DepEd ready to accommodate all incoming senior high students

MANILA, Philippines —  Public schools have enough facilities and teachers to accommodate over 17,000 Grade 11 students who would be displaced by the discontinuation of senior high school (SHS) programs in state and local universities and colleges (SUCs and LUCs), the Department of Education (DepEd) said yesterday.

Since the K-12 transition period began in 2016, the government enacted “aggressive” measures to ensure all schools nationwide would have sufficient facilities and teachers for SHS students, DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas said.

“That’s why when the transition period ended during the school year 2021-2022, we have already provided enough senior high school buildings and teachers, and we continue to provide facilities and personnel for senior high schools,” Bringas said in an interview aired over GMA News.

He said DepEd regional offices have reported that each public school division can accommodate an average of 250 learners, enough to accommodate 17,700 incoming Grade 11 students.

DepEd’s data shows that about 160 SUCs and LUCs offered senior high school programs before the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)’s directive for all SUCs and LUCs to stop offering SHS programs starting next school year (SY 2024-2025).

SUCs and LUCs offered senior high school programs as part of an agreement with DepEd for the transition period for K to 12 from 2016 to 2021 when most colleges and universities would have little to no freshmen.

Bringas said with the discontinuation of SHS programs in SUCs and LUCs, students and their parents may consider transferring to public schools “which is free” or in private schools where they can receive vouchers to subsidize school fees.

Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Francis Escudero – both co-chairpersons of the Second Congressional Commission on Education – urged authorities to address the needs of students enrolled in SUCs and LUCs who would be affected by the discontinuation of the SHS program.

The DepEd should ensure that the displaced learners get admitted not only in public schools, but also in private where they should benefit from the student voucher program, Gatchalian said.

Teachers and non-teaching personnel who taught these students in the public universities and risk losing their jobs should also be assisted in return for their help in the transition to the K-12 program, he added.

Escudero, who chairs the Senate committee on higher, technical and vocational education, added that while the discontinuance of the senior high program was legal, it should not be at the expense of learners who suddenly found themselves transferring to other schools.

‘Haphazard’ discontinuation

Students and teachers’ groups yesterday pushed back against the “haphazard” discontinuation of senior high school programs in public higher education institutions, calling for the government to extend the K-12 transition period.

In a joint statement, the Teacher’s Dignity Coalition (TDC) and Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) said yanking the SHS program from SUCs and LUCs without considering possible drawbacks could lead to another learning crisis.

“We thus urge national agencies on education to extend the K-12 transition period to take into account the time and resources needed,” they added.

The groups said the government needs to ensure that all public and private institutions can absorb all affected learners without congesting schools.

The groups also stressed the importance of ensuring families are not burdened with additional costs of transferring schools, such as fare, uniforms and document processing.

DepEd should also ensure that the quality of education learners receive from SUCs and LUCs does not decline.

“In line with this, the DepEd must guarantee the performance of schools and rid itself of diploma mills and fly-by-night schools that have sprouted since the inception of the K-12 program,” the groups said, adding the need for DepEd to rid itself of private educational institutions that fail to meet labor standards.

Further, TDC and SPARK also called for the government to ensure all SHS and teachers would not suffer from “economic displacement,” stressing the need for public schools to absorb SHS teachers previously employed in SUCs and LUCs “without loss of compensation and benefits.”

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) warned against the discontinuation amid shortages in schools nationwide, saying they expect shortages in classrooms, learning materials and equipment that will “surely result in more overloading of our teachers.”

ACT called on the Marcos administration to increase funding of public schools to deal with massive shortages and support SUCs and LUCs offering SHS programs rather than shutting them down.

In response, CHED Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III said he understands the position of teachers and students and left the matter with the board of regents and trustees of SUCs and LUCs for the next steps they need to take. – Marc Jayson Cayabyab