Senator Sherwin Gatchalian announced on Sunday his commitment to “shorten” college education in the Philippines, emphasizing the need to prioritize critical thinking skills in senior high school. He plans to file a bill in the 20th Congress aimed at reducing the duration of tertiary education based on the specific program.
Gatchalian highlighted the government’s obligation to fulfill its promise of decreasing college education years, especially after the implementation of an additional two years in high school. His remarks follow President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s admission that the K-12 program, introduced in 2012, has not adequately prepared Filipino students for employment, despite the extended schooling.
The President has left it to Congress to determine whether to amend or completely repeal the K-12 law. In response, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel expressed concern that the government is now struggling to reduce subjects after extending high school years. He suggested that the next Congress should consider scrapping the K-12 program, a proposal that has faced skepticism regarding its impact on institutions and educators involved in senior high school.
As the Philippines commenced the new school year last week, the revised curriculum for the senior high school program was piloted in over 800 schools nationwide. The new curriculum has streamlined core subjects to five: Effective Communication, Life and Career Skills, General Mathematics, General Science, and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino.
Gatchalian proposed that General Education courses be moved to senior high school to “eliminate the duplication of courses and help students focus on their specialization.” He also stressed the importance of teaching soft skills to senior high school learners, including critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, socio-emotional skills, creativity, and collaboration.