KABATAAN Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel lambasted the Commission on Higher Education for allowing more Senior High School students to enroll in State and Local Universities and Colleges while considering the discontinuance of the program.

“Hinayaan lang ng DepEd at CHED na mag-enroll ang nasa 18,000 students sa senior high school ng SUCs at LUCs. Tapos eventually ipapatigil ang senior high school program nila at papalipatin ng school bago maka-graduate. Ano ito, prank?” Manuel said.

Manuel, as a graduate of high school program in a SUC, expressed his sympathy for all those affected by CHED’s order along with their families and teachers.

“I know how it feels to be in a program that is under the constant threat of being underfunded or, worse, defunded and closed,” he explained.

“Dapat gobyerno ang nagtitiyak ng patuloy na pagkatuto ng mga estudyante, hindi yung siya pa ang nagiging bara sa edukasyon ng libu-libong kabataan,” the lawmaker added.

The CHED memorandum, dated Dec. 18, 2023, asserts the expiration of the authority of SUCs and LUCs to provide basic education through the SHS program post the transition period of SYs 2016-2017 to 2020-2021 for the K to 12 system.