Senior high school opens, impacts tertiary department
The academic year 2016–2017 opened to a total of 418 Grade 11 students who enrolled into three of the four different senior high school tracks offered
Aquinas University finally opened its doors to the pioneer batch of the K to 12 Senior High School (SHS) Program after more than four years worth of preparation.
This marks the first year of the full implementation of the K to 12 program, with no freshmen enrollees in the tertiary level. As the whole country starts implementing the additional 2 years to the previous 10-year basic education cycle, the University’s tertiary department endures changes as it adjusts to this radical shift in the educational structure.
The academic year 2016–2017 opened on June 13 to a total of 418 Grade 11 students who enrolled into three of the four different tracks offered. This is more than 200 students lower than the 600+ projected enrollees from pre-registration.
According to the registrar, the enrollees, much like AUL’s tertiary population, comprise of students from Albay and the other provinces of the region, as far as Masbate and Catanduanes, as well as Sorsogon and Camarines Sur.
The University announced last year that it will be offering the four tracks of the SHS program: Academic, Arts and Design, Technical-Vocational, and Sports.
Enrolment data from the Office of the Registrar shows that the Academic track currently has the biggest population, with 361 students, as it includes four areas or “strands” namely: General Academic Strand (GAS), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMS/HUSS), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM). These strands are based on the College Readiness Standards (CRS) given by the Commission on Higher Education.
Meanwhile, the Arts and Design track has 45 enrollees. This is the preferred trackfor junior high students of the Special Program for the Arts (SPA). The Technical-Vocational track, which is based on the learning outcomes and performance criteria from the Training Regulations of TESDA, has 12 students. The University offered the Sports track but had no enrollees this year.
Impacts in the tertiary dept
This transition, evidently, does not only affect elementary and secondary levels, but also the tertiary level which won’t see freshmen enrollees this year. DepEd data shows that a total of 1.5 million students entered senior high this year; 67% of that are in the public school system.
According to Ms. Lilian L. Legson, current Coordinator for the Senior High School Program of AUL, preparations began as early as 2012 and was independently handled by the University.
One of such effects is the reduction of units from the College General Education curriculum to 36 units; which was originally, 63 units for Humanities and Social Science programs and 51 units for Science, Engineering and Math programs. This is due to the transfer of courses in English, Literature, Math, Natural Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences to the Basic Education syllabus.
As of now, AUL’s tertiary department is adjusting to this transition by orienting transferees and other old students who still need to comply with the old curriculum to immediately enroll the subjects, which are to be omitted within the next school year. In case of new transferees and unavailability of class offerings, they may still opt to enroll to a special class.
In terms of infrastructure, AUL allotted a maximum of 16 classrooms for the expected 600+ students who pre-registered but only 10 sections were formed from the 418 students who officially enrolled. Rooms in the St. Thomas Building previously used by the college population were converted to accommodate the senior high school.
Decreasing the number of classrooms utilized by the tertiary level had no effect on the scheduling of classes. Rooms previously unoccupied due to its subpar situations are now being used as substitutes and are being repaired.The problem arises every term examination. The tertiary has insufficient rooms for the three-day exam. Students who are affected are informed to take the test during the subject’s regular schedule.
As for the faculty, some instructors and professors from the college department were given teaching loads for senior high. The need for instructors in the senior high level caused professors in the college level to apply for posts offered by DepEd. Some professors in Aquinas applied and were accepted before the beginning of this semester. The sudden transfer of professors gravely affected the schedules pre-constructed last, as these professors were also predetermined to teach during the current semester.
The unforeseen reduction in the number of faculty members adversely affected the schedule of classes because there was not enough time to hire replacements. Thus, they had to work around the availability of the remaining faculty member which resulted in the dissolution of classes namely Filipino 103, English 103, and English 107.
Insofar, the university has complied with the requirements of DepEd in terms of the teaching staff and facilities, as the permit to run the program has already been issued. ■ by Marian Justine H. Yorobe and Jillian J. Estrellado
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