Rowegie Abanto

Students gather outside their designated buildings in UP Diliman for the UPCAT on June 3, 2023. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

Iskolar ng Bayan hopefuls gather outside their designated buildings in UP Diliman for this year’s UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) on June 3, 2023. A total of 104,071 students are set to take the exams, the first in-person college admission test of the university since the COVID-19 pandemic. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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ABS-CBN News

<div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175056938917920230603-upcat-up-diliman-MT-12.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false" style="text-align:left">Students gather outside their designated buildings in UP Diliman for the UPCAT on June 3, 2023. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday vowed to &quot;shorten&quot; college education in the Philippines, adding that critical thinking skills should be prioritized in senior high school.</p><p>In a statement, Gatchalian said that he intended to file a bill in the 20th Congress that would cut the time spent in tertiary education &quot;depending on the program.&quot;</p><p>He said the government should fulfill its promise of reducing college education years after it implemented an additional two years in high school.</p><p>His statement comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. admitted Wednesday that the K-12 program — implemented in 2012 —  failed to equip Filipino students for employment despite the additional years.</p><p>He left it to Congress to decide whether to amend or repeal the K-12 law entirely.</p><p>Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel on Thursday lamented that after the government extended the number of years in high school, it now grapples with trimming down the subjects. </p><p>Manuel proposed that the next Congress<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/19/kabataan-party-list-calls-for-abolition-of-k-12-program-1456"> just scrap the K-12 program</a>, a proposal that met with skepticism from some who raised concerns about the future of institutions and educators engaged in the senior high school program. </p><p>The Philippines last week <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/15/deped-opens-new-school-year-with-pilot-run-of-revised-shs-curriculum-0644">entered the new school year with the pilot implementation of the revised curriculum for the senior high school program</a> in more than 800 schools nationwide.</p><p>In the new curriculum, core subjects are now only 5, namely Effective Communication (Mabisang Komunikasyon), Life and Career Skills, General Mathematics, General Science, and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino.</p><p>Gatchalian, in the statement, proposed to bring down General Education courses to senior high school to &quot;eliminate the duplication of courses and help students focus on their specialization.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We should also prioritize the teaching of soft skills to our SHS learners, including critical thinking, communication, problem solving, socio-emotional skills, creativity, and collaboration, among others,&quot; he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/3/miseducation-produced-millions-of-functionally-illiterate-filipinos-gatchalian-1300">Miseducation produced millions of functionally illiterate Filipinos — Gatchalian</a></div><div><strong>—with reports from Pia Gutierrez and Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: <br/></strong><br/><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pCZf7p4lFmQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday vowed to "shorten" college education in the Philippines, adding that critical thinking skills should be prioritized in senior high school.</p>

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday vowed to "shorten" college education in the Philippines, adding that critical thinking skills should be prioritized in senior high school.

Gatchalian wants to shorten college, prioritize critical thinking in SHS

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Gatchalian wants to shorten college, prioritize critical thinking in SHS

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 22, 2025 01:35 PM PHT

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