Assessment on the Preparation of the Department of Education on the

First Year of Implementation of the Senior High School Program

The Department of Education has made the biggest leap of faith after the daring launch of

the first nationwide implementation of the Senior High School Program as part of the country’s

compulsory Basic Education. This spirit is tantamount to the feeling of former Department of

Education Secretary Brother Armin Luistro. In an interview with GMA correspondent Joseph

Tristan Roxas he said on June 9, 2016, a few days before the date of the Senior High School

Program launching, "Very prepared for a first timer opening 11,000 senior high schools in every

municipality and city. I think this is the boldest move the department has ever undertaken." He

added, "We feel like a mother expectant for its first baby. While we have done everything

possible to prepare for it, I don't think no one can prepare for the great joy that one will see and

realize on the first day of classes."

The feeling of Brother Luistro on the need to improve our educational system is shared in

principle by this paper. However, the repercussion on the unpreparedness is crucial in defining

the lives of students and in the long terms their families. Another implication to look into is the

collateral sacrifices of the Higher Educational Institutions especially those from private

universities who have to endure the two years of no enrollment due to the inclusion of additional

two years in the Basic Education. It is also worthy of consideration that a sizeable number of

instructors of colleges and universities were retrench because of lack in the teaching load. These

detriments to individuals and institutions should not be for naught. The least the Department of

Education has to give in return is to provide the helpful environment and resources for the

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enrollees and for the program to respond to the call for appropriateness in terms of competence

in knowledge and skills to be taught.

It is therefore only natural that everyone is hoping that the statement made by Brother

Armin Luistro is true to its highest form. He said, ―I am so certain that there will be challenges

on Day 1 but none of those will be insurmountable especially since our schools, our divisions

have prepared for this in the past 2-3 years."

This paper will specify the preparedness claimed by the Department of Education in their

launch of the Senior High School Program as what the former Secretary earlier mentioned. On

the other side of the coin, this will also discuss its critics in order to make an assessment on the

program’s preparedness. With such non biased view of the real facts, it is hope that the

identification process on the gaps, if there is any, will serve as an eye opener for those

concerned. Thus, it could be a way to recognize any room for improvement which could alleviate

the detriments of unprepared implications

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 Preparations of the Department of Education

According to the official statement of the government, (Official Gazette of the Republic

of the Philippines) adding two years in the basic education is making our education system at par

with the rest of the world. Before the implementation of the Senior High School, we are one of

the three countries in the world, with Angola and Djibouti as the other two, which has a 10 year

basic education program. The thirteen years of education makes us among the countries who

meet the global standards.

With our country having 2.4 million workers abroad (Philippine Statistics Authority,

2016), not being globally competitive with educational background means getting low paydays

at the end of the bargain. With such data, it is only imperative that the Philippines should adapt a

13 year basic education program. As this phenomenon is recognized by the Philippine Congress,

they submitted Republic Act 10533 entitled ―An Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education

System by Strengthening its Curriculum and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic

Education, Appropriating Funds Therefor and for Other Purposes.‖ This was signed into law by

President Benigno S. Aquino III on May 13, 2016. (Official Gazette of the Republic of the

Philippines)

A. Enrollment

According to the report of Mateo(2016) 1.4 million students finished Grade 10 last 2016

and from there Luistro relayed that, ―between 700,000 to 800,000 will be accommodated by the

public schools while at least 400,000 will be enrolled in state and local universities and colleges,

and private schools.‖ Despite the approximated 400,000 dropouts Luistro dispelled the

impression that Senior High School Program is to blame. He said, ―If you look at the historical

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numbers in the past two to three decades, for every graduate of former 4 th year high school, only

half of them even dared apply or enter into the next level college of technical school. Even

without the K-12 reform, the traditional numbers we have in the Philippines is half of them don’t

even take up the next level (Cruz, 2016). For those that cannot be accommodated by the public

school the Department subsidize them through the voucher program ranging from P8,750 to

P22,000 (Tucay, 2016).

With regards accessibility, the Deped Press Releases issued a statement that ensures

(Department of Education, 2016) SHS program offerings of 28,844 dispersed among 5,990

DepEd public schools nationwide. Aside from this, there are 28,991 SHS programs offered by

5,046 private schools, public and private universities and colleges, and technical-vocational

institutions nationwide.

