UP Diliman guts General Education program
Voting 302 to 31 with 44 abstentions, the UP Diliman University Council approved a proposal to overhaul the general education (GE) program that has been in place for the past 14 years.
In another vote, a plurality of University Council members (139-37-17) decided to slash by more than half the minimum number of GE units all undergraduate students are required to take – from 45 units at present to just 21 effective Academic Year 2018-2019.
According to a report by the Philippine Collegian, departments and institutes have the discretion to add up to 24 more elective GE units for specific degree programs as they see fit.\
Currently, all undergraduate students are required to earn 15 units in each of these three GE domains: Arts and Humanities (AH), Math, Science, and Technology (MST), and Social Sciences and Philosophy (SSP).
However, because of the introduction of senior high school as mandated by the K plus 12 law, some college GE subjects are now taught for Grade 11 and 12 students like Oral Communication, General Biology, and Practical Research.
Hence, one rationale for the GE program revamp is to stop students from taking duplicate subjects. On the flip side, reducing the number of subjects offered may mean fewer teaching loads for college professors. One solution to this is by creating new specialized or major subjects.
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