By the Commission on Higher Education
Artificial intelligence is already transforming how we learn, teach, research, and work. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is setting a national direction to help Philippine higher education adopt it responsibly and harness its potential to improve learning, strengthen research, and make institutional processes more efficient.
Through CHED Memorandum Order No. 21, series of 2026, the Commission has established a national framework to guide 2,366 higher education institutions (HEIs) and 188,261 faculty members in the responsible use of AI for the benefit of more than 5.8 million students.
This supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s push to strengthen AI skills and promote the responsible use of emerging technologies as the country prepares Filipinos for future jobs and a more technology-driven economy.
The policy enables the use of AI in teaching, learning, research, and institutional operations while setting safeguards for academic integrity, human judgment, data privacy, and student welfare. Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all approach, it gives HEIs and faculty the flexibility to determine how AI can best support learning and institutional needs within their own contexts.
At its heart is a principle that should guide every learner in the AI era: AI should strengthen, not replace, human thinking. “Students must learn how to think before they learn how to prompt.”
The guidelines also require transparency in students’ use of AI and stronger human oversight when AI is used in consequential areas such as grading, admissions, scholarships, student progression, and faculty evaluation.
For CHED, the direction is clear: embrace AI where it can improve learning, research, and institutional efficiency, while ensuring that human judgement, academic integrity, and accountability remains at the center of higher education. (PR)
