DepEd adding ‘e-commerce track’ in senior high school

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To better align the basic curriculum with the demands and opportunities of the digital economy, the Department of Education (DepEd) is set to introduce the e-commerce track for senior high school students.

The DepEd on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Thames International School Inc. to create the new track.

READ: PH e-commerce market seen to expand by 15% this year

Thames was tapped as a partner for being a “leading provider of business education” in the country, according to the DTI.

‘Big chance’ to get job

The “specialized” e-commerce track will be piloted in 50 schools in three regions—Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces)—and will cover around 1,000 students, according to Thames president and cofounder Jaime Noel Santos.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said they plan to include the new track in the school year 2024-2025, which just officially started on July 29.

Speaking to reporters at the MOA signing in Makati City, Angara said President Marcos “will be delighted with this because he has been saying to me that we should be able to provide jobs for our senior high school graduates and there’s a big chance for them to secure a job.”

“And that has been our promise ever since we passed the K to 12 [law], that they will be able to get jobs just by graduating from the Grade 12 level,” he added.

Four current tracks

Santos said the three pilot regions were chosen mainly because they currently have the highest concentration of e-commerce companies, where students taking the new track may be hired “immediately upon graduating.’’

Introducing e-commerce in the just-opened school year is still doable since students may still change tracks during the first term, Santos explained.

A “train the trainer” program for teachers will soon be launched as part of the rollout, he added.

The country’s senior high school education currently has four tracks: academic, arts and design, sports, and technical-vocational-livelihood.

The academic track has four strands: accountancy, business and management (ABM); science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); humanities and social science (HUMSS); and general academic strand (GAS).

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), the country’s main tech-voc training institution, offers courses in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. One of the Tesda programs in the field is iSTAR, an upgraded version of its Sari-Sari Store Training and Access Resources that provides free entrepreneurship training through blended learning.

Gina Gonong, the education undersecretary for curriculum and teaching, said including the e-commerce track would be part of the ongoing review and revision of the senior high curriculum.

“We can see that there’s potential [for it] to be a part of our senior high school curriculum, which is still currently undergoing review and redevelopment,” Gonong told reporters.