Senator Win Gatchalian is urging the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to collaborate in streamlining the senior high school (SHS) program and reducing college years.
Gatchalian recalled that during the deliberations on the K to 12 Law (Republic Act No. 10533), it was promised that adding two years of high school would shorten the college duration. But, this has not happened.
The Year Two Report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education highlighted low proficiency levels among SHS students, with Grade 12 students scoring below proficiency on the 2022 National Achievement Test.
The senator from Valenzuela noted that senior high school graduates are not college-ready, forcing higher education institutions to implement bridging programs. These programs, however, do not help shorten college duration. He called for the removal of these bridging programs.
“The entire system promised that when we move to K-12, college will be shortened so that the overall duration of schooling would not be extended by an additional two years,” said Gatchalian, also the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
“Mahalagang pag-usapan at pag-isipan ito nang maigi ng DepEd at CHED. Pagsikapan nating mapababa ang bilang ng taon sa kolehiyo upang makapagtapos na sila agad at makapagtrabaho na sila agad,” he added.IMT
