Angara reiterates need to streamline SHS curriculum

MANILA, Philippines —  Education Secretary Sonny Angara has reiterated the need to streamline the senior high school (SHS) curriculum in order for students to have more time for on-the-job training and other work immersion activities.

“We’re in the middle of a review of our senior high school curriculum. We want to place a greater emphasis on links with industry and place more hours (on apprenticeship),” Angara said in his speech during the Day of the Future event hosted by the Switzerland embassy yesterday.

He added that the industry requests that SHS graduates render more hours on on-the-job training and apprenticeship, which reflects President Marcos’ instruction to make the graduates more employable.

Angara admitted that the K-12 (Kindergarten to Grade 12) basic education program, which started implementation in 2013, has not been successful in its main goal of improving the employability of graduates.

“Unfortunately, we’re still struggling with the contents of the curriculum and trying to simplify it and make it more responsive to the needs of industry. And we’re aiming for greater mastery (of key subjects) also,” he added.

Angara had earlier directed the concerned units of the Department of Education (DepEd) to fast-track the review of the SHS curriculum and possibly reduce the subjects to just five or six “to let learners focus more on work immersion.”

He also highlighted the need for more collaboration with the private sector, especially with global companies.

“The jobs are out there but universities are not producing the graduates (fit for the available jobs)...We really have to talk to industries to see what their goods are,” Angara said.

Angara said the DepEd and the entire education sector of the government must “do a better job” of looking into the “industries of the future” or those industries that can generate jobs for the graduates such as the information technology or IT industry, the cybersecurity industry and nursing.

“Each company needs cybersecurity defense but there are not enough cybersecurity graduates. So these are opportunities for TESDA, these are opportunities for our universities, our colleges and even our senior high schools,” Angara pointed out.

“The government has to do a better job of quarterbacking or orchestrating the various industries and agencies involved so that we move more in concert, given our geography. Given the way decisions are made, over 7,000 islands, there has to be more direction,” he added.