LET US ALSO be honest: not all Ethics classes are transformative. Some are reduced to rote memorization or bland preaching. But the solution is not to scrap the subject. The solution is to teach it better. This includes equipping teachers, as EdCom II (2025) points out, where 62% of high school instructors handle subjects outside their expertise. Teacher training should go hand in hand with curriculum reform. A meaningful Ethics class does not just teach Plato or Kant—it holds space for students to wrestle with the gray areas of their lived realities.
DepEd’s rationale, to streamline education and ease the financial burden on families, is understandable. But removing Ethics to save time is like skipping breakfast to save money: it feels practical but ends up costing more. What is saved in hours may be lost in human judgment.
My former school, for instance, chose to infuse Ethics not just in formal classes but in student-led projects and reflection-based formation activities. When our students work as grocery baggers with the organic personnel on the ground, facilitate activities in their own churches, and immerse with marginalized families—live and break bread with them—their reflection papers turn not just summaries but stories of ethical confrontation.
Even in digital literacy, Ethics plays a vital role. From understanding cyberbullying and intellectual property to navigating online disinformation, students must be equipped not just with access to tools but with the wisdom to use them well (Villanueva, 2022). Studies have shown that students trained in ethical reflection are more resilient against peer pressure and more proactive in community involvement (David, Torres, & Reyes, 2023).
This is where a nuanced path emerges: instead of isolating Ethics as a standalone course, structurally integrate it into every subject. Let teachers, regardless of specialization, be trained to facilitate ethical discussions in context. Let science students debate ecological responsibility. Let tech learners confront the social cost of automation. Let future entrepreneurs question not just profit margins but labor practices.
When ethical questions are embedded in the subjects where students will eventually work, manage, lead, or innovate, they will carry those lenses with them.
At the same time, let us not ignore what the SHS program gets right. Giving students more time to immerse in their chosen career paths—through actual work, entrepreneurship, or creative practice—is vital. But let that immersion be critical, reflective, and value-driven.
Let students apply, analyze, and even challenge the ethical theories they have learned in school. When a Grade 12 student interns in a hospital, let them not just shadow doctors, but also discuss triage ethics. When one builds a business plan, let them also draft a code of conduct.
If the end goal is a nation of job-ready graduates who can also be community-ready, civic-minded, and critically awake, then Ethics should stay—not as a box to tick but as a thread that runs through everything we do.
Real reform is not always about reduction. Sometimes, it is about realignment. Streamlining should not mean sidelining what makes education humane. Let us reimagine, not erase, the role of Ethics in schools.
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Doc H fondly describes himself as a ‘student of and for life’ who, like many others, aspires to a life-giving and why-driven world that is grounded in social justice and the pursuit of happiness. His views herewith do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions he is employed or connected with./PN
