TO ENSURE aspiring teachers receive quality education, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged the closure of Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) that have failed to produce Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) passers.

Citing data from the Teacher Education Council, Gatchalian flagged that 200 TEIs did not produce any secondary-level LET passers in 2024, while 121 had no elementary-level passers.

To date, 397 teacher education programs have been recommended for closure, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

In 2024, CHED amended Memorandum Orders 74 to 80 and 82 to strengthen the quality of pre-service education nationwide.

Under the amended CMO, TEIs that are consistently underperforming and fail to meet CHED’s minimum standards will be issued notices of immediate closure.

However, CHED has not fully enforced the policy, citing resistance from TEIs that take legal action to prevent their programs’ closure.

“We’re wasting the time of potential teachers by not giving them the best education. That’s why we urge CHED to close these institutions,” said Gatchalian, author of Senate Bill No. 52, which seeks to amend the Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994.