The Manila Times

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CHED highlights strength in partnerships

(UPDATE) THE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said it is looking forward to expanded collaborations with other government agencies as it celebrated its 32nd anniversary on Wednesday. In her “State of the Higher Education” Address, CHED Chairman Shirley Agrupis shared the different challenges since she started her tenure in September 2024. These include a fragmented education system, lack of a demand-driven, nationally coordinated human capital framework, unequal access to international opportunities, outdated organizational structures and weak mechanisms for stakeholders. “When I presented these persistent pain points in higher education to the President, his instruction was immediate and unequivocal: fix what hinders opportunity and strengthen what drives excellence,” Agrupis said in her speech at the commission’s anniversary at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. She shared the “Achieve” agenda, which is a set of seven strategic commitments that includes Advanced and Accessible Lifelong Learning; Centralized One-Nation Human Capital Development; Harmonized SDG-based Research and Innovation Agenda; Integrated Real-Time Data Collection and Analytics; Expanded and Impact-Driven Internationalization Strategies; Vitalized Policies, Internal Systems and Governance; and Effective and Efficient Public Service. Under the scheme, Agrupis noted that the Free Higher Education Program has been expanded, with 2.61 million students availing of the program in the first semester of Academic Year 2025–2026, up from 2.04 million in 2022, or a 27.94-percent increase. It also updated the Tertiary Education Subsidy and Tulong Dunong Program guidelines to make financial assistance more efficient, targeted and responsive, while also partnering with the Department of Social Welfare and Development to better identify and prioritize disadvantaged students for educational assistance. Agrupis reported on the partnerships CHED made with the Land Bank of the Philippines, the Department of Migrant Workers, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Commission on Filipinos Overseas and the National Irrigation Administration for student financing, expanded tertiary equivalency for Overseas Filipino Workers, Filipino immigrants, and farmers and agricultural workers. Under the Centralized One-Nation Human Capital Development, Agrupis noted the creation of the Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship Program under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as well as scholarship programs for agriculture and health care. Agrupis noted the increasing global competitiveness of Philippine colleges and universities in relation to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. “Building on these efforts, we launched the Sustainable Development Goals-Focused Research, Development and Innovation Grants. The program supports high-impact, multi-institutional research projects that generate scalable solutions aligned with the SDGs and is now open for proposal submissions,” Agrupis said. Agrupis lauded the signing of the Transnational Higher Education Act, or Republic Act 11448, which would expand access to globally recognized academic programs and international learning opportunities. CHED, Agrupis noted, has increased its efforts to digitize its systems for analytics, online applications for the ETEEAP (Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program), and scholarship processing. The commission is beta-testing data management for higher education, student records and faculty reclassification processing for state universities and colleges, as well as the creation of a Teacher Education Registry. Agrupis said that CHED is building its new central office to strengthen coordination, service delivery and operational efficiency. “As we move forward, let us continue to work together to ensure that higher education remains a powerful force for opportunity, innovation and national development. Through the Achieve Agenda, CHED remains steadfast in its commitment to creating opportunities, generating solutions and contributing to the realization of a Bagong Pilipinas,” Agrupis said.

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