Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chair J. Prospero de Vera III (PNA file photo)
MANILA – Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chair J. Prospero de Vera III on Monday said the commission has no authority to abolish the Senior High School (SHS) program.
In a television interview, de Vera explained that the CHED only issued a memorandum ordering state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs) to discontinue offering the program as the K to 12 transition already ended, which is part of the legal basis for them to accept SHS students.
“I was surprised by the fake news and insinuations that have been circulating. So, I’d like to make it clear. 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," he added.
During an online press conference on Monday, de Vera emphasized that the K to 12 program is under the Department of Education (DepEd) and it will continue pursuant to Republic Act 10533.
No displacement of SHS students
The memorandum on the discontinuance of SHS program in SUCs and LUCs, which was released on Dec. 18, 2023, is not abrupt or arbitrary because the Academic Year 2023 to 2024 is still ongoing and no displacement of students occurred, de Vera said.
He reported that the discontinuance of SHS offerings in SUCs and LUCs has been ongoing for three years now.
Some of these are Bohol Island State University, Bataan Peninsula State University, Ifugao State University, Capiz State University, Biliran Province State University, Eastern Samar State University, University of Southern Mindanao, and Don Honorio Ventura State University.
“There is no more legal basis for SUCs and LUCs to have senior high, except for those having laboratory schools for their education [degree] students. They need additional facilities because of the increased enrollment in SUCs,” de Vera said.
When the K-12 law was passed in 2016, lack of qualified teachers and rooms were the main problems in basic education.
Meantime, public universities had extra classrooms and teachers since there were no incoming freshman students.
The mandate of SUCs and LUCs is to provide post-secondary education under Republic Act 8292 (Higher Education Modernization Act), passed to establish a complete, adequate and integrated system of higher education.
Earlier, the CHED said SUCs and LUCs were advised to allow current Grade 11 and 12 students to complete the program.
Admission of new or incoming Grade 11 students is the main concern regarding the transition.
The CHED and the DepEd had an agreement that public universities can offer senior high school program during the transition period and the students are subsidized through the voucher program.
Since the transition period is over, public universities and colleges now need to use their classrooms and teachers. Hence, there is no longer legal basis for the agreement between the CHED and the DepEd.
Currently, there are about 17,700 Grade 11 learners enrolled in the current school year in SUCs and LUCs across the country, based on the DepEd’s database.
“We need to know where they are and the state of senior high school facilities and services in the area, and whether their access to education will be negatively affected by the ending of senior high school offering by SUCs and LUCs,” de Vera said.
“We continue to monitor the situation on the ground and we are ready to sit down with DepEd and other educational stakeholders in the areas where there is a recognized problem in accommodating senior high students to ensure that no student will be left behind for Academic Year 2024 to 2025,” he added.
CHED has urged board members of affected SUCs and LUCs to discuss issues concerning the transition of SHS students currently enrolled in their institutions.
It also assured SHS teachers in concerned SUCs and LUCS would not be displaced or transferred to other institutions as they would continue to teach higher education subjects. (PNA)
