DepEd-7 office in Sudlon, Cebu City. CDN Digital File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines- The Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7) is not affected by the decision of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to stop senior high school programs in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs) nationwide.
“There’s no cause for alarm,” DepEd-7 Regional Director Dr. Salustiano Jimenez said, adding that currently in Central Visayas, only the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu and a school from Siquijor are still offering SHS.
READ MORE: CHED: No more Senior High School program in SUCs, LUCs
If these two schools were to halt their SHS operation, only fewer than a thousand learners would be affected, and they can easily be accommodated by other public or private schools.
Earlier, it was reported that over 17,000 grade 11 students in SUCs and LUCs might face displacement after CHED issued a directive to halt the SHS program next year.
READ MORE: EXPLAINER: Why state universities, colleges will stop accepting senior high
On Dec. 18 last year, the CHED issued a memorandum directing the governing bodies of SUCs and LUCs to stop offering the SHS program “as there is no longer legal basis to fund the same.”
The institutions’ involvement in basic education, through the SHS program, should have been limited to a five-year transition period, or from school years 2016 to 2017 until 2020 to 2021, following Republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.
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