ACT warns against ‘potential displacement’ of private school teachers

The ACT Teachers Party-list said on Tuesday that private school teachers could be displaced as the full implementation of the Strengthened Senior High School (SHS) curriculum rolls out nationwide.

“The lawmakers are warned of its direct threat to the job security of thousands of private school teachers who have specialized degrees and licenses that may not align with the newly combined subjects and tracks,” the group said in Filipino in a statement.

“The precarious situation of private school teachers – who already face lack of tenure and lower wages – puts them at greater risk amid sudden policy changes,” it added.

Under the new SHS curriculum, the four tracks were reduced to two: Academic and Technical Professional (TechPro), while core subjects were also cut from 15 to five to decongest learning content.

The five core subjects under the new curriculum are Effective Communication / Mabisang Komunikasyon, Life and Career Skills, General Mathematics, General Science; and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino.

The Department of Education (DepEd) said the reform aims to foster mastery of foundational skills and improve students’ workforce readiness, both of which were criticized in the previous curriculum.

The new SHS curriculum was piloted in School Year (SY) 2025-2026 for Grade 11 students across 891 schools.

However, ACT noted that some private school teachers, along with other education stakeholders, claimed that DepEd did not conduct “genuine consultations” before and during the pilot implementation.

“They just created a week-long online survey and distributed a “consultation packet,” which denied stakeholders a meaningful opportunity to be heard and to provide feedback,” the group said.

Party-list Representative Antonio L. Tinio on Tuesday filed House Resolution No.836 urging the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture to investigate the “potential massive displacement”.

The full implementation of the revised SHS curriculum is scheduled in June 2026, as classes begin for SY 2026-2027. — Almira Louise S. Martinez