22/05/2026
𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 || 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗘 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘂𝗺
The UPLB GE Program Council rejects the proposed Reframed General Education (GE) presented by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) last May 5, 2026. This proposal violates democratic protocols in public policy-making, constitutes an attack on legislative provisions on academic freedom and job security, and submits higher education to the narrow instrumentalism of the market.
While the CHED has suspended the proposal’s pilot implementation, the Reframed GE was drafted in violation of the principles of democratic deliberation and transparency, and therefore should be discarded. Educational policy-making is a matter of public trust, and this should never be undermined by non-disclosure agreements and spurious consultations that systematically undermine the principles of transparency and accountability.
We also take the stand that the proposal constitutes a violation of academic freedom, enshrined in the Higher Education Act of 1994, which limits CHED’s role to setting the minimum standards for academic programs. We also raise alarm over the possibility of massive labor displacement among existing GE faculty that the proposal entails, violating the Constitutionally guaranteed provision on labor security.
Ultimately, the Reframed GE Curriculum continues a series of attacks against GE, most recently enacted through CHED Memorandum No. 20, series of 2013, that have gradually diminished the number of GE courses across the country. This trajectory stems from a narrow, instrumentalist view adopted by CHED that treats higher education merely as a pipeline for labor market integration, rather than a space for intellectual growth.
Higher education aims for the holistic development of graduates capable of critical and creative thinking, and imbued with a strong sense of socio-historical and nationalist consciousness. This is only achievable through a strong GE program in the tertiary level, where engagement with the humanities and social sciences, as well as mathematics and related scientific fields is continuously deepened and sharpened in the spirit of interdisciplinarity, building on foundational learning in the basic education level.
We take the stand that curricular revisions, while necessary, do not adequately address the real issues besetting higher education institutions (HEIs) and the education sector in general – the need for teacher training and capacity strengthening, labor insecurity within the academic sector, lack of resources to ensure a conducive learning environment, the need for inclusive access to education for the most marginalized sectors of Philippine society, and the broader problem of systemic corruption.
In this light, we acknowledge the need for UPLB, and UP in general, to strengthen its public engagement with other HEIs, particularly state universities and colleges, to advance educational policies that put a premium on national development and social justice.
A stronger, meaningful GE can only be crafted through collective, inclusive, and transparent policy-making—guided by the enduring values of justice, nationalism, and democracy.
