MISA DE GALLO -- Hundreds of devotees are braving the chill of early mornings to hear liturgies as part of their spiritual preparation for the holidays. Simbang Gabi in Baguio City began on December 16, 2025 at Our Lady of the Atonement Cathedral.** Photo by neimless_skills
BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Education-Cordillera Administrative Region (DepEd-CAR) debunked rumors on the scrapping of Grade 11 and 12, announcing instead that 19 pilot schools are now testing a strengthened senior high school (SHS) curriculum for 2025-2026.
During the Education Week culmination, DepEd CAR Regional Director Estella L. Cariño addressed the fake news, emphasizing that the government is looking into how to strengthen and improve SHS, not remove it.
The new pilot curriculum simplifies tracks from three to two: Tech Pro (Technical-Professional) and Academic. Core subjects will be reduced to five, with students choosing their specialization as an elective. For example, students interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) strand can take additional science and math courses.
Tech Pro focuses on hands-on technical skills and vocational training aligned with industry needs while Academic emphasizes college-preparatory subjects.
“The goal is to make the curriculum more focused and relevant to what learners need, whether they want to work, start a business, or go to college,” Cariño explained.
DepEd-CAR data show that 94 percent of SHS graduates in the region still pursue higher education, a figure that Cariño said highlights the need to strengthen ties between basic and higher education institutions.
At the same time, she noted the importance of boosting TVL (Technical-Vocational Livelihood) programs to support the 6% of graduates who want to enter the workforce immediately.
“We’re working closely with TESDA to ensure our TVL learners get the training and certifications they need to find jobs or start their own businesses right after SHS,” she said.
For this school year, 19 schools in CAR are offering purely SHS programs, with a total of 19,664 SHS students. These are benefiting from the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHVP) which allocates P329 million in tuition aid for students attending private schools.
The SHS VP is a financial assistance initiative by the DepEd under the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE). It provides subsidies in the form of vouchers to qualified Grade 10 completers, enabling them to enroll in non-DepEd senior high schools, local universities and colleges, state universities and colleges, or Tech-Voc institutions of their choice, with DepEd directly paying the schools rather than giving cash to students.
Cariño said the pilot curriculum will be evaluated after this school year, with plans to roll out improvement region-wide based on feedback from teachers and learners. **JDP/MAWC-PIA-CAR