B. Teachers

According to Quintas and Miasco (2016) DepEd started accepting applications from

teachers last January until February of 2016 wherein they are positive to reach their target of

37,000 teachers nationwide this 2016 alone for Senior High School. The department hires two

kinds of teachers: those who will teach the core subjects, and those who will teach the

specialized subjects per track.

As the curriculum is intended to narrow the gap between industry and the academe, the

Department of Education acquired the expertise of persons who actually practice the theories of

the curriculum. Others were instructors from Higher Educational Institutions who were displaced

due to the 2 years of no enrollments consequential of the launching of the Senior High School.

Due to these characteristics of new teachers a mass training was done in order to orient the newly

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hired of the approaches, strategies and the educational system of public school (DM 057 and 067

2016 of Division of Cavite)

C. Curriculum

According to the press release of Department of Education (2014), since 2013 they have

been staging a series of workshops which included every region. In these occasions

representatives of all regions were brief on the SHS curriculum as well as a planning of actual

implementation per region . The reason behind this is conveyed by Rizalino Rivera,

Undersecretary for Regional Operations as he said, ―As we approach 2016 ( target launching)

we need to make sure that everyone in DepEd is on the same page,‖ adding that while DepEd

field offices have already been preparing since last 2013, it was necessary to share ideas and

best practices. Undersecretary for Programs and Projects Dina Ocampo presented the SHS

curriculum during a workshop in Baguio last 2014 as the Department’s vision is to have a

curriculum for learners and clarified that it was something that needed to be further developed

by those on the field. ―The best curricula are the ones that are contextualized by those

implementing it. What we’re presenting now is the ‘intended’ curriculum,‖ Ocampo

explained, adding that the regional offices were expected to adapt the curriculum to their

learners.

According to the Department of Education (2012) their years of preparation for the

curriculum of the Senior High School is to ensure that there will be significant improvements

as compared from the previous curriculum . With such the Official Gazette of the Republic of

the Philippines stated that the curriculum guides of Senior High School are all done and is

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available on the DepEd website. It is the first time in history that the entire curriculum is

digitized and made accessible to the public.

When examined, the Senior High School curriculum contains several features that

emanate higher level of design and approaches. First, the K to 12 curriculum is decongested.

The new curriculum focuses on understanding for mastery and has removed the unnecessarily

repeated competencies. Second, the K to 12 curriculum is seamless. This ensures smooth

transition between grade levels and continuum of competencies through spiral progression

where learning of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes increases in depth and breadth.

There is also continuity of competencies and standards from elementary to secondary level

through a unified curriculum framework. The unified standards and competencies ensure

integration of what learners learn across grade levels and across learning areas for a more

meaningful learning.

Third, the K to 12 curriculum is relevant and responsive as it centers on the Filipino

learner; it is developmentally appropriate (age appropriate) and focuses on succeeding in the

21st century. Moreover, the curriculum responds to the needs of the community: an

agricultural town may offer agricultural elective courses; a coastal area, fishery elective

courses; an urban area, industrial arts. Learning will be systematically matched with labor

market requirements.

Fourth, the K to 12 Curriculum is enriched. It uses integrative, inquiry-based and

constructive approaches to develop the competencies of learners. Lastly, the K to 12

curriculum is learner-centered. It focuses on the optimum development of the Filipino child.

Moreover, the result of years of planning and workshop is worth all the efforts made.

Quintas and Miasco (2016) quote the Department of Education as it said that the Senior High

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School Curriculum is standards and competence-based, is inclusive and is built around the

needs of the learners and the community. The two years of Senior High School consists of two

parts: Track Subjects—covering the development of skills for immediate employment or

entrepreneurship, and Core Subjects—to ensure college readiness of graduates. It also

facilitates four career tracks for students to choose from: Academic, Technical-Vocational-

Livelihood, Sports, and Art & Design.

The four different career tracks provide flexibility. Depending on the goals of the

student, as well as the community and industry requirements in a particular region, the Track

Subject Curriculum enhances the value and relevance of the high school diploma. Equally

important, the Core Subject Curriculum, remaining invariable for all schools, provides an

opportunity for everyone to be equally well-prepared for a college education academically.

