CHED moves GE curriculum reform to 2028

The rollout of the Commission on Higher Education’s (Commission on Higher Education) Reframed General Education curriculum has been postponed to 2028, following strong feedback and concerns raised by higher education institutions and education stakeholders.

CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said the decision was made to allow more time for consultations and further study of the proposed revisions, which include reducing General Education units from 36 to 18 or 21 and integrating subjects such as ethics, philosophy, arts, literature, and Philippine history.

“We came to a decision that there will be no GE implementation across all programs this school year,” Agrupis said.

“The target of this will be 2028, so that this will give us time to study and then listen more to the different stakeholders.”

She said the agency is continuing its nationwide consultation process to address concerns over possible faculty displacement, industry alignment, and institutional autonomy.

Agrupis noted that several stakeholders have raised concerns that the proposed 18-unit framework may limit academic flexibility.

“In fact, there is this Catholic Education Association, CEAC, they want it more flexible because it should not be a one-size-fits-all reframed curriculum because each institution has its own institutional direction or expertise,” she said.

CHED said it has already received feedback from 255 higher education institutions across all 17 regions, along with 15 position papers from various groups, including the ACT Teachers Party-list and other academic organizations.

Agrupis added that an online feedback system has been set up to support continued public consultation and ensure a data-driven review of the curriculum.

While a pilot implementation remains possible before 2028, she said this will depend on the assessment of the interagency technical working group in coordination with the Department of Education.

CHED is accepting position papers and comments from stakeholders until June as part of the ongoing review process.