Whichever agency is in charge of the senior high school program, the primordial concern must be the provision of quality education. The Department of Education, which is in charge of basic learning, must show that it can match or even do a better job with senior high school students than the Commission on Higher Education.
CHED entered into an agreement with the Department of Education back in 2015, allowing state universities and colleges or SUCs to temporarily offer the senior high school program from 2016 to 2021 as part of the transition to Kindergarten-to-12. This was to mitigate the impact of a drop in enrollment in SUCs due to the additional two years of high school.
Because of the pandemic and the shift to distance learning, the transition period went beyond the schedule. Last Dec. 18, with no more legal basis to fund the program because of the agreement, CHED ordered SUCs to stop offering Grade 12 classes for the coming academic year 2024-2025, although those currently enrolled will be allowed to finish senior high school in the SUCs. With the K-12 transition over, there is no more gap in SUC enrollment, so DepEd can take charge of Grade 12, which is part of basic education, CHED officials pointed out.
DepEd has expressed readiness to accommodate the incoming batch of senior high school students. Whether the SHS program is under the DepEd or CHED, the government offers universal free public education all the way to college, so tuition will still be free for students in the public school system.
What the government can monitor is the impact of the shift on class sizes and the resources of DepEd. Approximately 17,000 students are expected to enroll in Grade 12 in the coming school year. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers has expressed concern that without additional facilities and manpower, Grade 12 classes under DepEd will be too large and cumbersome for educators. This can adversely impact the quality of education, ACT warned.
As CHED pointed out, placing the SHS program under SUCs was merely a temporary measure to keep the higher education institutions viable during the transition to K-12. With the transition complete, both DepEd and the SUCs can focus on the main concern, which is putting an end to the crisis in Philippine education.