Sunday, February 1, 2009

5 years in College Education, Is it Acceptable?

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is planning to extend the current 4 year curriculum of the Nursing and Education program into 5 years and if it is successful, all courses offered in the Philippines whether board and non-board courses will also be extended to 5 years in 2010. But this plan is still under review by the panel created and will still undergo consutations from both students and their parents which are the number 1 that will be affected if this program will push through. According to CHED chairman Edgar Angeles, this extension of curriculum will be "more economical" for students because review sessions will be integrated in this new 5 year curriculum, there is no need for students to pay for review centers after they finish up the 5 year course. "If this proposal be allowed, only those in their freshmen year will take the 5 year curriculum and those who are in their 2nd to 4th year will still take the current 4 year curriculum" Angeles added. Also, there are also revisions in the current subjects that the curriculum offer. According to some sources, the first 2 years will be all minor subjects and 3rd year to 5th year will be all major subjects and practicum. The release of this plan in the press has resulted to a lot of criticism, both positive and negative from the students in different part of the country.


Some students, specially those who don't have enough money to support another year said that it only adds to their burden. If this happen, they will be forced to stop their schooling. In an interview with one of the student of the University of Philippines Diliman which I unfortunately forgot the name, she said that "adding another year to the curriculum doesn't provide a quality educition for students here in the country". "If the government want to improve the quality of education, CHED should revise the current curriculum because it doesn't meet what the industry needs". For sure this plan will still undergo a lot of debates and criticism before it is implemented.

For me, adding another year in college not only in Nursing but in all courses in the future will not solve the current problems our education system are facing as what this UP student said. We are facing in a global financial crisis, tuition fee increases dramatically yearly, adding 1 year will only result to dropped in number of enrolled students. I think 4 years is enough for students to learn what the industry needs. Revision of the current curriculum should also be done. I think the curriculum that schools are using is still in the 90's and it don't match the current needs in the industry. Also, try to limit the minor subjects offered, instead of offering bunch of social sciences and literature, why not limit it to only those what the course needs and change it to a major subject? Practicum in every schools should also be increased from 240 hours to 1 semester I think to allow students learn what they need to learn. These are all alternatives in the increase of the no. of years in college. The government should weigh the advantages and disadvantages well for them to come up with the best for every filipino.


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