Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte underscored Tuesday the significance of getting input from the business community to ensure the employability of Kinder to Grade 12 (K-12) graduates.

In an ambush interview on the sidelines of the 13th Biennial National Convention of Chinese Filipino Business Club Inc., Duterte stressed the importance of knowing the sector’s demands while the review of Grades 11 and 12 curriculum is underway.

”So mahalaga iyon na nasasabi ng market, ng business community kung ano yung gusto nilang makita na skills doon sa ating mga graduates (So it’s important for the market, the business community to identify what skills they want to see from our graduates),” she said.

Duterte added that graduates may be hired once this strategy has been implemented.

“Ang intent, ang vision ng K-12 program natin ay pagkatapos nila ng basic education ay pwede na silang magtrabaho or employable na sila (The intent, vision of our K-12 program is that after they finish basic education, they can go straight to work or they are employable),” she said.

Duterte, meanwhile, said the pilot of the revised SHS curriculum will start in School Year 2025-2026.

The DepEd earlier vowed to review the K-12 curriculum to decongest it and resolve misplaced learning competencies from Kinder to Grade 10 as well as address concerns of jobs or skills mismatch for Grades 11 and 12.

For K-10, the DepEd launched the MATATAG curriculum or the “Make the curriculum relevant to produce job-ready, Active and responsible citizens; TAke steps to accelerate the delivery of basic education services and provision facilities; TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusiveness learning, and positive learning environment; and, Give support for teachers to teach better” curriculum in 35 schools in seven regions nationwide in September last year. (PNA)