Many teachers argue that the country is not merely an assembly line of labor but a community of thinking citizens. On the other side, there are legitimate complaints about the current General Education (GE) curriculum.
Arguments for STEM, Professional Programs, and Economists
For engineering, health sciences, IT, and other professional programs, GE consumes credit units that could otherwise go to laboratory work, clinical exposure, and internships. In a country lacking high-level technical professionals, each unit lost to specialization is significant. Policy analysts also note that the current GE does not clearly contribute to Philippine Qualifications Framework Level 6 outcomes. They question why GE remains a block instead of integrating competencies across the curriculum.
The Real Clash of Disciplines
This is not a simple pro-GE vs. anti-GE debate. It is a clash between:
- Humanities and Social Sciences vs. Technocratic and Market-driven Disciplines
- Education as nation-building vs. Education as workforce preparation
- University as moral-intellectual space vs. University as training center
Both sides hold some truth.
How Should This Be Resolved?
Not through command-and-control memos from above. The proper resolution is hybrid and dialogical, as suggested by policy scholars:
- A lean but meaningful national GE core (e.g., 24–30 units) with clear intended competencies, not just course titles.
- Institutional differentiation: allow SUCs, LUCs, and private HEIs to design GE according to their mandate, as long as they meet clear outcomes.
- Spiral articulation of SHS–College: clarify what college does that SHS cannot.
- Faculty transition and protection: curriculum reform must not cause collateral damage to teachers.
Who Should Listen to Whom?
Everyone should listen to everyone, but with a hierarchy of accountability. CHED should listen to teachers, not just economists and industry. HEIs have academic freedom but social responsibility. Legislators should not dictate curriculum based on political sound bites. Teachers and academe must admit some GE practices are outdated and need change.
Curriculum reform is not simply removing or transferring subjects. It is a collective decision on what kind of nation we build inside the classroom. If not discussed deeply, clearly, and with respect for different disciplines, what will be reframed is not just General Education but the very meaning of education in the Philippines.
