THE PROPOSAL to add one more year to courses in college is not yet final since the Commission on Higher Education
(CHEd) is still studying it, CHEd chairman Emmanuel Angeles said yesterday.
Angeles said a technical committee is still reviewing the proposed
reform to add another year to college courses to put the country’s
tertiary education system at par with that of other countries.
“There is nothing definite yet. We are not even sure if we would be able to implement this. It is not yet final,” Angeles said.
He said the technical committee would finish its review by next
month and, stating in March, CHEd would conduct wide-ranging
consultations among the major stakeholders in the country’s education
system.
Under the reform program dubbed the “Philippine Main Education
Highway,” existing courses requiring licensure exams by the
Professional Regulation Commission would last for five years starting
this coming school year. And starting 2010, even non-board courses
would also be extended by one year.
The program aims to reform the baccalaureate curriculum in the
college level and would be implemented following the “10+2+3 formula”
or 10 years of basic education, a two-year pre-university program, and
then a final three years of specialization.
This means that after completing 10 six years in elementary and four
years of high school, students could either proceed to vocational
training or take a two-year “pre-university program” before finally
taking their specialized courses.
The reform program was supposed to be rolled out in two phases with
Phase I beginning this coming school year (2009-2010) and affecting
courses with PRC licensure exams.
Engineering and Architecture programs would follow the 10+2+(3 or 4)
scheme in accordance with the standards set by international
accrediting bodies for these fields. The other courses that would be
affected during Phase I include Accounting, Occupational Therapy,
Physical Therapy, and Pharmacy.
Angeles added that nursing actually now takes five years since nursing students are required to take summer classes.
Phase II, which was supposed to take take effect starting school
year 2010-2011, would require all four-year board and non-board
programs to follow the 10+2+3 system, which is in accordance with the
Bologna Accord, a sweeping educational reform program in Europe that
would take effect also in 2010.
All of these, however, might be put on hold depending on the results
of the review by the CHEd technical committee and the consultations
that would be held later this year. INQUIRER
Posted by energon 
Posted by energon 