According to Shahani (2015), by integrating the awarding of TESDA National

Certificates at the high school level, K-12 students—now of employable age upon

graduation—would already qualify for decent entry-level jobs. This also increases the

financial capabilities of high school graduates who desire to pursue advancement through

higher education.

Furthermore, the SHS curriculum also addresses the redundancy of college-level general

education programs, which presently cover material that should have already been mastered

at the pre-university level. This can result in higher education institutions being more focused

on the specifics of various degrees, rather that consuming so much of the first two years

remedying the inadequate competencies of the old 10-year program.

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 Thus, the two additional years will equip learners with skills that will better prepare

them for the future, whether it is employment, entrepreneurship, skills development (further

Tech-Voc training) or study in Higher Education (College).

D. Textbooks and Teaching Guides

Some textbooks were already delivered while others are being bid out (Official

Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines). However, Department of Education has an

online portal with learner modules that are like online textbooks, which can be reprinted

by schools in case books have not been delivered yet (Department of Education, 2015).

There are also allocated computer package as part of the DepEd Computerization

Program (DCP) as listed in DM 106, s. 2015. On the tools and materials for Technical

Vocational and Livelihood track, the Central Office transfers funds to respective

Regional Offices, which, in turn, will procure the TVL tools and equipment based on the

program data submitted by the school.

E. Classrooms

According to Shahani (2015) DepEd said that it has constructed 27,499 classrooms to

cover the SHS implementation of 2016. This was done as DepEd in response to the fact

that every additional year in the basic education system requires 20,000 to 28,000 public

classrooms.

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 Critique on the Preparations of Senior High School Program

I. Enrollment

JP Rosos’, the League of Filipino Student national spokesperson, release a

statement implying that former Secretary Luistro’s opinion on the term dropout due to

SHS Program is a misnomer is an insensitive declaration . He was quoted by Mateo

(2016) in saying ―Luistro is dead wrong when he wants the people to celebrate this

year’s school opening. If there is anything that is correct in his statement, it is true that

this is a historic moment. Indeed, it is an earth-shattering moment that our government

implements a program that will lead to a million dropouts in just its first year of full

implementation.”

As proof of the number of dropouts Mateo (2016) stated that in Metro Manila,

only 181 public senior high schools were has SHS Program , with 574 non-DepEd

schools given permit to offer Grades 11 and 12 . As a result of the limitations of public

schools, low enrollment was observed in public high schools. For instance, Batasan

Hills, with more than 2,600 students who completed Grade 10 last March, only 89 have

enrolled for senior high. The school has a capacity rate of 670 Grade 11 students. In

Lagro, the school has 1,600 Grade 10 completers, but only 500 of the 800 senior high

school slots have been filled. The same case was recorded at the Commonwealth High

School, where only around 330 of 650 slots were filled. It had over 1,000 Grade 10

completers. Luistro said historic figures would show that former fourth year high school

graduates usually enroll in private universities and colleges.

If the statement of Luistro is true to its form, a conflicting scenario was faced by

Maria Noemi Moncada, principal of Lagro High School. She said some students who

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 initially signified intention to enroll in private institutions ended up at their school.

Moncada said there were instances when parents who have vouchers from Deped still had

to pay once they enrolled their children in a private school. In connection with this,

incoming Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago emphasized the additional cost to parents

of P100,000 to P200,000 per student. This only highlights the inaccessibility to

education for some, given the poverty situation hounding the country.

With regards accessible education Lagon (2015) shared his concern on the problem of

proximity. If the high school in an area will only offer Sports Track, then a local student

who wishes to take STEM strand still needs to spend time and money to enroll in a

relatively farther school just to take the chosen career path given that the high schools in

the provinces are many kilometers apart. Such may discourage students to pursue SHS

which is contrary to the very essence of K-to-12 program.

