Focus: Education – Schools offering new courses to meet global competition

TO meet the demand of the competitive global market, higher learning institutions in Davao City and adjacent provinces are offering new courses consistent with the policies and guidelines of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched).
Among these newly offered courses are Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management which evolved from the traditional Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM).
“We may have some other connotation with the word hospitality, but it is the term being used in the global market,” said Dr. Edward S. Aquino, chief education program specialist of Ched 11.
Other courses that spin off from the traditional HRM program are the Bachelor of Science in Tourism and Bachelor of Science in Travel Management. These courses were both previously integrated as mere subjects of the HRM course.
“Recent developments in the field of tourism necessitated a separate course for every specialization. Nevertheless, the institutions are still given the option to retain the traditional HRM course,” Aquino said.
In the field of education, new courses that are now being offered separately are the Bachelor of Science in Guidance Counseling and Bachelor of Science in Information and Library Science.
While these courses were previously mere fields of specialization or majors for those who took a course in secondary education, school guidance counselors and librarians will now have to pass licensure examinations for them to practice their professions.
Other new courses offered by schools in the region are the Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, formerly a mere major of secondary education course. Under the new BSPE, students can either major in PE Management for those who intend to teach PE in schools or major in Physical Wellness Management for those who plan to teach aerobics or other forms of physical exercises in fitness and wellness centers which are now sprouting in the country.
For those who want to teach practical arts, vocational and technical skills, they must now also take the new Bachelor of Science in Technical Education course.  
“We must ensure that we are competitive globally,” Aquino stressed.