The Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (Scap) has expressed serious concern over proposed reforms to the General Education (GE) curriculum by the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), warning that the current framework may deepen inequality across institutions and erode the academic depth essential to higher education.
Proposed Changes to GE Curriculum
The proposed restructuring reduces GE units from 36 to 18-21 and consolidates key disciplines into broader, skills-oriented courses. While positioned as a move toward flexibility and modernization, Scap emphasizes that such changes carry significant implications for the quality and purpose of General Education.
Impact on Academic Depth
General Education plays a foundational role in cultivating critical thinking, ethical reasoning, historical awareness, and social consciousness. The removal of standalone courses in philosophy, ethics, literature, and key areas of history risks diluting these disciplines into fragmented components, weakening the rigor required for meaningful intellectual formation.
Risk of Two-Tiered Education System
Scap further notes that the proposed minimum GE framework may result in unequal educational outcomes. In a system where institutional capacities vary widely, many higher education institutions are likely to adopt the minimum requirement due to resource constraints. While some institutions may expand their GE offerings, others may not have the capacity to do so, resulting in a two-tiered system in which access to comprehensive, humanities-rich education becomes uneven.
Legal and Faculty Concerns
The alliance also raises concern over the alignment of the proposal with existing legal frameworks. The inclusion of labor education as a core requirement invites scrutiny in relation to Republic Act No. 11551, which provides for its integration as an elective. The removal of courses focused on self-understanding and well-being appears inconsistent with the intent of Republic Act No. 11036. Any restructuring of Rizal and Philippine Studies must remain consistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 1425.
Beyond curriculum design, Scap highlights the absence of a clear transition plan for faculty members who may be affected by the reduction in GE units. Educators, particularly those in the humanities and social sciences, face potential displacement without defined safeguards or support mechanisms.
Academic Freedom at Stake
Scap also underscores the importance of upholding academic freedom as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. While the Commission on Higher Education is mandated under Republic Act No. 7722 to set standards, this authority must not extend to prescribing uniform curricular structures that constrain institutional autonomy in determining content, pedagogy, and academic priorities.
Calls for Comprehensive Review
In light of these concerns, Scap calls for a comprehensive review of the proposed GE reforms to ensure that they strengthen, rather than diminish, the role of General Education in higher education. This includes retaining core humanities and social science disciplines as distinct and required components, ensuring equitable access to quality education across institutions, aligning reforms with existing laws, and establishing clear protections for affected faculty.
Scap further calls for broader, transparent, and meaningful consultations with students, educators, and academic communities before any final policy is adopted.
The alliance reiterates that the future of higher education must not be reduced to narrow measures of efficiency or employability alone, but must remain anchored in the development of critical, ethical, and socially engaged citizens.
