A proposed measure to shorten college education from four to five years to three years may help parents lessen expenses in sending their children to school, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Sunday.

In a radio interview, Gatchalian said expenses such as fare, rent, and costs for projects and field trips can be lessened by the proposed college education length.

“We’re not proposing this for the government to save. We’re doing this so that parents can save,” Gatchalian explained.

The senator said that due to the implementation of senior high school, some subjects are being retaken in college.

“Instead of taking up those subjects already taken in elementary, like PE where parents pay for four semesters, students should focus their time on their concentration,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian filed the Three-Year College Education Act on July 1.

This aims to enable the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) to shorten degree programs to three academic years, providing that all general education courses taken up in college be integrated and completed in the two years of senior high school.

He said that when the government added two more years to high, a promise was made to shorten years in college. ''It is time to fulfill this promise,'' he added when he filed his bill.

"The college preparedness of our students have improved. We have the highest number of college students in ASEAN. But the promise of having work after graduating senior high and entrepreneurial opportunities was not delivered," Gatchalian admits.

Despite this, the senator thinks that the K-12 program should stay, considering that most if not all countries in the world follow K-12 standards, and removing this may make it harder for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to seek employment abroad if the 10-year basic education program is reinstated.

"We're the only country in the world who's been pushing back for 10 years. The consequence of it would be that our OFWs might be questioned on their education. The system of the country would be checked, is it aligned to the rest of the world. If it isn't, there might be problems," Gatchalian explained. Velle White/DMS