Sen. Jinggoy Estrada files bill seeking removal of senior high school education
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has filed a bill seeking to remove the senior high school level under the K to 12 program after it "failed to deliver its promised benefits."
In the Senate Bill No. 3001, Estrada is proposing the removal of the SHS level in order to "rationalize the country's basic education system." He noted that 12 years since the Republic Act No. 10533, also known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, was made into law, it "still has not fully achieved its goal."
"We can't keep letting students and their parents shoulder the extra time and cost of senior high school. Bakit natin hahayaan na patuloy na maging dagdag pasanin sa oras at gastusin ang dalawang taon sa high school level?" the Senate President Pro Tempore said in the statement.
The SHS program aimed to provide students with specialized education based on their interests, equipping them either for higher education, employment, or entrepreneurial ventures.
In the bill, Estrada cited the admission of Department of Education officials that the SHS program failed to achieve its goals for K-12 graduates due to "congested curriculum, overworked teachers and students, and the low employment rate of SHS graduates, with only 10% entering the workforce - mostly in informal sectors."
He also noted that survey results from Pulse Asia Research Inc. in March 2025 showed only 33% of respondents were satisfied with the SHS program, while 40% expressed dissatisfaction.
Estrada added that the proposed bill retains the fundamental principles of RA 10533 and will only remove the SHS level "to simplify the high school system," while ensuring to provide quality education that will meet global standards.
"This bill is a practical step to fix our basic education system - make it more efficient, use resources better, and give students a more meaningful learning experience," said Estrada.
Prior to this, House Bill 11213, titled "An Act Providing Education Pathways for Basic Education Students," which seeks to give students "two educational pathways" to ease the burden of tuition costs on parents, has passed the second reading.
In 2024, the Commission on Higher Education ordered the state universities and colleges, and local universities and colleges to stop offering the SHS program for the academic year 2024-2025, since these institutions' engagement in basic education through the K-12 transition period is limited from "SY 2016-2017 to SY 2020-2021 only." SUCs and LUCs with laboratory schools were allowed to accept enrollees, but these students will no longer receive vouchers.
