Only 4 in 10 happy with senior HS program

MANILA, Philippines — Only four of 10 Filipinos are satisfied with the senior high school (SHS) program, according to a Pulse Asia survey commissioned by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

Gatchalian yesterday said the survey conducted from June 19 to 23 showed that 41 percent of 1,200 respondents expressed satisfaction at their SHS program.

Meanwhile, 42 percent of the respondents said they are dissatisfied, while 16 percent said they are undecided.

The survey showed the failure of the SHS program to prepare the youth for college and eventually for work, Gatchalian said.

He cited a 2020 discussion paper by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies that showed that SHS graduates do not have a clear statistically significant advantage or disadvantage in terms of pay compared to Grade 10 and second-year college completers.

“The additional two years in high school was just an added financial burden to the parents,” Gatchalian said.

“There is dissatisfaction because the students do not see the benefits in the program,” he added.

Review

The Department of Education (DepEd) said it is committed to improving the SHS curriculum amid the high dissatisfaction with the current program.

“We have created the National Task Force to review the implementation of SHS program. Bureau of Curriculum Development has also started its review of the SHS curriculum following the revision of the K-10 (basic education) curriculum,” DepEd assistant secretary Francis Cesar Bringas said in a statement Saturday night.