Calling universities with arts programs

The Philippine Cultural Education Program (PCEP), spearheaded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), will hold a consultative meeting next month with heads of universities on the possibilities of working together in promoting and strengthening graduate degree programs in the arts.

In particular, NCCA is interested in coordinating with universities that offer master’s and doctoral programs in any of the arts, such as literature, music, dance, theater, painting, sculpture, architecture, media, graphic design, interior design, fashion, and others.

The PCEP, a product of more than a decade of consultations done by NCCA and various government agencies, aims to mainstream cultural education not just in graduate or undergraduate studies, but even in basic education. In fact, PCEP sets its sights on much more than education.

Even from a purely economic point of view, placing culture at the center of government and private development initiatives makes perfect sense. For example, the Olympics had China highlighting its culture during the opening ceremonies. The point of most tours to Europe is to visit cultural heritage sites. Visits to New York City and London, of course, are considered incomplete without attendance at one or two theater performances. Culture makes money, though that is only a by-product of what NCCA is trying to do.

The real objective of the PCEP is to make each Filipino culturally literate, which means not just knowing what we are and what we should be proud of, but also living the values that keep our culture alive.

If you are the head of a university graduate program in the arts, please get in touch with me through [email protected] for more details.

NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS: The Manila Critics Circle (MCC), working closely with the National Book Development Board (NBDB), is about to choose the finalists for the National Book Awards to be handed out in November. If you think your book (copyrighted 2007) may not have been read by the judges, please email me immediately.

PAASCU AND IQUAME: Executive Order No. 705, dated Jan. 2, 2008, exempts PAASCU-accredited schools from IQUAME, CHED’s misguided attempt to reinvent the wheel of accreditation.

The EO asserts that “there is a duplication of functions between PAASCU and IQUAME.” CHED is ordered to “only subject private schools not accredited by PAASCU for IQUAME.”

The EO further provides that “colleges and universities accredited by PAASCU shall be automatically recognized as accredited by IQUAME.” CHED is advised not to regard IQUAME as just “a tool for regulation” but also “for incentives for accredited colleges and universities.”

The EO has many implications. For example, universities applying for deregulated or autonomous status, if they are accredited by PAASCU, automatically get the points allotted for IQUAME.

Second, because the privilege is given to PAASCU schools and not to schools accredited by other agencies, PAASCU is implicitly recognized as the benchmark for private accreditation.

CHED INCONSISTENCIES: The new head of CHED has his work cut out for him. For one thing, he has to remove the self-contradictions and inconsistencies that mark some of the Memorandum Orders that CHED has issued in the past few years.

For example, CMO 54, s. 2007, mandates new syllabi for the three Filipino subjects included in the General Education Curriculum of CMO 59, s. 1996, but CMO 5, s. 2008 (the Nursing curriculum) specifies that the second Filipino course is Panitikang Filipino, a course that no longer exists because it was abolished by CMO 59, s. 1996! CMO 54, s. 2007, and CMO 5, s. 2008, were issued less than a year apart, so it cannot be said that one supersedes the other. It looks more like the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

In fact, CMO 5, s. 2008, is clearly a step backwards. The course “Literatures of the Philippines,” which highlights regional and vernacular literature, corrects the imbalances of Panitikang Filipino, which is about Tagalog writing.

“WORDS OF THE DAY” (English/Filipino) for next week’s elementary school classes: Sept. 8 Monday: 1. toe/jail, 2. bridge/joker, 3. steam/juvenile, 4. feeble/judo, 5. journey/joss, 6. expert/jazz; Sept. 9 Tuesday: 1. top/kabit, 2. brush/kaba, 3. steel/kalag, 4. amount/kalamansi, 5. exchange/kaaway, 6. credit/kabasi; Sept. 10 Wednesday: 1. rub/kabig, 2. breath/kahig, 3. stem/kalog, 4. feather/kabkab, 5. certain/kalapati, 6. desire/kalasag; Sept. 11 Thursday: 1. wet/kagat, 2. brown/kalan, 3. step/kamatis, 4. motion/kampi, 5. drawer/karayom, 6. statement/kalusugan; Sept. 12 Friday: 1. oil/kahoy, 2. great/kambal, 3. still/kati (low tide), 4. mountain/kalawit, 5. leather/kagyos, 6. station/kawad. The numbers after the dates indicate grade level. The dates refer to the official calendar for public elementary schools. For definitions of the words in Filipino, consult UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino.