Dropping of Filipino in college irks educators

MANILA, Philippines - Educators, experts and advocates of Filipino and Philippine literature have expressed anger over plans to drop the mandatory Filipino subjects in the revised general education (GE) curriculum released by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

“Hindi lang gulat, galit!” National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera told The STAR following a forum at the University of the Philippines (UP) on Monday.

“That effectively shuts Filipino out of the cultural development,” he added, referring to the government decision that reduces the required general education subjects to a minimum of 32 units.

A primer on the K to 12 program released on the Official Gazette said that the new curriculum will have fewer units “with the removal of unnecessary remediation as K to 12 graduates adhere to the College Readiness Standards.”

The CHED memorandum order on the new curriculum noted that the integration of GE courses in senior high school (Grades 11 and 12) has created a window for the revision of the current curriculum in colleges.

The new curriculum, according to CHED, aims to develop the intellectual competencies, personal and civic competencies, and practical skills of students.

It included the following core courses, which “maybe (sic) taught in English or Filipino”: Understanding the Self; Readings in Philippine History; The Contemporary World; and Mathematics in the Modern World.

Also included are Purposive Communication; Art Appreciation; Science, Technology and Society; and Ethics.

The new curriculum requires three courses on the Arts & Humanities; Social Sciences & Philosophy; and Mathematics Science and Technology clusters. It also mandates the three-unit Life and Works of Rizal course.

David San Juan, professor of Filipino at the De La Salle University, said courses included in the CHED memorandum effectively removes Filipino from the college curriculum.

He said that while the memorandum stated that the optional provision for the teaching of the courses in Filipino dilutes its purpose as most universities in the country uses English as its default language.

Rosario Torres-Yu, chairperson of the UP Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, said the lack of implementing rules on the token provision may result in lay-off of Filipino teachers as administrators would rather let the subjects be taught in English.

She said Filipino should not be compared with English as it is declared the national language and its purpose is for it to be used as the official language, the language for communication, and the language for teaching.

Illogical

Elena Mirano, dean of the UP College of Arts and Letters, lamented what she described as an illogical move to shorten the college curriculum down to three years – one for GE courses and two for major subjects.

She said it does not follow logic that two years were added in basic education, and then a year will be removed from higher education.

“If we want to be at par with world standards, why are we shortening (the college curriculum)?” she asked in Filipino. “Where did that decision come from?”

Ramon Guillermo of the UP Departmento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas (DFPP) noted that most of the top universities in Malaysia and Indonesia still require the teaching of their respective national languages in the college curriculum.

DFPP professor Glecy Atienza also stressed that studying Filipino should never be a choice, adding that there are differences as regards the maturity of college and high school students that affect the learning process.

“Hindi lang ito natatapos sa usapin ng wika. Usapin din ito ng paninindigan at Kabuhayan ng kung anong lumikha sa atin,” she said.

Opposition to CHED memo

In separate statements, the UP DFPP and the Kagawaran ng Filipino of the Ateneo de Manila University expressed opposition to the revised curriculum released by CHED.

“Hindi lamang midyun ng pagtuturo and Filipino. Isa itong disiplina. Lumilikha ito ng sariling larang ng karunungan na nagtatampok sa pagka-Filipino sa anumang usapin sa loob at labas ng akademya,” read the statement from Ateneo Filipino department.

“Kaakibat ng pag-aaral ng Filipino bilang disiplina ang pagtatanghal at paglingap ng mga wika at kultura ng bayan. Hindi dapat mawala ang wikang panrehiyon sa diskursong akademiko,” it added.

The DFPP, meanwhile, said the CHED memorandum is an abuse committed against history, wisdom, and independence that Filipinos fought for in the past.

“Ang pagtatanggal ng siyam na yunit ng Filipino sa kolehiyo ay isang anyo ng karahasang pangkamalayan. Nilulusaw nito ang pagpapahalaga sa kasaysayan at kabihasnang tanging Filipino ang makakapagpaliwanag,” read the statement.

The UP DFPP said that the objective to produce students who recognize their history and responsibilities as Filipino will not be achieved if the primary tool – the Filipino language – will be removed from the from the higher education institutions.