CHED, walang sapat na suporta para sa mandato; 30 na taong plano, hindi pa rin kasado

Tatlong dekada matapos itatag, hindi maitatangging nagampanan ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED) ang ilan sa mga tungkulin nito ngunit nananatili ang kakulangan sa kapangyarihan at kakayahan upang maabot ang konkretong layunin nito.

Binigyang bisa ng RA 7722 o ang Higher Education Act taong 1994 ang CHED upang iangat ang kalidad at tiyakin ang kaugnayan ng tertiary level of education sa pambansang kaunlaran.

Gayunpaman, ayon sa EDCOM 2, marami sa mga suliraning diskusyon pa noong 1990s ay hindi pa nalulutas hanggang sa kasalukuyan.

Kabilang dito ang hindi pa nareresolbang job mismatch sa pagitan ng napiling programa at sa aktwal na trabaho, ang mababang proporsyon ng mga akreditadong programa, at ang hindi balanseng distribusyon ng mga mag-aaral sa tatlong pangunahing larangan: Business Administration, Teacher Education, at Engineering.

Ayon sa pagsusuri ng komisyon, nananatiling mababa ang research productivity ng Pilipinas kung ikukumpara ito sa mga karatig-bansa sa Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at hindi naging matagumpay ang mga hakbang ng CHED upang tugunan ito mula 2000 hanggang 2011.

“Worse, since 2016, the data shows that CHED has not designated new Centers of Excellence, and policies have remained stagnant for the past nine years. CHED has also not supported HEIs in pursuing voluntary accreditation in the past five years, since 2020, despite its clear mandate under the law,” ayon kay Dr. Karol Mark Yee, Executive Director ng EDCOM 2.

Aminado si CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis na may kakulangan ang ahensya, lalo na sa datos at koordinasyon ukol sa labor market.

“CHED has no centralized data on the demand and thorough analysis of the demand from the industry and government sectors,” aniya sa pagdinig.

“[The] ideal academic setup insists that if, and only if, the provisions of RA 7722 and 8292 are well-studied, well implemented, well monitored, there would be no challenges, and this makes higher education governance more intricate than expected,” dagdag pa niya, batay sa ulat ng EDCOM 2.

Bukod pa rito, binigyang-linaw ni dating CHED Director IV Amalia Biglete ang institusyunal na limitasyon ng ahensya.

“Our problem in CHED is [that] CHED was expected to do regulatory function and developmental function… In terms of regulatory function, it was very challenging because CHED was not a quasi-judicial [body’. Most of the time, if we impose sanctions, what we will receive is a case in the Ombudsman… and then even in courts, we had cases,” diin niya.

Dagdag pa ni Biglete, ang “lean and mean structure” ng CHED na binubuo ng maraming contract-based personnel ay sagabal sa mabilis na pagtugon ng mga kaso, na inaabot ng limang taon o higit pa bago maresolba.

Para kina Senator Sherwin Gatchalian at Representative Jud Acidre, hindi sapat ang performance review lamang, kailangan ng ganap na rebisyon ng mandato ng CHED upang ito ay angkop sa modernisasyon at pangangailangan ng panahon.

“May I suggest institutionalizing regular activities [for CHED] to determine what the country needs and how to align higher institutions to those demands…Some of these administrative functions should not go beyond the SUC Board… I really believe it’s a management and a budget issue,” ani Gatchalian.

“I think it’s only fitting that we also update and strengthen the charter of CHED to make it fit for the realities of today and the demands of tomorrow,” saad ni Acidre.

Nakatakda ngayong Hulyo ang mga sumusunod na hearing ng EDCOM 2: para sa Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) sa Hulyo 10 at para sa Department of Education (DepEd) sa Hulyo 17, ngunit naging sentro ng atensyon ang matagal nang suliraning hindi malutas-lutas sa CHED.