The Commission on Higher Education has postponed the pilot testing of its proposed reframed general education curriculum from 2026 to 2028. The decision follows petitions from teachers, students, and advocacy groups opposing the reduction of GE units from 36 to 18. Officials cited the need for further review of stakeholder comments.
The Commission on Higher Education announced the postponement during a press conference on May 13, 2026. Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said the pilot implementation would move to 2028 to allow time to analyze stakeholder feedback.
A meeting involving CHED, the Department of Education, the Second Congressional Commission on Education, and the Teacher Education Council led to the creation of an inter-agency technical working group. This group will examine position papers, with submissions accepted until June 15. Over 250 higher education institutions have already shared their views.
Critics have raised concerns about combining Philippine history with the Rizal course and removing ethics as a standalone subject. Edizon Fermin, who leads the technical panel, explained that the original 2026 timeline aimed to align with updates to the teacher education curriculum.