‘RP has slipped behind neighbors in education’

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) admitted Saturday that the quality of education in the country has “deteriorated way behind our neighbors.”

“Sorry to say this, but yes, we’re lagging behind in all fields,” CHED chairman Dr. Emmanuel Angeles told local newsmen here.

He said the Philippines used to be the hub of quality education in the Asia-Pacific Region and many students from neighboring countries wanted to study in the country.

And while a number of students from abroad still want to come here to study, Angeles said there is now a need to improve the quality of education.

“We used to be identified with quality (education), but what happened? It has been neglected,” he said, adding that the deterioration happened during the last three decades and it would take 20 years or more to address this problem.

Among Angeles’ proposals to improve the quality of education is to raise the requirements for faculty members, which include having a master’s degree.

Angeles said this has actually been a long-standing policy of the CHED but has not been implemented. – Eva Visperas, Philippine Star