Secretary Emmanuel Angeles, chair-man of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), enunciated his plans for the higher education sector in several fora. One of these fora was the 2009 Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) General Assembly held in Cebu on June 24. I have devoted my last two columns to the first and second parts of his speech. This is the third and final part.
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D. Research and development
The modernization program of CHED shall ensure that the 17 Zonal Research Centers will be allotted P 300 million while the P700 million will be dedicated to the 85 sub-ZRCs which will yield a budget of P1 billion each year, or P5 billion for the whole five years.
In doing so, all HEIs both public and private shall be encouraged to devote at least 5 percent of their total operating budget to Research and Development in their respective institutions.
This is essential to achieve viable curricular and educational reforms in higher education, and make our education system at par with our Asean counterparts and neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region.
Curricular reforms would require massive investments to make our higher education programs comparable with those of the Bologna Process signatories or those countries with 15 years of formal education. Initially, the following five-year programs will be prioritized: engineering and architecture (which must be compliant with the Washington Accord and APEC Registry), accountancy, physical and occupational therapy and pharmacy. On the other hand, nursing, teacher education and other four-year programs will be prioritized.
E. Strengthening the quality assurance mechanism
Central to the overall program enhancement of the commission is the strengthening of the Quality Assurance Mechanism (QAM) in order to guarantee that the higher education programs and institutions in the country are following the prescribed quality standards that were benchmarked internationally. This QAM consists of: program accreditation, educational quality assessment/testing and academe—industry linkage.
The confluence of these components will ensure that quality assurance requirements in tertiary education programs are adequately satisfied for all public and private HEIs.
Under this initiative, the National Educational Evaluation and Testing System (NEETS) shall be established which is similar to the administration of the SAT to all high school graduates starting in 2010. Through this mode, we can determine the classification of students whether they are qualified to enter the university or polytechnic stream.
Strengthening our Quality Assurance Mechanism shall entail the establishment of the Coordinating Council for Accreditation (CCA) per Executive Order 705 and 705A, the creating of the Philippine Accreditation Council for Engineering (PACE) in compliance with the Washington Accord and APEC Registry, strengthening the Institutional Quality Assurance Monitoring and Evaluation (IQUAME) and fortifying academe-industry linkages.
F. Modernization funding summary
To sum up all funding requirements for the modernization initiatives of CHED, it shall require a total of P35 billion, or P7 billion every year in the next 7 years. This indeed is a hefty sum, which has been approved for execution by no less than President Arroyo.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it looks ominously certain that if we do not put our acts together now, we have already failed in our collective resolve to make a difference as champions of education. We must act decisively and with due diligence to promote better quality of life for our people by providing quality education starting with the basic/pre-school education up to tertiary education.
Starting with the “zero drop-out” policy we would be able to improve internal efficiency of our educational system and thereby eliminate expensive internal wastages in the education sector.
But the various education agencies along with their partner institutions would have to collaborate and coordinate closely to be able to put our acts together in order to secure a balanced development of the entire education system.
CHED through its development initiatives and spearheaded by its planned Modernization Program would definitely make a great impact in improving the quality and relevance of higher education in the country. However, in order to ensure the successful implementation of its Modernization Program we would have to get the support of all our stakeholders and strategic partners, which include among others PASUC.
Together we should be able to provide that innovative and committed leadership in establishing the appropriate policy environment to accelerate the implementation of the needed educational reforms to transform our educational system into a world-class educational system.
With the intensified competition among the various countries, a world-class educational system is no longer an option but an urgent necessity especially if we are to sustain a more focused and accelerated human resources development.
This very bold step will only be proven effective and efficient with your cooperation. CHED’s sincere intention to contribute to the upliftment of higher education in the country is indeed a challenge for all of us.
It is up to you, education leaders, to join us in this crusade, and be our front liners in reaching out to our Filipino students to help them become productive citizens of this country. We shall need your cooperation, dedication and tireless effort in making this initiative successful. –Felizardo Y. Francisco
Mabuhay!
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