A RESEARCH done by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) uncovered the operational challenges of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and other forces that affected Philippine education such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
'Strengthening CHED's Developmental and Regulatory Capacity', a report prepared by PIDS consultants Fernando Aldaba, Joselito Sescon and Karl Eli Alconis, presented an assessment of the country's higher educational system today.
It revealed that the Philippines has recorded a virtually twofold rise in college dropout rates, from 20 percent in 2019 to 41 percent in 2020, primarily because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A gross tertiary enrollment rate of 34.89 percent, which was on par with other lower-middle-income countries, was reflective of modest gains, the report added. It spoke of aggravating circumstances, such as increasing regional inequalities, uneven levels of education, and declining private school attendance, which is at its lowest since 1945.
Public universities in Metro Manila often excel over their peers in other parts of the country, even though government funding for these institutions has grown. It stated that CHEd-approved positions remained vacant in more than 25 percent of instances, which results in bureaucratic delays and poor program monitoring.
A mere 65.2 percent of the Higher Education Development Fund, it further added, has been spent on faculty development and infrastructural enhancement. On the other hand, the authors stated that neighboring Asean countries were able to successfully introduce educational reforms.
Thailand has met the needs of the labor market through vocational training, while Singapore has fostered strong public-private collaborations. Indonesia has fostered autonomy of universities while maintaining oversight by the authorities. Malaysia and Vietnam have, however, embraced open education systems.
The authors advised that CHEd increase internal staff, increase its budget, and adopt modern digital monitoring and evaluation tools in order to execute effective reforms. It also called for closer collaboration with local and foreign scholarly institutions and regular engagement of stakeholders in consultations.
"CHED has traditionally gravitated towards regulation at the expense of development. For Philippine higher education to become an actual launchpad for future-ready graduates, it must achieve a balance between oversight and support", says the authors.
