SENATOR Loren Legarda led discussions on proposed reforms to the decades-old charters of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), stressing that outdated mandates are limiting the country’s ability to deliver quality and responsive education.

Presiding over a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, Legarda tackled six priority measures aimed at modernizing governance, strengthening quality assurance systems, and expanding access to scholarships for Filipino learners.

At the center of the discussions are proposed amendments to CHED’s charter under Senate Bills 1036 and 1427, as well as the TESDA Modernization Act under Senate Bills 1413 and 1449.

Legarda underscored that both agencies were established more than 30 years ago, and their legal frameworks have not kept pace with rapid developments in the education sector.

“The fundamental problem is institutional. CHED’s legal mandate has not kept pace with the sector’s growth, diversification, or the policy commitments the Philippine government has made in subsequent decades,” Legarda said.

For CHED, the proposed reforms seek to strengthen its regulatory authority, enhance quality assurance mechanisms, and align its mandate with global standards in higher education.

Lawmakers stressed that without updating its charter, CHED will continue to face challenges in overseeing a rapidly expanding and increasingly diverse higher education landscape.

Meanwhile, reforms for TESDA aim to recalibrate its structure to better respond to labor market demands. The modernization bill proposes replacing its governing board with a board of advisers, expanding its Secretariat to support enterprise-based and community-driven skills training, and introducing mandatory impact evaluations for scholarship programs.