(June 6, 2025) – Senator Win Gatchalian on Friday proposed to shorten college education in response to a bill that seeks to remove two years of senior high school (SHS) following criticisms and other issues surrounding the K to 12 education program.
Gatchalian, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said the proposed streamlining of General Education subjects “must fulfill the promise” of K to 12 which is to fast-track students’ graduation through a condensed number of study years at the tertiary level.
“Panahon na upang tuparin ang pangakong bawasan ang taon sa kolehiyo,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
The lawmaker’s reaction came on the heels of Senate Bill No. 3001, which Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada filed on Wednesday to “rationalize” the basic education system.
Estrada noted that the SHS program “has not yet reached its “vision for the K to 12 graduates” because of a “congested” curriculum, overworked teachers and learners, and low employment of SHS graduates.
“This bill is a practical step to fix our basic education system – make it more efficient, use resources better, and give students a more meaningful learning experience,” Estrada said in a news release.
“It has been 12 years now since the enactment of the law, yet it still has not fully achieved its goal. We can’t keep letting students and their parents shoulder the extra time and cost of senior high school,” he added.
Under Republic Act No. 10533, the Philippines changed its basic education system to K to 12 in 2013, from K to 10 previously, adding two years of high school education. Proponents of the law said the K to 12 program aimed to bring the country’s education system close to international standards.
A 2023 survey by the Social Weather Stations showed half of Filipinos expressing dissatisfaction with the K to 12 program.
Education Sec. Sonny Angara for his part admitted the K to 12 program was not well-implemented, but leaves it to Congress whether the SHS program should still be continued.
“Hindi maganda ang naging implementation [ng K to 12] nitong nakaraang dekada. Masyadong marami ang subjects at nakahon masyado ang mga bata. Hindi sila nakakapili ng subject/s,” Angara said.
The Department of Education (DepEd) plans to hold a pilot implementation of a new SHS curriculum starting June.
(AGD)
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