Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 3220
Introduced by REP. EMILIO BERNARDINO L. YULO
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013
introduced the Senior High School (SHS) program in the country’s education
system to address the educational gaps through aligning the system with
international standards. It promised to develop well-rounded graduates
equipped with 21st-century skills, and to produce college and workforce ready
individuals.
However, after more than a decade of its implementation, the program
is still facing continuous challenges. Criticisms from various sectors centers
on curriculum congestion, mismatch between the skills of senior high school
graduates and the demands of the labor market, teachers under heavy
workloads, and the inability for SHS graduates to enter into the workforce.
The failure to deliver on its promise to make its graduates college-ready and
work-ready may be the main reason of the dissatisfaction with the senior high
school program. In fact, a DepEd tracer study presented in 2023 found that
many SHS graduates faced difficulties such as challenging subjects, non-
crediting of SHS courses in college, and rejection from degree programs due
to strand mismatch.1
This proposed bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10533 by
removing the mandatory Senior High School program from the basic
education system. This bill addresses the present realities by streamlining the
education system to make it more efficient, alleviate unnecessary burdens
imposed students and teachers, and reallocate government’s resource to
improve learning outcomes at the core levels of education. This reverts the
basic education system back to its previous structure which consists of
kindergarten, six years of elementary education, and four years of secondary
education.
This is a recalibration based on the present realities and not a
regression. The bill affirms the need to enhance education in the Philippines,
but in a manner that is attuned to socioeconomic realities and advantageous
our learners.
August 6, 2025
1:01 pm


In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
REP. EMILIO BERNARDINO L. YULO
1Department of Education, Presentation to the Senate Committee on Basic Education on the Implementation of the K to 12 Program,
April 13, 2023, as cited in ABS-CBN News, "Senators lament 'failings' of current education system, press for reforms," April 13, 2023


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 3220
Introduced by REP. EMILIO BERNARDINO L. YULO
AN ACT RATIONALIZING THE PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM
BY REMOVING THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION, AMENDING
PERTINENT PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE "ENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF 2013" AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress
SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the "Rationalized
Basic Education Act".
SEC. 2. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10533, otherwise known as the
"Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 4. [Enhanced] RATIONALIZED Basic Education
Program. — The [enhanced] RATIONALIZED basic education
program encompasses at least one (1) year of kindergarten
education, six (6) years of elementary education, and [six (6)]
FOUR (4) years of secondary education, in that sequence.
[Secondary education includes four (1) years of junior high
school and two (2) years of senior high school education.]


"Kindergarten education shall mean one (1) year of
preparatory education for children at least five (5) years old as
a prerequisite for Grade I.
"Elementary education refers to the second stage of
compulsory basic education which is composed of six (6)
years. The entrant age to this level is typically six (6) years old.
"Secondary education refers to the third stage of
compulsory basi education. It consists of four (4) years of
[junior] high school education [and two (2) years of senior high
school education]. The entrant age to the [junior and senior]
high school level [s are] IS typically twelve (12) [and sixteen
(16) years old [, respectively].
"x x x."
SEC. 3.
Section 5 of Republic Act No. 10533 is hereby amended to
read as follows:
"SEC. 5. Curriculum Development. - The DepED
shall formulate the design and details of the [enhanced]
RATIONALIZED basic education curriculum. It shall work
with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to craft
harmonized basic and tertiary curricula for the global
competitiveness of Filipino graduates. To ensure college
readiness and to avoid remedial and duplication of basic
education subjects, the DepED shall coordinate with the
CHED and the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA).
"To achieve an effective [enhanced] RATIONALIZED
basic education curriculum, the DepED shall undertake
consultations with other national government agencies and
other
stakeholders
including,
but
not
limited
to,
the


Department
of
Labor
and
Employment
(DOLE),
the
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the private and
public
schools
associations,
the
national
student
organizations,
the
national
teacher
organizations,
the
parents-teachers
associations
and
the
chambers
of
commerce on matters affecting the concerned stakeholders.
"The DepED shall adhere to the following standards
and
principles
in
developing
the
[enhanced]
RATIONALIZED basic education curriculum:
"(a) x x x;
"x x x."
SEC. 4. Section 7 of Republic Act No. 10533 is hereby amended to
read
follows:
"SEC. 7. Teacher Education and Training. — To
ensure that the [enhanced] RATIONALIZED basic education
program meets the demand for quality teachers and school
leaders, the DepED and the CHED, in collaboration with
relevant partners in government, academe, industry, and
nongovernmental
organizations,
shall
conduct
teacher
education and training programs, as specified:
"(a) In-service Training on Content and Pedagogy —
Current DepED teachers shall be [re] trained to meet the
content and performance standards of the [new K to 12]
BASIC EDUCATION curriculum.
"The DepED shall ensure that private education
institutions shall be given the opportunity to avail of such
training.


