AFTER successfully implementing my university’s New General Education Curriculum (NGEC) orientation program, many realizations came into the picture. I wish I could put the proper words in this article in order to give justice to the constantly evolving queries in our minds.
My colleagues see this challenge as a paradigm shift and as a test to one’s stamina to accept a change, a change in mind-set, a change in pedagogy, and a change in attitude. This challenge brought us mind-boggling questions that even experts of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) central office could not probably even answer.
One of these is the question on “who is going to teach these courses?” It is not mere blindness to the idea but a question of how can this idea be translated into action considering that the milieu of our Mindanao State University is very much different from the other parts of the country. It is more agitating than exciting.
Starting with the medium of instruction to be used, there are two separate syllabi for each medium, the English and Filipino, for every NGEC course. This opened challenging inquiries and realizations. If the goal of the NGEC includes the well-roundedness of a man, then neither of these mediums can help a student unlock his personality. I would still believe that by using the context of the Mindanao learners including the students’ native language will definitely be keys to one’s understanding himself.
The NGEC courses are said to be difficult and complicated. However, intricacies in this “new” GEC are more complicated than we thought especially when we talk about the content. I believe that localizing the context would bridge gaps in learning. Taking “Ethics” as a course, one could not stop thinking of the context of our multi-cultural university. Whose morality are we talking about? Morality is so relative in our university’s context.
Debates arising from these NGEC courses are but normal courses of a paradigm shift. It cannot be denied that others may show intellectual arrogance in pointing out the need for experts on these courses. However, no one can claim monopoly on the course content due to its interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary characteristics. We do not have degrees yet that have produced exactly what we needed at this present time.
Challenges in this NGEC are realities of every university or college these days. Capacitating the current faculty work force of a university is an utmost priority. We may be good in one aspect of a course but limited on the other. Capacity building courses must be laid down ahead in order to sharpen our educators in the higher learning institutions of the country.
How far and determined are our institutions in providing what we need? Capacity, material and financial resources are just a few of the many requirements that we need to prepare ahead. What will be our next steps ahead?
As a young middle manager in this institution, I can only say what I have observed. I am just a dot in this vast and wide ocean of knowledge that Ched NGEC is yet to unfold. A strong stand from a university and a more liberal administrative move from the government are highly needed in this paradigm shift. We have to consider all dimensions of learning in different contexts of the country.
Mindanaoans are different. We cannot just fit in any one-size-fits-all model. We have a different context that only Mindanaoans can understand. I can only hope that our tailors of these educational reforms could include matters in the grassroots of the land.
Hence, these new GEC courses are hoped to be our students’ gateway in understanding better our existence as a county.