By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
“We will be providing a seamless pathway, so lahat, at any point in their educational journey, wala pong maiiwan.”
Cognizant of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to improve the country’s education system, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) continues to coordinate with TESDA and DepEd to realize the President’s vision of an educated Filipino youth.
At the Palace press briefing on Tuesday, CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis hailed the increase in the Commission’s budget—from P33 billion allocated under the National Expenditures Program (NEP) in 2025 to P47 billion under the 2026 National Budget.
This is part of the P1.345 trillion in funds allocated to the education sector, which the Chief Executive vowed to strengthen to improve the competencies and capabilities of students on par with international standards.
Of the P47 billion, P40 billion is allocated towards the implementation of Republic Act No. 10687 (UniFAST Law), which provides for free tertiary education for students enrolled in state universities and colleges (SUCs).
Chairperson Agrupis shared, noting the President’s focus on inclusive healthcare, “Sa ngayon, we have 26 college of medicine, and our target, ang target ng Pangulo ay lahat ng region ay may college of medicine para atendahan ang kalusugan ng ating kapwa Pilipino.”
She moreover clarified that the hiring of contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) personnel in higher education institutions (HEIs) is still ongoing in compliance with the student-faculty ratio maintained in schools across the country.
Agrupis moreover, expounded on some details of the Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship Program, with P634 million allocated to cover 20,000 slots for deserving learners from low-middle-class income families to fulfill their dreams.
She concluded her remarks by citing the various changes that CHED is working on in collaboration with the Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education, Skills, and Development Authority (TESDA), and other higher education stakeholders to rectify the shortcomings of the K-12 curriculum.
Chairperson Agrupis hinted at a bridging program in the works, “Ang kinocontrol lang namin ngayon is dapat meron sanang standard entrance examination to determine whether yung student ay pupunta sa gusto niyang puntahan. Ang challenge namin dito sa K-12 is yung readiness ng estudyante na pupunta sa pinili niyang kurso.”
The CHED chief concluded, “Ang pag-uusapan [sa susunod na] meeting, paano namin ihaharmonize ang evaluation ng incoming freshmen students sa higher education and TESDA. So we will be agreeing on the cutoff, we will determine the passing rate—this will address the mismatch in the world of work.”
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