FACT CHECK: No Palace announcement abolishing Grades 11 and 12

The Department of Education has already debunked the false information, calling it fake news

AT A GLANCE

• The Office of the President did not announce the removal of Grades 11 and 12 from the education system; the claim is false.
• The Department of Education (DepEd) confirmed that the K to 12 program remains in effect and labeled the circulating post as fake news.
• Previous attempts to revise or abolish the K to 12 curriculum have been made, but DepEd continues to support it while focusing on curriculum improvements.

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Claim: The Office of the President announced the official removal of Grades 11 and 12 from the country’s education system.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A Facebook user posted a supposed statement from the Office of the President, purportedly signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

It read: “Inanunsyo na ng DepEd [Department of Education] ang pinal na desisyon na tuluyan nang alisin ang Grade 11 at 12 sa ating sistema. Wala na ang Senior High School, kaya magbabago na ang nakasanayang antas ng pagtatapos ng mga mag-aaral.”

(The DepEd has announced its final decision to completely remove Grades 11 and 12 from our system. Senior High School is being phased out, which means the established level at which students complete their education will change.)

The statement continued, “Ang hakbang na ito ay bahagi ng pagbabago ng DepEd upang ituon ang pokus sa ibang antas ng edukasyon.”

(This step is part of the DepEd’s transformation to shift its focus toward other levels of education.)

The post’s author said in the caption, “Good news nga ito. Kung ito ay nalagdaan na, laking ginhawa sa mga magulang at sa mga bata. Sayang naman kasi ang dalawang taon para sa K-12 na ‘yan; ‘di naman nagagamit talaga.”

(This is indeed good news. If it has already been signed, it will be a huge relief for both parents and children. After all, those two years for K-12 are just a waste — they don’t really get put to any actual use.)

The post garnered 1,100 reactions, 352 comments, and 572 shares as of writing.

The facts: There is no official announcement abolishing Grades 11 and 12. The K to 12 program remains in effect as it is mandated by law under the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.

The misleading post sourced the fake announcement from a TikTok video posted by “Department of the Philippines,” an account posing as a government social media page. 

The Department of Education (DepEd) has already debunked the fake post. In an October 21 statement, the agency said, “Fake news ang kumakalat na post sa social media tungkol sa umano’y pagtanggal ng Grade 11 & 12.”

(The post circulating on social media regarding the alleged removal of Grades 11 and 12 is fake news.)

It further reminded the public not to follow pages falsely claiming to be affiliated with the government and to consult only DepEd’s official channels for verified information.

The Presidential Communications Office also denied the statement’s authenticity, according to multiple media reports. 

Removing K to 12: There have been countless debates and multiple attempts to remove or revise the K to 12 curriculum.

In June 2025, Senator Jinggoy Estrada filed Senate Bill No. 3001 or the proposed Rationalized Basic Education Act, which sought to remove senior high school in the current learning system and revert back to the four-year secondary curriculum.

In July 2026, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano also voiced opposition to continuing K to 12 and proposed to scale back to K to 10.

Back in April, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara, one of the primary authors of the law, expressed continued support for the K to 12 system amid calls for its abolition. He said that instead of removing it entirely, the department is focusing on “decongesting” the curriculum, such as prioritizing core subjects and addressing concerns over heavy workload.

Other fact checks: Rappler has previously debunked false claims about removing the K to 12 curriculum:

• FACT CHECK: No DepEd announcement abolishing Grades 11 and 12
• FACT CHECK: K to 12 program not abolished
• FACT CHECK: No law passed abolishing K-12 program
• FACT CHECK: Arroyo did not say the K to 12 program will be abolished

– Eirene Manatlao/Rappler.com 

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