II. Teachers

Olete and Artuz (2016) quoted Anabelle Dela Cerna, the Teacher’s Dignity

Coalition Vice Chairwoman for Visayas as saying that teachers that are tasked in

handling SHS ―are not prepared and competent.” She added that she was dismayed in

learning that teachers will only be trained by less than a month. As she said, ―A coarse

that is basically very new to them but they need to learn for a short time because they

started teaching it last June.‖

III. Curriculum

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 Dr. Herman Lagon (2015), the assistant Principal of Ateneo de Iloilo, has contrary

beliefs to the claim of the Department of Education that one of the features of the SHS

curriculum is its being decongested. Apparently it has removed the unnecessary repeated

competencies. He relayed that the DepEd’s strict requirement on the 80 hours per subject

would mean 32.5 units per semester load (if translated in college vernacular) or 6.5

contact hours daily which is in a way an epitome of a congested curriculum.

As quoted Dr. Lagon (2015) continued, ―some specialized subjects in the STEM

strand seem to be out of sync. Imagine future nurses or doctors forced to take calculus

and calculus based physics—subjects that are not required in their college prospectus. In

the other extreme, imagine our future civil, computer, electrical, or mechanical engineers

coerced to take higher biology. There appears to be some sort of a slipup when the

framers of the STEM program fail to impeccably consider alignment in the equation. But

such basic SHS principle has been partly abandoned when GAS strand was offered.‖

With such Dr. Lagon seems to be implying that the very reason of long curriculum

preparation seems to be defeated in terms of its purpose.

IV. Textbooks and Teaching Guides

According to Quintas and Miasco (2016), the Senior High School Program has no

learning materials and textbooks for they are still bidding it out until the very moment. In

relation to this, Teachers for Dignity Coalition, is calling for the suspension of the

implementation of the K to 12 Program because the Philippine government is not yet

ready to implement it. As quoted Anabelle dela Cerna, TDC vice chairman for the

Visayas, said: "We are calling for the suspension of K to 12! We need to solve all the

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 problems of the educational system then rigorously plan the new curriculum," Dela

Cerna added, ―books and learning materials for junior high school are not even

completed, how much more the learning materials for SHS.‖

To clarify matters Tucay (2015) in her report added that the K-to-12 program

requires the printing of a minimum of 60 million textbooks, since textbooks designed for

the previous 10-year curriculum will be rendered obsolete. On this toll order, the final leg

belongs to the Senior High School Program. That is how prepared the Deped is regarding

textbooks and other learning materials.

Classrooms

According to Ibon Foundation (2016) they got information from an insider with

regards the Department of Education’s assurance that 1.5 million Grade 10 completers

can be accommodated by SHS facilities. The declaration includes the continuance of

double-shifting. Double-shifting refers to having two shifts of classes in one room each

day due to insufficient facilities. ―Hindi pa tapos yung ibang classrooms for SHS,‖

according to the source.

In a school in Metro Manila, classes did not start until July because the SHS

school building was under construction. In Central Visayas and Mindanao, schools are

obliged to share spaces such as classrooms, offices and gymnasiums with secondary

classes as around 3,000 SHS classrooms are still under construction.

In Calamba, Laguna, a teacher relayed that there was a plan to construct a new

building on a vacant lot beside their school but it has not materialized. Thus, their Grade

10 completers had only three SHS-ready public schools in the vicinity to choose from,

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 but these offered incomplete tracks. ―The private schools directly approached public

schools to convince students to enroll at their facilities by way of career orientation

activities,‖ the teacher narrated.

Assessment on the Preparation for the First Year of

Implementation of the Senior High School Program

In order to delimit the purpose of this paper, it has to clarify first that it believes

on the need for our educational system to be at par with international standards. If this is

not done, this has its own share of repercussions to the nation. What this paper will focus

on is not the righteousness of the decision to implement change in the educational

system. This is to give considerations to the preparations done by the Department of

Education in relation to the first year of implementation of the Senior High School

Program. With that in mind, five facets of the implementation is put into scrutiny. The

two sides of the coin was already presented and with a discreet comparison of both

parties, this paper has found basis on the need to address the room for improvement on all

the five facets namely; enrollment, teachers, curriculum, textbooks and teaching guides,

and classrooms.

Enrollment

There are contradictory declaration in the number of possible enrollees for Senior

High School as shown in the statements of Deped when they are defending the K – 12 in

Congress and the weeks before or after the Senior High School launch last June 13. In

the report of Tucay (2015) Department of Education estimated to around 2 million

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students will enroll for Senior High School during their Basic Education Midterm Report‖

to Congress last March 2015. However come June 2016 during the launch of the Senior

High School it goes down to as low as 1.4 million (Mateo, 2016). This is important in order

to have a good approximation not only on the figures of enrollees but also of dropped outs.

