BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

The Department of Education (DepEd) recently conducted a series of consultations with stakeholders, private sector representatives, and industry partners to strengthen the Senior High School (SHS) Program and ensure future-ready Filipino learners.

The dialogues, held on January 8, 10, and 15, engaged 31 private schools and technical vocational institutions (TVIs), 14 companies and organizations from various regions, 7 government agencies, and representatives from different offices of DepEd Central Office to gather feedback and recommendations for refining the SHS curriculum.

“We have to make our high school graduates employable. And they have to go into quality jobs. Huwag lang yung jobs that will barely earn them a living wage or enable them to feed their family. Enable them to live a quality life,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized.

The key principles guiding the revision of the SHS Program include decongesting and simplifying the SHS curriculum, putting a premium on learner choice, ensuring “stackability and seamlessness” to facilitate progression, and strengthening the industry linkages.

The DepEd Chief assured that the consultations would be an ongoing collaboration to further improve education policies and curriculum.

“Just as I promised our DepEd conversations with TESDA, with industry, with private institutions will be a continuing process. I think it will never stop because in the implementation, industries will continue to evolve, to change. So we need to evolve along with them,” he said.

Sec. Angara called on stakeholders and partners to maintain their support, “With your help, we can come up with something very, very soon. Again, we need you to continuously refine whatever we come up with or decide with.”

In addition to these efforts, the Curriculum and Teaching (CT) strand also held an interface with Curriculum and Human Resource officials and field personnel from 16 Regional and 128 Schools Division Offices on the proposed SHS curriculum.

CT will also conduct local consultations led by Regional CLMD Chiefs from January 24 to February 24.

The SHS consultations were led by the Curriculum and Teaching Strand through the Bureau of Curriculum Development, and by the Office of the Secretary.

*All Photos from DepEd