Band-aid on a bullet wound.
The current curriculum of Senior High is nothing short of an academic nightmare. With over 15 “fun” core subjects to be divided into two years, four semesters, limited time to even cover every competency and add on electives that were designated to prepare you for college but were instead luggage because they are not connected to your desired course— it is no wonder students’ first thought of a supposed strengthened curriculum is more of a band-aid on a bullet wound rather than an actual fix on the mess we call our education system.
But whether we like it or not change is coming to the Senior High School and it continues to haunt the minds of students. Starting the next school year, Deped plans to implement a new SHS curriculum that aims to streamline the curriculum we have now. It aims to do this through reducing the current four tracks into just two main paths: Academic and Technical-Professional or TechPro (take it as its TechVoc if you will).
The goal here, according to DepED, is that through this simplification of the current curriculum, students are given more flexibility, more focus on subjects that actually mattered to our preferred course and more time to complete the competencies that prepares us for college and our future careers.
If we take a look at DepED’s proposed plan, the reform might as well look like the holy grail. Instead of being boxed and locked into one strand like STEM, HUMSS, ABM or TechVoc like Dressmaking, students can now choose from bundles of electives in store. So essentially, this makes the new curriculum a nationwide implementation of the GAS (General Academic Strand) strand but with better quirks. A STEM student could have chosen to pursue literature through creative composition while a TechPro student can explore sciences through general physics or biology.
Not only that but instead of the 15 overloaded, completely overreaching, backbreaking subjects— it has now been reduced into a polite 5. These include Effective Communication, Life Skills, General Mathematics, General Science, and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino. This hopes to at least let students focus on mastering skills that matter in the real world rather than juggling too many unrelated courses.
Now on the surface, this is possibly one of the best ideas that has ever come out of modern DepED. Coming from a student who quite literally ended up in the hospital because of overworking (Long story short, I’m fine but my wallet isn't.), the fact that I do not have to grow five hands just to handle numerous subjects but also get to have the liberty of choosing my own electives makes me want to go back to time and redo my entire SHS career under this curriculum.
Because echoing the cries of all graduating senior high students– “Yugs manami bala hu, tani indi na kita ka kinabudlayan sa mga subjects indi man related sa aton course.”
“STEM pero lowkey naging TVL”
Because truth be told, the current SHS curriculum felt more like an underqualified intern trying to write a designated schedule plan for a company, only for it to be filled with conflicting schedules, unrelated activities and a letter that screams “You are fired!”
Especially when it is reported by several experts and news sites such as TV5 that the Senior High School curriculum is too congested to even help prepare students for college.
But then again, who in their right mind would think that it would be a great idea to pressure students, no— 16 year olds to choose a track that would designate their entire future careers.
Yet despite its promise, concerns remain—and implementation will ultimately make or break this reform. Not all schools are equipped to offer the same range of electives. Large, well-funded urban schools may be able to provide options in research, advanced sciences, or specialized technical courses, while smaller or more remote schools may be forced to work with whatever teachers and facilities they already have. A student’s “choice,” then, could end up being limited not by interest or ability, but by geography.
Teacher readiness poses another issue. With training scheduled just weeks—or even days—before classes begin, many educators are expected to adapt to new subjects, new structures, and new expectations almost overnight. A teacher trained in one discipline may suddenly be assigned to handle an elective outside their expertise, not because they are unqualified, but because there is simply no one else. What is meant to be a more focused, student-centered curriculum risks becoming another case of teachers learning alongside their students, struggling to keep up.
And with greater freedom comes greater responsibility—one that students are not always prepared to carry alone. Faced with a menu of electives, some may choose based on convenience, peer influence, or what “sounds easy,” rather than what truly aligns with their goals. Without proper academic advising, a student aiming for a science-heavy college course might unknowingly miss foundational subjects, while another may overload themselves in an attempt to “do it all.”
Without careful planning, what appears to be flexibility could easily turn into confusion—or worse, inequality. A reformed curriculum will only succeed if schools are given adequate resources, teachers are trained thoroughly and given time to adjust, and students are guided with intention. Otherwise, this promise of choice and freedom may end up benefiting only a few, while the rest are left navigating a system that was never fully prepared to support them.
The point is that no matter how many changes they would make to the curriculum, how many subjects they would change, how many hours they would add to immersing us into work culture, one thing will forever stay the same.
The system is flawed not because of the overloaded subjects but rather because they refuse to acknowledge the very root of this mess.
The fact that teachers are often underpaid, overworked and forced to teach subjects they do not know at all, schools are overcrowded yet lack the needed facilities like classrooms and the lack of proper preparation.
There is no use of a strengthened curriculum if you cannot implement the improvements properly.
Only through actually solving these problems by providing teachers proper wages, training and time, focusing on providing the much needed education facilities in schools and not rushing for implementation could this strengthened curriculum truly shine.
After all, this initiative has potential. By reducing the complexity and focusing on skills that truly matter— this could give Senior High impact it truly yearns. But for that potential to truly blossom, schools need support, teachers need preparation, students need guidance and this initiative needs time.
After all, the success of the new curriculum depends not only on its subjects but also on its execution. But then if DepEd could truly nail its implementation then maybe its not a bad idea, right?
