Ched to discuss removal of Filipino in curriculum

MANILA, Philippines - The general education panel of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) meets today to discuss the controversial memorandum order, which removes the Filipino subject in the new curriculum under the K to 12 program.

CHED chairperson Patricia Licuanan called the meeting in the face of criticisms from various groups.

Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino chairman and National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario said CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) 20 removes old general education subjects taught in both English and Filipino.

He added the syllabus of the new subjects is available only in English.

However, under the CMO, general education courses may be taught in English or Filipino.

According to CHED, old college-level general education subjects, which include Filipino, will be transferred to the K to 12 curriculum, specifically in the senior high school (Grades 11 and 12) in 2018.

Under the K to 12 program, Filipino students will have to go through kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of junior high school (Grade 7-10) and two years of senior high school (Grade 11-12).

STAR columnist Isagani Cruz, who is a member of CHED’s technical panel on general education, said he is personally against adding more units to the general education curriculum.

“No one else in the whole world has as many units of General Education as we do,” Cruz said in his column dated Nov. 28, 2013.

He said the technical panel did not conduct a research before it proposed the curriculum.

The new curriculum has been reduced from 51 or 63 units to 36. It means one year’s worth of general education subjects.

The 36 units are divided into 24 units of core courses or subjects, nine units of electives, and three units of the mandated Rizal course.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.  said the decision to remove the Filipino subject was due to the need to rationalize the curriculum following the adoption of the K to 12 program.