DepEd to trim core subjects in senior high curriculum to '5 or 6'

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education plans to cut the number of core subjects in the senior high school curriculum from the current 15 to just "five or six."

Education Secretary Sonny Angara, speaking at a conference of education leaders and experts in Asia on Thursday, November 7, stressed the need to trim the senior high school curriculum to free up more time for work immersion.

"If we reduce the subjects of our SHS curriculum, the students will have more time for on-the-job training or work immersion needed by the industry," Angara said, adding that this would make senior high school graduates more employable. 

"We’re on the right direction to reduce the core subjects of our SHS curriculum to just five or six subjects," said Angara, according to a DepEd press release.

International education experts have previously described the country's basic education curriculum as overcrowded. Angara has echoed these findings as he vows to streamline the DepEd curriculum. 

These are the 15 core subjects of DepEd's senior high curriculum:

• Oral Communication
• Reading and Writing
• Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wika at Kulturang Filipino
• Pagbasa at Pagsusuri ng Iba’t Ibang Teksto tungo sa Pananaliksik
• 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
• Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions
• Media and Information Literacy
• General Mathematics 
• Statistics and Probability
• Earth and Life Science
• Physical Science
• Personal Development
• Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
• Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person
• Physical Education and Health

Decongestion. Under former DepEd Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte, the education department introduced a new curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 10 in 2023, slashing the number of learning competencies by 70%.

This year, the new curriculum has rolled out its first phase for Kindergarten, Grades 1, 4 and 7, kicking off a five-year implementation plan.

RELATED: DepEd’s new ‘decongested’ K-10 curriculum aims to arrest learning losses

Meanwhile, Grade 11 and 12 students still follow the old curriculum pending DepEd's revisions to it.

While DepEd could not provide a timeline for the launch of the new senior high curriculum, Angara has already urged his team to expedite the review. "Consultations with different stakeholders and experts are ongoing," said Dennis Legaspi, Angara's media relations chief, told reporters.

To fast-track its review of the senior high school curriculum, DepEd met with consultants of the Asian Development Bank on Monday, November 4. The meeting focused on reviewing the senior high program structure and proposing changes to the English, Science, and Mathematics curriculum guides. 

The ADB team is also set to provide DepEd with technical assistance for its curriculum review and revision.

Employability. More businesses in the Philippines are now willing to hire senior high school graduates than before, but preference for college diploma-holders remains overwhelming, according to a study by the Philippine Business for Education (PBed) published in July.

The private sector-led group found four out of five firms are willing to hire senior high school graduates, up from the results of the 2018 study where only three out of five expressed openness to the idea. 

Nearly half of all firms surveyed said they had available jobs for K to 12 graduates, according to the study. But these are mostly entry-level positions in the service sector or entry-level administrative jobs that fresh college graduates are already vying for. 

PBEd noted that the industry still "generally prefers" hiring applicants with a college degree.