SENATOR Joel Villanueva endorsed Senate Bill 2492 or the proposed Revised Higher Education Act of 2022 that aims to strengthen the Commission on Higher Education through institutional reforms.

In his sponsorship speech, Villanueva said that the measure will strengthen CHED by making it better prepared to take on the future of education and ensure well-equipped and flexible learners and graduates.

Since its creation in 1994 as part of the educational reforms, CHED has been given additional mandates and functions, and encountered several developments in higher education.

Villanueva said the new CHED charter shall include all of the mandates that have been given the commission since its inception.

The revised charter allows for an integrated and streamlined list of the commission’s functions, as well as creating provincial offices to carry out mandates and extend its services efficiently and expeditiously across island groups and in remote areas in the country.

Under the new charter, the CHED shall formulate a roadmap for higher education subject to periodic assessment and review every 10 years to ensure the development of locally responsive, innovative, as well as globally competitive graduates.

The commission’s technical panels will be tasked under the new charter to set the direction for disciplinal and degree programs.

The technical panels shall include industry representatives and representatives from organizations representing public and private higher education institutions.

The new CHED charter will also mandate the agency to coordinate closely with the Department of Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to ensure consistency in policy, plans, and programs for the entire education sector.

“By synchronizing each education subsector, we are ensuring a progressive and coherent development of the entire educational system,” Villanueva said.

He called for a collaborative governance regime between the three agencies each representing an education subsector.