A GROUP of youths and teachers yesterday raised the alarm that the Senior High School (SHS) program in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs), if discontinued, will threaten learners’ rights to accessible and quality education.
In a joint statement, the Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) and the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) said that haphazardly discontinuing the SHS program without guaranteeing improved access and quality of the education system will lead to economic displacement for teachers.
“While we understand that SUCs and LUCs are mandated to offer the SHS program only during the K-12 transition period, we fear that mechanically following suit without serious consideration of the drawbacks on education stakeholders will lead to another learning crisis leaving 17,700 students affected by dislocation and hundreds of thousands more by imminent congestion,” the TDC and SPARK said, referring to the number of Grade 11 students still enrolled in SUCs and LUCs this school year.
Both groups urged the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education to extend the K-12 transition period, taking into account the time and resources needed to ensure that senior high schools, both public and private, can absorb all learners affected by the discontinuation of the SHS program with a sufficient number of instructors, classrooms and other relevant facilities such as laboratories and libraries, among others, to avoid congestion.
“Further, families are relieved of the additional costs of transferring schools such as fare, uniforms, and processing of documents,” they added.
They also called on the DepEd to guarantee the performance of schools and get rid of diploma mills and fly-by-night schools that have sprouted since the inception of the K-12 program and ensure there will be no economic dislocation for all SHS instructors and teachers.
“Public high schools must be able to absorb SHS teachers employed in SUCs and LUCs without loss of compensation and benefits, otherwise teachers risk economic displacement,” they added.
Earlier, DepEd Undersecretary and Spokesperson Michael Poa assured the public that public schools would be able to accommodate SH students who might be displaced due to the discontinuance of the program in SUCs and LUCs.
Poa also said those who will be displaced have two options next school year, namely, to enroll in public schools, or private schools and avail of the government’s subsidy program.
Reacting to TDC and SPARK’s statement, CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera remained adamant that with the end of the K to 12 transition period, universities and colleges have no more basis to still take part in the SHS program as it was part of the basic education which is the purview of the DepEd.
In a memorandum issued last December 18, De Vera said SUCs have no more legal authority nor funding to operate senior high school programs.
De Vera said he was compelled to issue the memorandum after his office learned that several SUCs and LUCs were still accommodating senior high school enrollees as of last year, or two years after the end of the transition period.
Memorandum No.25 issued by CHED in 2016 under the leadership of Chairperson Patricia Licuanan provides for the involvement of SUCs and LUCs in the DepEd’s senior high school program within a 5-year transition period from 2016 to 2021.
MORE DROPOUTS?
Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, a member of the militant Makabayan bloc, said CHED’s move could only increase the country’s dropout rate, saying the reason why many senior high school students go to state universities is because they cannot afford to go to private schools.
Another Makabayan bloc member, Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT), said the DepEd and CHED should have held a series of consultations with the stakeholders before issuing their memoranda cutting the financial aid for Graces 11 and 12 in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs).
“There should have been consultation with students, parents and teachers because they’re the ones affected. Students and parents would lose financial assistance and fight for slots in public high schools.
According to Education Undersecretary Michael Poa, DepEd had stopped providing financial assistance to incoming Grade 11 students in SUCs and LUCs before the school year started so that no one would be displaced.
Under Department Order No. 2023-020 issued on July 26, a month before the start of the current school year of 2023-2024, there would be no more financial assistance to the senior high school voucher program among state and local universities and colleges–except for Grade 12 students in that school year.
“The implementation of these memos should be held in abeyance after a thorough consultation has been done with all of the stakeholders and that their welfare especially the students and teachers are ensured,” Castro said. — With Wendell Vigilia
