A LAWMAKER on Thursday asked the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to suspend its proposal to overhaul the college general education (GE) curriculum, which could lead to the displacement of teachers and the narrowing of education.
In a statement, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio L. Tinio said these reforms reflect a continuing policy that “narrows and shortens” education while sidelining the humanities.
This comes as CHED sought to reduce mandatory GE subjects to 18 units from 36 and remove standalone humanities courses as requirements in its draft proposal.
“Faculty groups are correct to sound the alarm on CHED’s draft GE overhaul,” Mr. Tinio said, stressing that this could result in a reduction in faculty load, downsizing of departments, and a threat to the job security of teachers, especially in private schools.
He added that general education should shape critical thinking, historical understanding, ethical judgement, and cultural appreciation which he said cannot be met by “overly compressed, skills-packaged courses.”
Mr. Tinio also questioned CHED’s description of the change as merely “reframing,” insisting that removing the humanities requirement is tantamount to eliminating it.
In the senior high school curriculum review by the Education department, he highlighted teachers’ concerns over the possible reduction of core subjects and increase in electives which could affect workloads and staffing.
He also emphasized that consultation should not be limited to online surveys alone, and called for broader, face-to-face hearings across the country.
Mr. Tinio called on CHED to suspend GE proposals and on DepEd to ensure transparency, adequate funding, and protection of teachers’ welfare in any reform — Pexcel John Bacon
