CHED wants to shorten four-year

college courses
BY NEIL ALCOBER, TMT
JULY 22, 2016

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 CHED WANTS TO SHORTEN FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE COURSES

THE head of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) wants to

shorten the length of some college degree programs, because senior
high school under the K-to-12 enhanced basic education program has
been fully implemented this school year.

CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan said the commission’s technical

panels have begun discussing the proposed new general education
curriculum.

The duration of some baccalaureate degree programs will be reduced

by one year, as general subjects for college freshmen will be covered
in senior high school.

“That is being discussed at the disciplinal level, so that‘s very

difficult. Many don’t want to really reduce, but engineering courses
had been reduced because of the K to12. They’re now four years
instead of five years,” she said in an interview on Friday.

“But the other disciplines are also being urged by CHED to consider
that because we see that there are some courses and some disciplines
that can be taken, maybe in three years.
But it’s up to higher education institutions if they would consider it,”
the CHED chief added.

The proposed new general education curriculum will take effect in

2018, the year when the first batch of senior high school (Grade 12)
students graduate.

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The CHED chief said there were courses that don’t need four years of
education, but she clarified that the reduction of college courses would
not be mandatory on higher educational institutions, since they have
academic freedom.

Licuanan said she was still hoping that both private and public
colleges and universities consider the reduction of the general
education curriculum.

She, however, doubted that private school owners would consider this,
as they would be losing revenue from the decreased college years.

“We see that since we cut the general education curriculum practically
in half they (schools) are also putting in what they thought was much
needed before,” Licuanan said.

General education includes subjects such as English, Filipino, and

Natural Science, which will be transferred to the high school phase of
basic education.

In previous discussions, CHED technical panels had recommended

that the four-year degree courses on arts and sciences be reduced to
three years.
 DepEd chief: K+12 curriculum
may shorten college to 3 years
Published March 30, 2012 10:15am

By EARL VICTOR L. ROSERO, GMA News

With changes in the curriculum and the two more years added to basic
education, colleges and universities may soon drop some subjects that are
essentially “remedial high school courses,” thereby shortening college to three
years from the usual four years, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said.
Luistro also clarified that some private schools already
have K+12 (Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary
education) program while a few even have up to 13 years of elementary and
high school curriculum. He said the Education Act of 1982 provides only for a
“minimum” of 10 years, so that private schools can even offer more than the
10 years. There are 7,613 private grade schools and 5,682 private high
schools as of the latest count of the Department of Education, Luistro said in
his “State of Basic Education” report before the annual meeting of the
Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) in Makati last Wednesday. The
DepEd chief explained that the public school system needs Congress to
amend the Education Act of 1982, so DepEd can have legal basis for seeking
the budget for the additional two years of senior high school. Former Finance
Secretary and now PBEd chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. said the K+12 and
other DepEd reforms represent a “monumental change in the way we prepare
our youth.” Saying that “now is the time to take bold steps,” Del Rosario
assured Luistro the support of the PBEd in efforts to convince Congress to
pass a law needed to implement the K+12 program, adding that without the
(new) law, the proposed eduction curriculum "would be put at risk.” New
curriculum Luistro said the two years of senior high school will happen
starting June 2016 – not this year because for the School Year 2012-2013,
only the universal kindergarten; the new curriculum for Grade 1; and the
changing of First Year high school to new curriculum for Grade 7 will be
phased in. Also, Luistro said those who finish the K+12 program "will graduate
twice" because they will earn two certificates: one for completion of the DepEd
subjects at Grade 10 and the other for finishing the technical skills subjects
integrated into the curriculum. For these technical subjects, DepEd is working
with the Department f Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Data of the National
Statistics Office show that 35 percent of the unemployed are high school
graduates. On the other hand, the DOLE said many high school graduates do
not get hired because they lack skills and qualities employers look for. Luistro
said the K+12 program will address this concern of employers. Not just
adding 2 years In explaining the K+12 program, Luistro stressed that the
new curriculum "is not just about adding two years, not just about preparing
students for jobs, but preparing them for life." Prior to 2016, Luistro said the
DepEd will have some “model high schools” try out the senior high school
reforms so any implementation issues can be spotted and rectified before full
roll-out in June 2016. The DepEd has also been phasing in an array of other
reforms such as:

 Subjects in grade school and high school will be taught in the mother
tongue or local languages of the students;

 Books and other learning materials being translated into 12 major

Philippine languages;

 Science concepts will be integrated into Health and other subjects while
separate science classes will come in the higher grade levels;

 Public school teachers to undergo training on the K+12 curricular

changes in April and May;

 “Blended learning” and other measures to address dropout and

congestion problems;

 Census of in-school and out-of-school youths with the help of barangay

officials and other local government officials; and
  “Unique Learner Reference Number” to track individual students as they
go through the education system from the time they first enroll to until
they leave or graduate.

Luistro also said he will ask Congress to enact a law that will allow
practitioners, experts and graduates of courses other than Education, to teach
on a part-time basis in the public schools. According to him, the DepEd needs
the expertise of these people for specialized topics and technical subjects in
the K+12 program. – LBG, GMA News

Some college courses to be

cut by 1 year under new

curriculum
By Helen Flores, The Philippine Star

Posted at Apr 01 2013 07:20 AM | Updated as of Apr 01 2013 03:20 PM

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MANILA, Philippines - A number of four-year college courses will be reduced by one year once the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) implements the revised General Education Curriculum of
baccalaureate programs.

CHED chair Patricia Licuanan said that the Commission’s Technical Panel on General Education
(TPGE) approved proposals to reduce the General Education curriculum from two years to one year
in line with the implementation of the K to 12 program.

“The GE curriculum has been reduced in half. From two years it has become the equivalent of one
year. Yes, it’s approved already. I’m not sure if the CMO (CHED Memorandum Order) is out,”
Licuanan said.

The General Education Curriculum would be reduced because the general subjects taught in the first
two years in college would be taught to senior high school students in the K to 12 program, which
would be fully implemented in 2016.

The K to 12 program adds two more years to the current 10-year basic education program. It
introduces pre-college levels of junior and senior high school.

Licuanan said the technical panel and committees representing various disciplines have discussed
what to do with their respective curricula.

“I personally say that there are some courses that could be three years,” Licuanan said, adding that
the technical panel is likely to come up with the decision by middle of school year 2013-2014.

“We have the list of common subjects. A number of them are new courses in the sense that they are
more interdisciplinary. We are not just choosing from the existing ones,” she said.

“For some things it doesn’t need to be a four-year college course. There are many things, many skills
that can be developed through shorter programs for middle level skills training in TESDA (Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority) for instance,” the CHED chief added.