Project News

In June 2016, attending senior high school (SHS) will become compulsory. Every Grade 10 student will move on to Grade 11 next year.

With the addition of 2 years in the secondary education, the high school graduates will reach employable age. Furthermore, during the newly added two years the students, regardless of their chosen tracks, high school students will have to engage in work immersion (exposure to practical training in the private/public sector), which will result in the tighter collaboration than ever between the high schools and industry.

In the light of the above, the Project assisted DepEd Division Office of Mandaue City and two high schools with SHS program in organizing an awareness-raising conference of SHS. A half-day conference was held on June 26 in Mactan Economic Zone where eventually 10 locators were able to attend. Two high schools participated in the conference were Subangdaku Technical Vocational School (STVS) and Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School (MCCNHS).

DepEd Division Office of Mandaue City explained K to 12 reform progress, list of public schools within Mandaue City offering SHS in 2016 and specialization mapping while the principals of STVS and MCCNHS presented their experiences with industry linkaging during the SHS modeling and early implementation phase.

The companies were eager to know about the new curriculum under K to 12 reform and raised questions like the length and timing of work immersion. Some companies also expressed their willingness to send their experts to the schools to provide leading-edge skills to the students.

The role of DepEd division offices to bring schools and industry closer, and more collaboration will be of great importance in the future. It is with this regard that the Project shall provide advice and guidance to augment the capacity of DepEd division offices in reaching out to and raising awareness of the industry.

Locators of Mactan Economic Zone participated in the conference

Ms. Myrna G. Yu, the principal of STVS making presentation