he Department of Education with then Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro under the administration of former Philippine President  Simeon Benigno C. Aquino spearheaded the K to 12 Curriculum or the K to 12 Education Program. It was based from Republic Act No. 10533 entitled “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013”, which is an act enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System by strengthening its curriculum and increasing the number of years for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds Therefor and for Other Purposes.

The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education: 6 years of primary education, 4 years of Junior High School, and 2 years of Senior High School.  The K to 12 aims to produce Filipino graduates who are lifelong learners, holistically developed, globally oriented and locally grounded. It also has the following benefits: Middle Level Skills, Work, Business and Tertiary Education. It is also anchored on DepEd’s Vision and Mission and four Core Values as to Maka-Diyos Maka-tao, Maka- kalikasan and Maka-bansa. 

The investment in Philippine Education has improved throughout the years, with only PhP 171.22 Billion in 2009 and an increase of PhP 364.66 Billion in 2015, a year before the nationwide implementation of the SHS Program. The department is continuously hiring Principals, Head teachers, teachers from the elementary up to the secondary level. In SHS, Assistant Secondary School Principals, SHS teachers, and non-teaching personnel are being hired and regularly go through strict and rigorous assessment at the School Division Offices in all regions in the Philippines. The department has a data of nationally-hired teachers in all grade levels from 11, 347 in 2010 to roughly about 39, 066 in 2015 with 41, 728 targeted number of classrooms in 2015 from a mere number of 3, 291 in 2010. This number continuously increase in number as student population in all grade levels and more and more SHS Courses are added to the SHS Program. This may be attributed to the fact that the department is committed and true to its Vision and Mission and that the National Government including the Local Government Unit are supportive and one with DepEd as proven by the increase in budget allocation, provision of buildings/classrooms, computer packages, learning materials, other supplies, equipment, heavy equipment and tools as well as the provision of  Cash Conditional Program to indigent families, which helps provide and augment school children’s expenses in health and education ensuring quality education and inclusive growth.

The Senior High School Program is the last phase in the completion of the first implementation of the K to 12 Basic Education Program of the Department of Education. Based on the graphic below, the SHS has eight (8) Learning Areas as follows; Language, Mathematics, Science, Communication, Philosophy, Humanities, Social Sciences and PE and Health. The tracks on the other hand is composed of four: Academic, Technical-Vocational-Livelihood, Sports and Arts and Design. The Academic Track has four: Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), General Academic Strand (GAS), Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM) and Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS)  while TVL has Agri-fishery Arts, Home Economics, ICT and  Industrial Arts.

There were pilot schools meticulously selected in all regions, which implemented and tested first the SHS Program. The batch of graduates completed the courses in  the Year 2017. 

Meanwhile, all eight public secondary schools of Masbate City DepEd and five private institutions offer the SHS Program. However, only two among the two tracks are currently offered by all schools in Masbate City Division, these are the Academic and the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood Tracks. The Academic Track offered, varies from STEM, GAS to HUMSS and ABM while TVL Track has a wide variety of strands from Horticulture (NCII), Food Fish Processing, Cookery, Bread and Pastry Production, Food and Beverage Services to Beauty Nail Art, Dressmaking, Wellness Massage and Automotive.  Information and Communication Technology will be one of the few new courses to be offered next by few public schools and hopefully Arts and Designs and Sports in the coming years.

The beginning of school year, June 2017, the Masbate City Deped’s Senior High School Program with Grades 11 and 12, recorded a total enrolment of Two thousand three hundred and seventy eight (2, 378) for Public Secondary Schools while the Private Secondary Schools totalled to One thousand nine hundred forty three (1, 943). The Masbate National Comprehensive High School located in the City proper which is one of  the biggest secondary school in Region V  and the biggest school in Masbate Province and, has the highest number of Academic Course Offerings and total offerings in the SHS Program as well as having the highest student population, among secondary schools in Masbate City.  The school will be accredited by TESDA to be the Assessment Center of three of their course offerings, within the next School Year or the years to come.

Only after the completion of a minimum of eighty hours (80) of Work Immersion in different Immersion Industry Partners will the students be candidates for Graduation. These partners were on a Memorandum of Agreement with the schools through the School Heads who serve as the Main Partnership Focal Person with the assistance of School SHS Coordinators. Though, a National Certification from TESDA is not a requirement for Graduation unlike Work Immersion, there is a result of almost a hundred percent passing rate of Grade 12 student-applicants in their respective course assessments conducted by accredited assessors in the Region and  Masbate Province at TESDA accredited schools and institutions. Based from the Schools Division Office data on enrolment and list of candidates for Graduation Rites 2018, the First Batch (Public Schools) is composed of more than a thousand Grade 12 students of the SHS Program under the K to 12 Curriculum (Mass Implementation) in Masbate City and have graduated in April 2018. Meanwhile, private schools have almost a thousand SHS graduates and have graduated in March 2018.

 
Owned and Published by:
NOREEN M. ESPENIDA-ABENIR
SCHOOL HEAD, BAYOMBON HIGH SCHOOL
ASSISTANT SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL (SHS), MNCHS
MASBATE CITY DIVISION
Sources:

RA 10533
K to 12 Basic Education Program Facts and Figures
Deped K to 12 Power point Presentation (Tayo Para sa Edukasyon)
City DepEd SHS Enrolment SY 2017-2018 (SGOD-Planning Office)
City Public Secondary Schools (SHS Coordinators/School Heads): Bayombon HS, MNCHS, COLMHS, Usab HS, Bolo HS, Nursery HS, Bantigue HS, ADRIS
City Private Schools (SHS Focal Person/Administrator): Osmena Colleges, Liceo De Masbate, St. Anthony Seminary HS, Masbate Colleges, Masbate Central Technical Institute