IF members of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) can have their way, shortening college courses to three years may soon be the norm as part of efforts to improve the country’s educational system.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, one of five senators in the roster of EDCOM 2, said members of the body created by Republic Act 11899 met Thursday last week with Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte and shortening college courses to three was one of the recommendations that was considered.
RA 11899 mandates the commission to conduct a “comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector for the purpose of recommending transformative, concrete, and targeted reforms in the sector with the end in view of making the Philippines globally competitive in both education and labor markets” in the next three years from 2023 to 2025.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian is the EDCOM 2 co-chairperson with Duterte. Aside from Angara, the other senators in the body are Francis Escudero, Juan Edgardo Angara, Pia Cayetano, and Joel Villanueva. Completing the membership are Reps. Roman Romulo, Mark Go, Jose Francisco Benitez, Khlaid Dimaporo, and Pablo John Garcia.
The EDCOM 2 advisory council consists of Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ; Dr. Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, Alfredo Ayala, Dr. Chito Salazar, Rhodora Angela Ferrer, Irene Isaac, Pasig City Mayor Victor Ma. Sotto, Taguig City Mayor Maria Laarni Cayetano, Maria Oliva Lucas, and Milwida Guevarra.
In a radio interview, Angara said the body considered a proposal shortening college education to three years by doing away with the “general studies” subjects that have been taken by students in senior high school.
He said these general studies subjects are mostly offered during the first year of a four-year bachelor college course.
Angara said shortening the number of years in college was one of the promises of the K to 12 program that was implemented 10 years back.
“I think one of the recommendations is to shorten the number of years of the college course which was one of the promises of the K to 12 program which was implemented a decade ago, that other subjects will not be included anymore in a four-year bachelor course. Instead of taking them up again (in college), we will not include them anymore so a student can graduate after three years,” Angara said.
For instance, he said students taking up architecture will no longer be obliged to take up Biology as a pre-requisite subject, although they have the option to take it up as an elective subject.
Angara said scrapping the K to 12 program is not yet in the pipeline of EDCOM 2 even as it promised that senior high school graduates will be guaranteed jobs upon finishing the program.
“At present, we have not reached the direction to scrap it since it is too early and we have not yet implemented the K to 12 program to the fullest. But we still do not know, that’s why we will meet with the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority on their assessment of the program and what will be the policy. But we are still not yet in that direction,” he added.
He said members of the EDCOM 2 and its Advisory Council will hold further discussions to finalize their assessment and evaluation of the country’s education system and give the recommendations to the DepEd, CHE, and Tesda.
