November 26, 1984

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1984 International Ground for compromise with Moscow will be sought by the United States in preliminary arms-control talks between Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Foreign Secretary Andrei A. Gromyko in Geneva on Jan. 7-8. Robert C. McFarlane, President Reagan's national security adviser, said the United States was prepared to ''flexible and constructive'' in the negotiations. (Page A1, Column 6.) A Philippines Communist insurgency is growing rapidly, largely because people have begun to accept its presence, Filipino officials say. The insurgency is strongest on the big southern island of Mindanao. A gun-toting Wild West atmosphere prevails there. Law and order is often lacking and, according to human rights groups, abuses by the Philippine military are frequent. (A1:5.)

American colleges and universities are failing to give students ''an adequate education in the culture and civilization of which they are members,'' a panel convened by the National Endowment for the Humanities asserted yesterday. College faculties have caved in to vocational and other pressures from students and abdicated their authority over what students should study and learn, the panel's report said. ''Most of our college graduates remain shortchanged in the humanities - history, literature, philosophy and the ideals and practices of the past that have shaped the society they enter,'' said the report, written by William J. Bennett, the endowment's chairman. Fewer Humanities Majors The 31-member panel cited declining enrollment in the humanities in both high schools and colleges as well as decreased numbers of students choosing humanities majors as evidence that the humanities in general and the study of Western civilization in particular ''have lost their central place in the undergraduate curriculum.'' The document, ''To Reclaim a Legacy: A Report on the Humanities in Higher Education,'' laments what it terms the ''steady erosion'' in structured curriculums with specific course requirements.

New York City and its school system, trying to prevent teen-age girls from leaving school to care for their out-of-wedlock babies, are now financing day-care centers for young mothers in 17 high schools. Two years ago, only five such programs existed. Now, 14 schools are operating day-care centers on the premises and by the spring term 3 more will do so. Of those 17 schools, 10 are regular neighborhood high schools and 7 are alternative schools or special programs for former or likely dropouts. Day care is also being offered to teen-age mothers living in welfare hotels. At two other high schools, young mothers are taking advantage of ''satellite'' day care - child care in private homes near the schools. As part of the programs, many schools are offering ''parenting'' courses for young mothers and, in rare instances, young fathers.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1984 International The World Bank is beginning to reflect differences in international opinion about how best to help the third world. The U.S., in particular, has voted no on a large number of loan proposals. Although the U.S. does not have veto power, its naysaying, many officials say, is influencing the bank's staff. (Page A1.)

United States machine tool orders, a gauge of business plans to increase production, rose 40 percent in October, to $283.5 million, from $202.6 million a year earlier, the National Machine Tool Builders' Association reported yesterday. But the figure was down nine-tenths of 1 percent from September's level of $286.2 million.