STI Holds First Senior High Graduation

YEARS AHEAD of the national implementation of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 or known as the “K to 12 program” this coming school year, STI Education Services Group, Inc. (STI), the largest pioneer in Senior High School (SHS) in the country, has taken up the challenge, and is paving a brighter path for the Filipino youth as early as June 2014 during the initial roll-out of its SHS program.

Two years later, STI celebrates another historic event as it welcomes the pioneer batch of Grade 12 students in the 1^st Senior High School Graduation with 779 graduates from 26 STI campuses nationwide. Out of the total SHS graduates, 228 are from eight STI schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby areas who will be honored on April 8, 2016 at theSTI Academic Center Global City in Taguig.

 “STI is one of the pioneer schools that implemented Senior High program in the country. We see this as an opportunity for the students to meet the demands of the 21^stcentury as part of our goal to equalize regional competencies in line with the ASEAN integration. We are proud of the first batch of Senior High graduates and we wish them to succeed in their ventures,” STI President & CEO Monico V. Jacob shares in a statement.

In 2014, out of 92 private schools nationwide accredited by the Department of Education (DepEd) to offer Senior High School for school year 2014-15, sixty-seven (67) or 73% are STI schools. As of today, all 78 STI schools including STI West Negros University have been granted the DepEd permit to offer Senior High School.

Designed to ensure that Senior High School graduates are prepared for higher education, entrepreneurship or employment, STI opened its doors to Grades 11 and 12 students with various strands and specializations under the academics and technical-vocational-livelihood tracks. STI Senior High Schools have been preparing for this transition since June 2013.

Among the 8 STI campuses in NCR with SHS graduates were from STI Colleges in Caloocan, Fairview, Las Piñas, Makati, Muñoz-EDSA, Ortigas-Cainta, Pasay, and Tanay. The graduation ceremony was attended by the DepEd Regional Director for NCR Dr. Ponciano Menguito and STI Alumni Association President Hernan Alar. Inspirational words were given to the fresh graduates by DepEd Assistant Secretary for Curriculum and Instruction Mr. Elvin Uy.

The first graduation event of STI Senior High is another milestone in STI’s pursuit of excellence. The institution looks forward in the advancement of education in the country, and welcomes the implementation of Senior High with readiness to produce graduates who are college-ready, job-ready, and life-ready.

Under the new curriculum, the enactment of K to 12 program mandates students to undergo Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education comprising six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School.

DepEd reports that around 1.3 million students have already registered for senior high school since the launch of the Early Registration period last September 2015.