Higher education and the formation of civic responsibility

Two recent events prompted me to wonder, as a retired academic researcher.

First, there is the decision of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to defer its so-called Reframed General Education (GE) Curriculum (RGEC) to 2028, allowing, according to its chair, further review and consultations with academic stakeholders. It seeks to reduce GE units from 36 to 18 to 21, consolidating several disciplines into broader competency-based courses. The decision followed strong, united opposition from academic organizations and university humanities units across the country, warning that the planned overhaul could weaken critical thinking, civic formation, and the role of the humanities and social sciences in Philippine higher education. They warned that the proposed curriculum framework risks producing graduates who may possess technical skills but cannot critically examine government policies, historical struggles, corruption, disinformation, and democratic issues.

The second is an incident involving higher education institutions calling on one of their alumni to reflect on the values she once upheld, stressing that recognition should be tied not only to achievement but also character and moral responsibility. Although triggered by the recent political controversy, this is not the first time that higher educational institutions have reminded graduates to live by the values they were taught.

The recent debate over the CHEd’s RGEC and the call by higher education institutions for their alumna in public office to live according to the values they once taught them both raise the same fundamental question: What is higher education ultimately for? Critics of the proposed RGEC argue that reducing humanities and social science courses might lead to graduates who are technically skilled but may lack critical thinking, ethical judgment, historical awareness, and civic responsibility. Likewise, when schools emphasize values such as truth, justice, accountability, and moral courage to their graduates, they reaffirm that education is not just about acquiring skills or credentials but about shaping individuals and citizens capable of responsible engagement in society.

Both events underscore the enduring importance of the humanities and social sciences in shaping students’ moral and social character, including patriotism, obedience to just laws, and a commitment to the common good, values taught in every school at all levels. The expectation that graduates act with integrity in public spheres presupposes the discerning, ethical, and civic formation traditionally cultivated by GE.

Taken together, these developments reveal a growing tension between a market-driven model of education focused on competency, competition, and commercialization, and a values-based vision of education oriented toward democratic participation, the common good, and the formation of morally responsible citizens. The issue at hand is whether higher education should focus solely on producing skilled workers for the economy or also on developing citizens with strong ethical and critical judgment, civic responsibility, and a commitment to the common good.