Roman Romulo: Removal, transfer of subjects may shorten college by 1 sem

Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, chair of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, presides over a meeting in this file photo taken on Nov. 6, 2023. (Photo from a video posted on the Facebook page of the House of Representatives)

MANILA, Philippines — Plans to remove redundant subjects and transfer courses in tertiary education to the senior high level of the K-12 program may shorten college programs by one semester, Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo said on Wednesday.

In an interview on Wednesday after the hearing conducted by the House of Representatives’ committee on basic education and culture, Romulo explained that both the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) have met to discuss the possibility of transferring five general education (GE) subjects to Grade 11.

Three other subjects — art appreciation, contemporary world, and ethics — will be removed since they are already being discussed in the basic education curriculum, under Social Studies, Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC), and Arts.

“The discussion, as what DepEd and CHEd relayed to us, was that they have met and agreed that of the remaining GE subjects in college, five of those would be brought down to the senior high school level, at Grade 11.  So, the five subjects will be removed from GE subjects,” Romulo, who heads the committee, told reporters.

READ: Quimbo: Optional trigonometry may revert college curriculum to pre-K-12 

“And then, there are three GE subjects — because the total of what will be removed is eight – the three subjects, they realized after reading the curriculum of the basic education, it is already discussed inside Social Studies, GMRC, and Arts.  So it is no longer needed, it won’t be repeated at the collegiate level,” he added.

Removing subjects

According to Romulo, CHEd is open to the possibility of removing these subjects, which would result in the reduction of 24 units, since each college subject is worth three units.  This may lead to the removal of one semester, as college students usually acquire 24 units per semester.

Furthermore, Romulo said CHEd does not look to fill in the potentially redacted semester by adding more subjects, saying that a Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) study showed that the number of units given to college students is at par with the global standards.

“So, based on the discussion earlier, you heard it, CHEd is open to removing one entire semester from college, because the eight subjects would correspond to a total of 24 units,” he said.

“What we are seeking clarity is, assuming the units would really be removed, would they add subjects?  They said probably not.  In fact, there is a PIDS study that came out, it’s saying that from when we removed GEs before — because some GE subjects were already removed — then the CHEd technical panels added more, the PIDS study said we are way ahead of global standards,” he added.

Romulo, however, clarified that the K-12 system would stay in place, noting that the discussions now would center on whether it is fair and correct to give students ready for college studies a chance to pursue collegiate education by either Grade 10 or Grade 11.

“The next issue is with basic education, can we let students graduate after 10 or 12 years?  Just to be clear, K-12 remains.  What we are saying is that maybe they can provide an exit at Grades 10 and 11 for learners who are ready to go to college,” he noted.

Before this, however, there were concerns raised about having some previously required subjects under the K-12 program an elective or optional course.  Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo warned that plans to turn some key subjects under the senior high system — like trigonometry — as an elective or optional course may force universities and colleges to revert to their old curricula before the K-12.

Trigonometry

Quimbo said that with this proposal, there would be graduates of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) strand in the senior high school system who have not taken up trigonometry.

READ: No such thing as Grade 13, but DepEd hit for bridging program

Education Assistant Secretary Janir Datukan said that the DepEd is planning to strengthen guidance counseling programs to ensure that students will be guided toward picking the right elective subjects.  Quimbo however noted that this might not be enough, especially considering that some schools lack or do not actually have guidance counselors.

This is not the first time that Quimbo and members of the House committee, including Romulo, called out DepEd for various issues involving the K-12 curriculum.

During the panel’s previous hearing last May 19, Quimbo — who is a professor at her alma mater, the University of the Philippines – Diliman School of Economics — asked why there was a need to include applied economics subjects inside the K-12 curriculum when not all students take a program related to business or economics.

Quimbo and Romulo also called out DepEd over different universities and colleges’ decision to adopt a bridging program — a short supplementary or remedial course that would make graduates ready for tertiary programs — when the K-12 program itself should have been enough to prepare students.

The K-12 program was implemented during the administration of then-President Benigno Aquino III in response to a concern that Filipino workers lacked two years of basic academic experience.

This is because many countries have a 13-year pre-university program — one year for kindergarten, six years of elementary school, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high.

But over the years, there have been calls to revamp the K-12 system as some experts believe the additional two years did not address the bad performance of Filipino students compared to those in neighboring countries./mr