Senator Sherwin Gatchalian clarified that the push to shorten college education to three years is not meant to reduce government spending but to ease the financial strain on Filipino families.
“Hindi natin ito ginawa para magtipid ang gobyerno. Ginawa natin ito para makapagtipid ang mga magulang,” Gatchalian said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB on Sunday, emphasizing that the goal is to help parents cut down on school-related expenses.
He explained that costs such as transportation, dormitory fees, and requirements for projects and field trips pile up over the years. The senator also questioned why some college courses seem to repeat content already taken during earlier years of education, pointing to physical education (PE) as an example. “PE is an example na binabayaran ng magulang ng four semesters,” he said, suggesting that time and resources could instead be focused on subjects within a student’s chosen field.
The proposal is embodied in the senator’s priority legislation—the Three-Year College Education Act—filed during the 20th Congress. It tasks the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) with reviewing degree programs to potentially compress them into no more than three academic years.
Under the bill, general education subjects would be integrated into the senior high school curriculum, allowing college students to focus on internships and specialized training earlier in their academic journey.
