CHED's 'Paglaum kag Pagdaug': Hope and victory for Philippine education

The release of the Second Congressional Commission on Education’s (#EDCOM2) report gave us a concrete image of the challenges the education sector is facing. 

EDCOM II, according to its website (www.edcom2.gov.ph/#report), sought to produce a “comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector for the purpose of recommending transformative, concrete and targeted reforms in the sector with the end in view of making the Philippines globally competitive in both education and labor markets.” 

Indeed, the report put the appropriate emphasis on what we as a nation need to address and I hope that it continues to catch the attention that these issues deserve. 

In detail were the different issues involving students and faculty -- from under-five stunting in preschool (an effect of malnutrition on children five years old and younger adversely affecting their studies) to the high incidence of overworked teachers in every education level.   The comprehensive report was a diligent account of the hurdles currently ahead of us.

As worrisome as the situation looks, the report gave us glimpses of hope. One of them was our Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in Tertiary Education—defined by the World Bank as the percentage denoting the enrollment to tertiary education by the five-year age group that follows high school graduation. Our GER, according to the EDCOM II study, currently sits above our neighbors in the same lower-middle-income category.

This means that higher education is still accessible across sectors, as more students pursue higher education regardless of their economic background.

From there, enrollment share is almost even between state universities and colleges (SUCs) and private institutions.

With SUCs across the country receiving half of overall students, accessibility for enrollment and quality of education must remain a vital point of focus for our leaders. In the midst of the obstacles brought to light by the EDCOM II study, the latest project launched by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) offers us assurance in the future.

In February, CHED officially introduced “Paglaum kag Pagdaug: Access and Success for