THE UNIVERSITY has yet to reopen the program for Education students wanting to major in Filipino. The College of Education is not offering the Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE)-Filipino this academic year due to lack of students.
Of 140 Education sophomores, only 15 signed up to take BSE Filipino last year, said Roberto Ampil, head of the University-wide Filipino Department. Education students are assigned to their majors in their second year. At least 20 students should be enrolled for the major in Filipino program to push through.
Education Dean Clotilde Arcangel has tasked Ampil to encourage Education freshmen to take up BSE-Filipino.
“Napag-desisyunan na pansamantalang ‘wag munang ituloy at magkaroon muna ng one-year campaign para makakuha ng sapat na bilang na kukuha ng major na ito,” Ampil told the Varsitarian in an interview.
“Sabi nga ni Dean Arcangel sa akin, ‘it is your ball game.’ Ang malaking hamon nito, makaka-attract ka ba [ng students]? Kasi numbers game ang labanan dito.”
Filipino teachers from different colleges will teach Education freshmen as part of the campaign.
“Ang magtuturo doon (College of Education) ay may malaking tungkulin na ibenta ‘yung Filipino major. Ibig sabihin, magtuturo sila para magkaroon ng interes ang mga estudyante na kumuha ng Filipino. Kapag nakita kasi ng estudyante na [magagaling ang mga guro], mahihikayat [sila] na kumuha [ng Filipino],” he said.
Students are not interested in taking up Filipino because of the seeming lack of opportunities after graduation, Ampil said. But Filipino majors can be textbook writers, researchers and translators, among others.
“Hindi pa ganoon kalinaw sa kanila ang kagandahan ng pagkuha ng Filipino."
He added: "Ang hindi nakikita ng ibang estudyante, higit na mas malaki ang oportunidad sa Filipino kasi sa paniniwala ko, ang isang guro sa Filipino ay hindi lamang kayang magturo sa Filipino kundi kaya ring magturo sa Ingles,” he added.
‘Major-less’ department
BSE-Filipino was supposed to provide the Filipino Department a program to handle.
“Nagkaroon ng departamento ng Filipino pero walang BSE-Filipino."
"Kung nagkaroon ng departamento, para ma-sustain [at] magkaroon ng faculty na magtuturo, dapat mayroong kurso sa Filipino,” Ampil said.
Faculty members with postgraduate degrees teaching Filipino as a general education subject will subsequently lose their teaching loads because of the K to 12 curriculum. The solution to this, according to Ampil, is reopening BSE-Filipino.
“May pangamba na mawawalan ng teaching load ang mga [Filipino] professors. Ang isang pantulong natin dito ay magkaroon ng BSE-Filipino kung saan [sila ay] makakapagturo ng kurso kung saan sila naging dalubhasa. Doctor ka, may [master’s degree]. Pero ang tinuturo mo, basic subjects?”
The Department of Filipino closed in 1979 and was merged with Spanish and English to form the Department of Languages. It was reopened in 2010. In 2007, one student graduated with the BSE-Filipino degree.
