Strengthened SHS Curriculum 101
The Strengthened Senior High School Program: Core Changes and Overarching
The Department of Education (DepEd) is actively strengthening the SHS program. The Enhanced SHS Curriculum is anchored on key goals: streamlining tracks and subjects, prioritizing student choice, ensuring student options are stackable and seamless, and ultimately making learners more employable.
The Senior High School (SHS) program, introduced through the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10533), was created to prepare students for higher education, employment, entrepreneurship, or skills development, while instilling core values and lifelong competencies for meaningful societal contribution. However, since its full implementation in 2016, the program has encountered key issues, including inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of specialized teachers, and weak ties with industry. Reviews also point to a fragmented curriculum with too many subjects, limited electives, and insufficient instructional time. With minimal economic advantages observed among SHS graduates, reforms are now underway to enhance the curriculum and strengthen industry partnerships.
The Strengthened SHS program aims to streamline subjects, prioritize student choice, and improve employability. With reduced core subjects, updated electives, and flexible track options, the curriculum prepares learners for real-world paths.
What are the overarching goals of the strengthened SHS program?
The Department of Education is strengthening the SHS program with the following key goals:
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Streamlining tracks and subjects.
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Prioritizing student choice.
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Ensuring that student options are stackable and seamless.
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Making learners employable.
What are the core changes regarding subjects in the strengthened SHS curriculum?
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Reduced Core Subjects: The original 15 core subjects have been significantly reduced to just 5 by merging key competencies from related subjects. These 5 core subjects include Effective Communication/Mabisang Komunikasyon, General Mathematics, Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino, Life Skills, and General Science.
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Core Subject Schedule: These 5 core subjects will now be offered throughout the entire year of Grade 11 instead of being limited to a single semester.
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Electives: All subjects that are not part of the core will now be called "electives," replacing the previous "applied" and "specialized" subjects.
The SHS program now features streamlined and updated electives, organized into clusters to help schools manage teaching resources more efficiently. These clusters include Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities; Business and Entrepreneurship; STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics); Sports, Health, and Wellness; Field Experience; Agriculture and Fishery Arts (AFA); Information and Communication Technology (ICT); Family and Consumer Science (FCS); Industrial Arts (IA); and Maritime.
Clusters are not the same as strands; schools are not required to offer all electives within a cluster, and students can choose electives across multiple clusters.
The core change in the new Senior High School curriculum is the reduction of tracks from four to two: Academic and Technical Professional (TechPro). The Arts & Design and Sports tracks have been removed as standalone options, but related electives will still be offered within the Academic track, ensuring these disciplines remain accessible to students.
To promote greater flexibility and student agency, the curriculum now allows students to select subjects based on their preferred exit pathways, whether for higher education or employment, rather than being limited by rigid track or strand structures. A key feature is the "doorway option," which enables students to take subjects across clusters or even from the other track, depending on what their school offers. For example, a student focused on Business and Entrepreneurship may also take STEM electives or TechPro subjects like Agroentrepreneurship NC II to better prepare for their goals.
Time allotments have been adjusted for better alignment with the revised curriculum structure. Core subjects are now allotted 160 hours per year, while Academic electives are 80 hours per semester. TechPro electives require more intensive time commitments: 320 hours for Grade 11 over a year, and 320 hours for Grade 12 in just one semester. Additional experiential learning includes 160–320 hours of field exposure and a required work immersion component for TechPro students, ranging from 320 to 640 hours; this immersion is optional for those in the Academic track.
The revised curriculum will begin pilot implementation in School Year (SY) 2025–2026. Following the pilot’s results, a full rollout may occur in SY 2026–2027, subject to DepEd’s decision. Schools are not mandated to offer both tracks. They can choose based on available faculty and resources. They may also propose electives beyond the official list, as long as these are approved through the curriculum guide. Teachers whose subjects are no longer offered will be reassigned to teach electives closely aligned with their areas of expertise.
New time structures for core and elective subjects enable better pacing and depth. The pilot roll-out begins SY 2025–2026, giving schools flexibility in offering tracks and electives based on capacity and resources.
Source: Strengthened SHS Program Consultation Packet (As of April 4, 2025) and The Strengthened Senior High School Program Shaping Paper