"(b) Training of New Teachers. - New graduates of
the current Teacher Education curriculum shall undergo
additional training, upon hiring, to upgrade their skills to the
content standards of the [new] curriculum. Furthermore, the
CHED,
in
coordination
with
the
DepED
and
relevant
stakeholders, shall ensure that the Teacher Education
curriculum offered in these Teacher Education Institutes
(TEls)
will
meet
necessary
quality
standards
for
new
teachers. Duly recognized organizations acting as TEIs, in
coordination with the DepED, the CHED, and other relevant
stakeholders, shall ensure that the curriculum of these
organizations meet the necessary quality standards for
trained teachers.
"(c) x x x."
SEC. 5. Section 10 of Republic Act No. 10533 is hereby amended to
read as follows:
"SEC. 10. Expansion of E-GASTPE Beneficiaries. —
The benefits accorded by Republic Act No. 8545, or the
"Expanded
Government
Assistance
to
Students
and
Teachers in Private Education Act", shall be extended to
qualified
students
enrolled
under
the
[enhanced]
RATIONALIZED basic education.
"[The DepED shall engage the services of private
education
institutions
and
non-DepED
schools
offering
senior high school through the programs under Republic Act
No. 8545, and other financial arrangements formulated by
the DepED and the Department of Budget and Management
(DBM)
based
on
the
principles
of
public
private
partnership.]"


SEC. 6. Section 11 of Republic Act No. 10533 is hereby amended to
read as follows:
"SEC.
11.
Appropriations.
—
The
Secretary
of
Education shall include in the Department's program the
operationalization of the [enhanced] RATIONALIZED basic
education program, the initial funding of which shall be
charged against the current appropriations of the DepED.
Thereafter,
the
amount
necessary
for
the
continued
implementation
of
the
[enhanced] RATIONALIZED
basic
education program shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act."
SEC. 7. Section 12 of Republic Act No. 10533 is hereby amended to
read as follows:
"SEC. 12. Transitory Provisions. — The DepED, the
CHED
and
the
TESDA
shall
formulate
the
appropriate
strategies
and
mechanisms
needed
to
ensure
smooth
transition from the existing [ten (10) years basic education
cycle to the] enhanced basic education (K to 12) cycle TO
THE RATIONALIZED BASIC EDUCATION. The strategies
may cover changes in physical infrastructure, manpower,
organizational and structural concerns, bridging models linking
grade 10 competencies and the entry requirements of new
tertiary curricula, and partnerships between the government
and other entities. [Modeling for senior high school may be
implemented in selected schools to simulate the transition
process and provide concrete data for the transition plan.]
"[To manage the initial implementation of the enhanced
basic education program and mitigate the expected multi year
low enrolment turnout for HEIs and Technical Vocational
Institutions (TVIs) starting School
Year 2016-2017,] The
DepED shall CONTINUE TO engage in partnerships with HEls


and TVIs for the utilization of the latter's human and physical
resources. Moreover, the DepED, the CHED, the TESDA, the
TVIs and the HEIs shall coordinate closely with one another to
implement strategies that ensure the academic, physical,
financial, and human resource capabilities of HEls and TVIs to
provide educational and training services for graduates of the
[enhanced]
RATIONALIZED
basic
education
program
to
ensure that they are not adversely affected. The faculty of
HEIs and TVIs allowed to teach students of secondary
education under Section 8 hereof, shall be given priority in
hiring for the duration of the transition period. For this purpose,
the transition period shall be provided for in the implementing
rules and regulations (IRR)."
SEC. 8. Section 13 of Republic Act No. 10533 is hereby amended to
read as follows:
"SEC. 13. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on
the [Enhanced] RATIONALIZED Basic Educational Program
[(K to 12 Program)]. - There is hereby created a Joint
Oversight Committee to oversee, monitor and evaluate the
implementation of this Act.
"The Oversight Committee shall be composed of five (5)
members each from the Senate and from the House of
Representatives, including Chairs of the Committees on
BASIC Education [,Arts and Culture,] and Finance of both
Houses. The membership of the Committee for every House
shall have at least two (2) opposition or minority members."
SEC. 9. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 10533 is hereby amended to
read as follows:


"SEC. 14. Mandatory Evaluation and Review. — [By
the end of School Year 2014-2015] FIVE (5) YEARS AFTER
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ACT, the DepED shall
conduct a mandatory review and submit a midterm report to
Congress as to the status of implementation of the [K to 12]
RATIONALIZED BASIC EDUCATION program in terms of
closing the following current shortages: (a) teachers; (b)
classrooms; (c) textbooks; (d) seats; (e) toilets; and (f) other
shortages that should be addressed.
"x x x."
SEC. 10. Separability Clause. In the event that any provision of this Act
is declared unconstitutional, the validity of the other provisions shall not be
affected by such declaration.
SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed,
modified, or amended accordingly.
SEC. 12. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,