CHED hosts SUCs’ conference on democratizing college education

THREE important events were held at the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Auditorium in Diliman, Quezon City on February 12, 2024: CHED’s national conference of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) on “Program Quality Assurance in the Context of Philippine Qualifications Framework”; the launch of the “Paglaum Kag Pagdaug (Hope and Victory): Access and Success for Quality and Inclusive Higher Education” initiative; and the third UP Gawad Oblation 2024 awarding ceremony.

Top officials of the country’s SUCs and CHED, including the University of the Philippines, attended. They pledged to continue supporting initiatives to improve the quality of college education, align their policies with national and global standards, meet the challenges of the Philippine Qualifications Framework, and further enhance or democratize the access of students to SUCs by making college education equitable and accessible to more students from marginalized sectors.

Atty. Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro, CHED Executive Director, provided an overview on Quality Assurance (QA) in the context of Philippine Qualifications Framework. Dr. Jose Y. Cueto, Jr., Commissioner of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), discussed the Philippine Qualifications Framework. Dr. Reynaldo B. Vea, Philippine Representative for Higher Education in the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF), discussed what the AQRF is about and cited some of the best practices of universities in other countries. Dr. Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, Advisor of ASEAN on the Future of Education and Chairperson of the CHED Technical Working Group (TWG) for Lifelong Learning, talked about global policies, QA for lifelong learning courses, micro credentials in ASEAN members, and trends in global rankings, among other insights gained in recent years.

An initiative for hope and success

The “Paglaum Kag Pagdaug” launch featured lessons from the research project, “Empowering Equity Target Students: Enhancing Access and Success in SUCs across Regions I, VIII, and XII”. Dr. Sherrie Ann Cananua-Labid of Samar State University, Dr. Marcos Monderin of the University of Southern Mindanao, and Dr. Keneth Bayani of Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, leaders of the project, discussed their respective observations.

According to CHED Chairperson J. Prospero E. De Vera III, the project was commissioned by CHED to include a manageable number of SUCs from the three regions. He explained that UP has a vital role in enhancing students’ access and success in SUCs since many officials of SUCs are also UP alumni. They will serve as the core group that will help attain the objectives of CHED’s initiatives. They will help share the best practices of SUCs, implement reforms, and develop data driven policies on inclusive education, among other tasks.

The “Paglaum Kag Pagdaug”, a Hiligaynon phrase meaning “hope” and “victory”, is an initiative of CHED which aims to gather more data to be used in examining the present admissions and retention systems of SUCs.

UP President Angelo A. Jimenez mentioned some of the reforms and activities being undertaken to help students in applying for and taking the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT). He said UP will be conducting more activities nationwide to inform more applicants about the UPCAT, help them prepare for the test through review classes, increase the number of testing centers, and make the UP admissions process accessible, especially for students coming from poor families. He added that UP will increase interventions to help those who qualify through the UPCAT and those who are already enrolled in UP to be able to finish their studies. He added that non-UPCAT qualifiers or takers can still enroll in UP through associate and varsity programs.

De Vera, who also serves as Chairperson of the Board of SUCs, said that UP can start with reforms in admissions policies. He encouraged SUCs to go to public schools in their regions to convince high school students to pursue higher education. He said helping the students to take the admission tests, which are already given free of charge, will give students hope for a better future. /