Originally published and released by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS):
How well-designed is the regulatory framework governing Philippine higher education, and does it truly empower the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to foster an equitable and high-performing sector?
We are pleased to announce the release of UP CIDS Discussion Paper, “The Compromised Regulatory Independence of the Commission on Higher Education and the Lack of Competitive Neutrality between Public and Private Higher Education Institutions.” Authored by Michael M. Alba, President of the Far Eastern University Public Policy Center (FEU PPC), this study is published under our Program on Higher Education Research and Policy Reform (HERPRP). It combines the economics of regulation with rigorous institutional and legal analysis to evaluate CHED’s governance framework against the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Batas Pambansa 232, and RAs 7722 and 8292.
Key Highlights from the Paper:
- Regulatory Design Flaws: Analyzing how the current legal framework leaves CHED vulnerable to political interference, lacking accountability mechanisms, and devoid of strict norms of transparency and professionalism.
- The Independence Paradox: Examining how provisions such as charging CHED Commissioners to chair the governing boards of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) compromise regulatory independence and invite both standard and reverse regulatory capture.
- Competitive Neutrality Gaps: Highlighting the unequal playing field between state-supported public universities and non-state private higher education institutions (HEIs), noting how the lack of structural separation hurts sector-wide efficiency.
- Actionable Policy Directions: Proposing crucial reforms—including security of tenure for CHED Commissioners, the establishment of a Higher Education Information System (HEIS), explicit ethical standards, and new legislation to uphold competitive neutrality. Addressing these institutional flaws is an urgent matter of national importance if Philippine higher education is to overcome its long-running structural challenges and truly fulfill its public mandates.