Check and balance should be considered especially that lives of the next generation are on

the line. An independent monitoring could have prevented this doubtful scenario.

There is basis in the revelation of Lagon (2015) in terms of accessibility of specific

tracks in SHS appropriate for a potential talent. There is really the problem of proximity

more so in provinces where high schools are far apart. This happens because some tracks

are not offered in all schools. For example, let’s say a student of a poor household wanted

to enroll in cookery or computer hardware servicing. If the high school in an area will

only offer General Academic strand, the student will have to enroll in an expensive

private school where the student will still pay despite the voucher program. Or he could

travel several kilometers and spend time and money for transportation every day.

The K-12 should have decided what their priority is. If the need is to empower those

poverty stricken communities, they should let them be part of the solution by laying them

the strategic choices. Then if there are lots of students who are inclined in not continuing

their studies in college, the fund of the government should then focus on having the

majority of schools in that community to offer Technical-Vocational and Livelihood

tracks. Of course, there are few who will not want this track because they choose the

other tracks. But the point is, the common good of the majority is serve and the

development of the country is given consideration.

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Teachers

Olete and Artuz (2016) share the sentiments of Dela Cerna in saying that the

teachers of Senior High School are ―not prepared and competent.” In fairness to the

Department of Education, there is a guideline in hiring Senior High School teachers (Deped

Order no. 3 series of 2016). There shall be a screening committee to ensure an impartial

evaluation of the following factors; Education, Teaching/Industry/workplace experience,

Specialized training, Interview, English Communication skills, Outstanding achievements, and

Demonstration teaching. With the criteria are the assigned points.

Thus, it is expected that a Senior High School teacher can teach just like any other public

school teacher. Despite such capabilities, there is reason to believe that the short period of

training will affect in the performance of some but if they have the passion to teach they will

improve themselves. Most likely, the Department’s ace is on the resilience of the newly hired and

their innovativeness. The sad news is that these newly hired will have to compensate to whatever

is lacking in the system only to satisfy their idealistic principles.

Curriculum

Contrary to the claim of the Department of Education of a decongested

curriculum, Lagon (2015) commented that the SHS curriculum is congested. From a

standpoint of someone who teaches the said curriculum, it can be said that they are both

right and there is no contradiction. The truth is as compared to New Secondary Education

Curriculum and the Revised Basic Education Curriculum, the Senior High School

Curriculum is decongested as to the number of competencies and contents to tackle

within a required period of time of a specific subject..

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 Lagon’s(2015) view that it is congested is based on the number of hours and the

number of required subjects. According to him this is congested as compared to the

contact time in college. This is a debatable issue between him and the Department of

Education for, of course, there is a difference between a high school students’ and a

college students’ contact time.

If the congested and decongested issue is not definitive, the next point of Lagon is

very valid. The STEM strand has a very big loop hole. The curriculum has a calculus in

their curriculum while it is not even required to the courses leading to being doctors and

nurses. There is a student in Trece Martires City who was a consistent quiz bee contender

in Science during Junior High School that got a 70 in Pre-calculus while the student

passes in the General Mathematics subject.

There is a saying that the language of science is Mathematics. But the

Department of Education should have considered that there is a difference between the

Mathematics of Engineers and Doctors. Dr. Lagon knew it because he is the former

President and now one of the Advisers of the Mathematics Teachers Association of the

Philippines Iloilo Chapter, Inc. (MTAP-IC, Inc.) and currently the Assistant Principal of

Ateneo de Iloilo-SMCS High School Department.

Textbooks and Teaching Guides

According to a Memorandum of the Department of Education (Memorandum

7634) with subject of, ―Update No. 3 on the Procurement of Senior High School

Teaching and Learning Materials for the First Semester of School Year 2016-17‖ dated

June 6, 2016 there are 23 textbooks and 21 teacher’s materials expected to be delivered

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 for the first semester which supposed to have ended on October 21, 2016. This

memorandum recognizes that the learning materials were not in the schools on June 5,

2016, barely 8 days before the launching of the Senior High School Program. The truth of

the matter is, books are still incomplete until now.

