CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis welcomed delegates from across the Asia-Pacific for a two-day meeting in Makati City, organized by UNESCO with CHED and supported by the Republic of Korea.
The goal is practical: make qualifications easier to understand and fairly assess across countries, supporting further study, academic mobility, and stronger partnerships among higher education institutions.
Delegates from Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Samoa, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Uzbekistan joined the Philippines to strengthen regional cooperation on qualifications recognition, together with the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok and Office for UN Coordination for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCO Bangkok, the Secretariat of the Tokyo Convention, and APNNIC), and other UNESCO field offices in the Asia-Pacific.
The Philippines is taking the succeeding steps toward joining the Tokyo Convention, the Asia-Pacific treaty on the recognition of higher education qualifications.
The Senate concurred in the country’s accession on September 7, following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s signing of the Instrument of Accession in October 2025.
“When people cross borders in pursuit of opportunity, their qualifications should not become barriers at the border,” Chairperson Agrupis told delegates.
Joining the Convention would place the Philippines within a regional framework for fairer, more transparent, and more predictable assessment and recognition of qualifications – opening more opportunities for Filipino learners to pursue further studies and academic exchanges while strengthening the global connections of Philippine higher education institutions.
The initiative advances CHED’s ACHIEVE Agenda on Inclusive and Impact-Driven Internationalization and its goal of preparing graduates to become responsible ASEAN and global citizens. (PR)
