SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday pointed out the dissatisfaction of Filipinos with senior high school reflects the program’s failure to deliver on its promise to make students college-ready and work-ready.

Gatchalian made the emphasis following a Pulse Asia survey which revealed only four out of 10 Filipinos are satisfied with the senior high school program.

Based on the results of a survey commissioned by Gatchalian from June 19 to 23, 41 percent of 1,200 respondents nationwide said they are satisfied with senior high school, 42 percent are dissatisfied, while 16 percent cannot say if they are satisfied or dissatisfied.

The senator also cited a 2020 discussion paper by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies or PIDS, which showed only a little over 20 percent of senior high school graduates enter the labor force, while more than 70 percent continue with their education.

The PIDS study also revealed that, in terms of basic pay per day, senior high school graduates have no clear statistically significant advantage or disadvantage compared to Grade 10 and second-year college completers.

“Nagdagdag tayo ng dalawang taon sa high school pero para sa ating mga magulang, dagdag na gastos lang ang dulot nito. Hindi kuntento ang ating mga kababayan sa senior high school dahil hindi nila makita ang benepisyo ng programang ito,” said Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

To address the mismatch between the skills of senior high school graduates and the demands of the labor market, Gatchalian filed the Batang Magaling Act or Senate Bill No. 2022.

The proposed measure seeks to strengthen the linkages and collaboration among the Department of Education, local government units, the academic communities, and industry partners.