Manila: Academics and lawmakers are calling for the retention of Philippine literature and language studies in college after the Supreme Court affirmed an education department decision removing these subjects from the tertiary education curriculum.

The Alyansa Tanggol Wika (Tanggol Wika or Alliance Defending Filipino Language) urged the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to consider returning the subjects Filipino and Panitikan (Philippine Literature) into the mandatory college core curriculum.

In a list of arguments issued by one of the alliance members, the Dela Salle Univesity said in its position paper that CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, series of 2013, that ordered the removal of Filipino language subjects from the college curriculum, is “unconstitutional.”

“The Supreme Court’s decision is an outright disregard of the provisions of the 1987 Constitution which stresses that it is the duty of the government to promote the national language, culture, history and nationalism — subjects which form the core and heart of the Philippine language and literature studies in college,” it said.

It called on those pushing for the removal of the Philippine language and literature subjects to consider the fact that Filipino is a “global language” that is a component of Philippine Studies taught in some 45 universities and 100 high schools around the world.

“Removing the Philippine language and literature studies will have an impact of how it would be regarded abroad,” the university said.

Tanggol Wika also feared that some 10,000 teachers who teach Filipino in colleges and universities could be laid off.

Senator Win Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Sub-Committee on Education Reform, said in statement that as the country’s national language, it is important for the Filipino subject to be taught at all levels of education, including college. “It is not enough that this would be taught only in senior high school. The removal by the CHED of these subjects in college is just like saying that there is no need for further studies by students into for our own language and literature,” he said.

Filipino language or Pilipino, is a combination of the country’s different dialects with Tagalog and Spanish derived words being predominant.

For her part, Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones has maintained that Filipino remains among the core subjects in basic education (up to Grade 12), while the teaching of Filipino literature serves as a springboard for discussion on grammar lessons and a way of strengthening the Filipino identity and culture.

The education chief consistently underscored the importance of history, culture and the arts in understanding, appreciating, and preserving the soul of Filipinos as a people.

Gatchalian said that after the Supreme Court upheld the validity of CHED Memorandum No. 20, it is now up the commission to revise its policy.

Then Department of Education Secretary Patricia Licuanan ordered the removal of Filipino literature and language subjects in college to make room for teaching other foreign languages.