IMPROVE CURRICULUM OF DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS--ANGARA

In yesterday's hearing of the Senate Committee on Education, Culture and Arts, Senator Edgardo J. Angara sought the extension of the Department of Education's distance learning program to include masteral and doctorate studies for the pure sciences.

Citing the UP Open University (OU) as an example, Angara said distance learning institutions can target a new sector untapped by the usual home-school programs--professionals under the pure sciences who prefer individualized learning as opposed to campus-based post-graduate studies.

"Right now, the OU offers post-graduate programs mainly in the areas of education, management and applied sciences. I believe that the university has grown enough in its decades of existence to extend its curriculum to cover the pure sciences such as math, physics, chemistry to address not just the country's needs, but the global demand for highly trained professionals," said Angara, chairman of the Committee on Education.

The UP Open University, he says, should also provide quality assurance to attract more students, and to provide a solid boost over the thousands of home-study programs being offered over the World Wide Web.

In addition to the in-house periodic review the OU conducts every three years, technology-based curriculums should be re-evaluated annually to keep up with the rapid developments.

"This type of open university--home-based learning under the supervision of an established institution--is the wave of the future. We should use the technology available to us to deliver quality education to the world," said Angara, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Science and Technology.