CHED Discontinues Senior High School Program in Public Universities and Colleges This Year
January 9, 2024
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has ordered state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs) to cease the basic education engagements through the senior high school program starting School Year 2024-2025 since “there is no longer a legal basis to fund it.”
In a memorandum released by CHED on December 18, 2023, the commission stated that its engagement with the Department of Education (DepEd) on the implementation of senior high school programs in SUCs and LUCs should only cover the K to 12 transition period from School Years 2016-2017 to 2020-2021.
Senator Joel Villanueva expressed his support for the decision. In a separate statement, he said that “the move to discontinue the program is in line with the mandate of the country’s higher education institutions (HEIs)” and “it is not the role of HEIs to offer basic education, except for those with laboratory schools.”
As SUCs drop basic education engagements next school year, Villanueva also pointed out that it is important to consider the impact of such a move on senior high students. He said, “[a]s such, we expect that there is sufficient coordination between DepEd and CHED to ensure that there will be no disruption on the education of our students and that there is sufficient DepEd or private sector capacity to take it on.”
Following the disruption setbacks, DepEd data reveal that 17,751 grade 11 students enrolled in public universities may experience displacement in the upcoming school year. Meanwhile, 2,030,451 grade 12 students currently enrolled in SUCs and LUCs are “allowed to finish the academic year,” according to CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III in a media interview.
DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa said that students facing displacement have two options for next school year: enroll in public high schools or enroll in private high schools and avail of the “SHS VP,” a government-subsidized voucher program given to eligible students to enroll in voucher-participating schools of their preference.
In a media interview, CHED Chairman De Vera also debunked circulating rumors that the K to 12 program is abolished, following the commission’s memorandum release in December 2023. He said, “K to 12 is not abolished and CHED has no authority to abolish senior high. Because I’ve been getting reports complaining that I have abolished senior high school. That’s not within the jurisdiction of CHED.”
