepEd Memorandum 48, which outlines the pilot implementation guidelines.
The core subjects are:
- effective communication/mabisang komunikasyon;
- general mathematics;
- general science
- life and career skills; and
- pag-aaral ng kasaysayan at lipunang Pilipino.
Elective courses were also grouped into clusters split across the two tracks.
SHS students taking the academic track may choose from four elective course clusters, while those in the tech-pro path may select electives from 10 subject clusters.
DepEd said these clusters were “designed to help students choose electives that align with their interests and career goals.”
The clusters under the academic track are:
- arts, social sciences, and humanities;
- business and entrepreneurship;
- science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; and
- sports, health, and wellness.
For the tech-pro track, SHS students may choose from:
- aesthetic, wellness, and human care;
- agri-fishery business and food innovation;
- artisanry and creative enterprise;
- automotive and small engine technologies;
- construction and building technologies;
- creative arts and design technologies;
- hospitality and tourism;
- ICT support and computer programming technologies;
- industrial technologies; and
- maritime transport.
DepEd clarified that these elective clusters were not the same as SHS strands.
“Clusters offer flexible groupings of elective subjects that students can choose from, while strands are rigid, pre-defined sets of subjects that limit student choice to a specific specialization,” it explained.
While the new curriculum will include fewer subjects, Peralta said UST SHS faculty would be equipped for the transition.
“UST is committed to contextualizing the SSHS curriculum to our institutional approach and available resources, including implementing retooling programs for academic staff to ensure that they will be able to continue teaching in the SSHS curriculum,” she said in the UST article.
UST SHS, which has about 230 faculty members, held its first retooling session on June 11. More capacity-building sessions were scheduled before the start of AY 2025-2026.
Bolaños emphasized that UST SHS was “committed to a just and compassionate transition.”
UST is among the 841 public and private schools selected to participate in the DepEd nationwide pilot rollout.
As UST’s largest academic unit with over 5,000 students, SHS was classified by DepEd as a “very large school,” making it ideal for piloting the changes.
Other pilot schools in Manila include De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde SHS, Jose Abad Santos SHS, Nazareth School of National University, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, and the National Teachers’ College.
SHS was first rolled out in the Philippines in 2012 under the K to 12 program of the late president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, adding two years to secondary education.
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.
The revamped curriculum is part of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to rationalize SHS and better prepare students for college and employment.
