“The Catanduanes State University (CSU) management provides ample freedom among the different Deans to offer proposals innovative enough to include Filipino or even other languages, provided there are no duplications of subjects pursuant to the K to 12 law,” thus Dr. Minerva I. Morales, CSU President, stressed.
This came to light as Dr. Morales clarified that the Catanduanes State University management does not rule-out respective Colleges to present tangible offering of Filipino in the curriculum, so long as it goes within the non-duplicity rule and will enhance the language proficiency in the college level. She cited for one, the on-going offering of Filipino as a subject in the College of Education, an offshoot of Proposal of its Dean, Dr. Charlene Cantar which the Management has adopted for implementation in that College. Dr. Morales added that other Colleges could follow suit with similar initiative which they may deem adaptable in their own setting.
However, the President emphasized that the CSU is likewise duty-bound to apply the resolution of the Supreme Court (SC) denying the motion for reconsideration to stop the implementation of CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 20, series of 2013, otherwise known as the “General Education Curriculum: Holistic Understandings, Intellectual and Civic Competencies” insofar as the inclusion of Filipino and Panitikan in the General Education Curriculum of all higher education institutions is concerned.
In its Press Release, CHED Chairman Prospero E. De Vera III said that the SC decision clearly shows that the CHED did not abolish Filipino and Panitikan in the General Education Curriculum. Instead, these were transferred to the Senior High School level since these are important building blocks in the preparation of senior high students to be university-ready when they graduate.
“The accusation of critics that CHED is anti-Filipino is WRONG. The Commission believes in the fundamental role played by language in education. To be properly cultivated, Filipino cannot merely be taught as a subject, but must be used in oral and written forms, across academic domains,” De Vera said.
“This issue has been debated for too long and CHED calls on all sectors to respect and abide by the SC decision so that the revised curriculum for various degree programs can now be fully implemented with dispatch by the close to 2,000 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) nationwide, “ De Vera added.
CHED will support HEIs that will pursue language innovation while providing scholarship and professional education assistance to affected Filipino and Panitikan teachers through the K to 12 Transition Program Fund. #
