UP CURRICULUM | UP faculty reject calls for removing general education courses on tertiary level

August 26, 2022 , 07:13 PM

(August 26, 2022) – A group of progressive faculty members on Friday opposed the calls to remove general education courses in state universities and colleges as suggested by its former president, describing it as a step backward.

The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND) said the university education should not just focus on making students “employable” after graduation, but should also help them develop “critical and creative capacities” so they can understand the world around them better.

“We are not surprised that a Marcos bureaucrat wants to make students even less inquiring and critical,” CONTEND said in a statement.

“The Philippines is gripped by an educational crisis that the Marcos administration is incapable of solving. Its power rests on deceiving and miseducating Filipinos. We call on nationalist educators to resist these blatant attacks on education.”

SHORTER COLLEGE YEARS?

Naniniwala si Trade Sec. Alfredo Pascual na dapat ay mas maigsi na lang ang panahon ng pag-aaral sa kolehiyo upang aniya’y makapagpokus sa mga kasanayang kinakailangan ng mga kompanya. pic.twitter.com/c5qXozPDjT

— News5 (@News5PH) August 26, 2022

On Wednesday, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, who was a former University of the Philippines president, said colleges and universities should focus on major subjects and stop offering general education courses, noting that it has been a trend in higher education in other countries such as Singapore to shorten college years.

Pascual stressed the need for subjects in college to offer “oriented, specific skills” to students that companies seek from their employees.

“There should be no more general education courses in colleges,” Pascual said. “General education courses will be taken care of in the K-12 curriculum. College should focus on the major subjects.”

CONTEND called on fellow educators to oppose any move that will allow classrooms to become “another venue for disinformation and historical denialism.”

“A comprehensive general education program provides a humanistic foundation which allows students to question, critique, and provide solutions to the social and political problems currently choking the country,” the group said.

General education courses refer to classes that are open to all students in higher education regardless of their degree program or major. These include social sciences such as history, humanities such as practical writing, and science and technology.

These courses generally aim to provide holistic development to learners to help them view society from a wider perspective and promote critical thinking.

To recall, it was under Pascual’s leadership that UP changed its general education curriculum, reducing the number of units from 45 to between 21 and 36. This came about after the full implementation of the K-12 program for basic education.

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