Classrooms

Analysis of the facts stated by the Department of Education and their critics has

shown the depth of the problem of the educational system. According to Tucay (2015)

there are 65,000 classroom shortages before the launch of Senior High School. Now after

the additional year of Senior High School additional classroom shortage of 20,000 must

be met. Additional 20,000 classrooms next year for the grade 12. It seems that the room

shortage is one step ahead of the building construction for the Department of Education.

Conclusion:

The problems facing the Senior High School requires us to do our share in making

it succeed for the future of the next generation. This paper did not intend to embarrass the

Department of Education. It revealed the true nature of the problems facing us in order to

remind the ones who are supposed to get the credit if ever they delivered what was

expected of them. Also it reminds those in the side line that the ones given the challenge

are also humans and the problems are bigger than their consolidated forces. In line with

this, sharing ones abilities whether in small things can lessen the burden of making

learning materials while books are still on its way. A tap in the shoulder can strengthen

a Senior High School teacher during their transition to an organization using all the space

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 it could get in as many students not to mention the humidity. Another reminder is no one

can claim a mastery of this new curriculum.

References:

Cruz R. G. (2016), Deped preps for opening of Senior High School. Times of News.

http://philippines.timesofnews.com/ deped-preps-for-opening-of-senior-high-school

Department of Education(2012) K to 12 Toolkit. Reference Guide for Teacher Educators, School

Administrators and Teachers. pages 3-4.

Department of Education (2014). Education officials prepare for Senior High School

implementation. http://www.deped.gov.ph/press-releases/education-officials-prepare-

senior-high-school-implementation

Department of Education (2015). Senior High School Manual of Operations Volume 1 Preparing

for the Opening of SHS Classes pages 34 and 38.

Department of Education (2016) Memorandum 7634, ―Update No. 3 on the Procurement of

Senior High School Teaching and Learning Materials for the First Semester of School

Year 2016-17. http://depedcalabarzon.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Memorandum-

7634.pdf

Department of Education (2016).School Calendar for 2016-17. DO 23 series of 2016.

http://www.deped.gov.ph/sites/default/files/order/2016/DO_s2016_23_0.pdf page 1

Department of Education (2016). What has been done to get ready for K to 12

http://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/faq

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Department of Education (2016). Deped Press Releases. http://www.deped.gov.ph/press-

releases/over-57000-senior-high-school-program-offerings-available-nationwide

Department of Education (2016). Deped Order no. 3 series of 2016

http://www.deped.gov.ph/sites/default/files/order/2016/DO_s2016_03.pdf page 9

Ibon Foundation (2016). SHS: Public Funds for Private Gain Refrain. http://ibon.org/2016/06/

shs-public-funds-for-public-gain-refrain/

Lagon, Herman M.(2015) SHS Revolution. The Daily Guardian. http://thedailyguardian.net

/iloilo-opinion/54120-shs-revolution-2

Mateo, Jonvic (2016). Up to .4 M due to Senior High School. The Philippine Star.http://www.

philstar.com/headlines/2016/06/14/1592807/400000-m-dropouts-due-senior-high

Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. RA 10533. http://www.gov.ph/2013/05/15/

republic-act-no-10533/

Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, www.gov.ph,/k-12/

Olete, Charmine Grace and Artuz, Patrocinio (2016). Teacher’s Readiness to SHS. Press Reader.

https://www.pressreader.com

Philippine Statistics Office (2016), https://psa.gov.ph/tags/overseas-filipinos. Retrieved on

Quintas, Kristine B. and Miasco, May B. (2016). K TO 12 Are we ready for Senior High?

Philippine Star. http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2016/04/26/1577040/k-12-are-we-

ready-senior-high-conclusion

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Roxas, Joseph (2016) Deped 'Very Prepared' For Senior High School Roll Out. GMA News.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/569355/news/nation/deped-very-prepared-for-

senior-high-school-roll-out#sthash.dBD1EUmA.dpuf

Tucay, Marjohara (2015). K-12: Who loses, who profits. Philippine Daily Inquirer.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/85551/k-12-who-loses-who-profits#ixzz4PmdoBbwB

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