AT THE SUMMIT President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is joined by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Senator Chiz Escudero, CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera III and other stakeholders of tertiary education during the National Higher Education Day Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on May 15, 2024. PCO PHOTO
The country’s higher education must be reconfigured to make it attuned to the needs of the post-pandemic world and ensure the Philippines’ global competitiveness, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) during the National Higher Education Day Summit (NHEDS), Marcos said rehashed talking points at the summit are the “last thing we need now.”
“Besides, what we have learned a long time ago is actually no longer relevant. We have seen the changes in the requirements of the new global post-pandemic economy and for us to be able to participate successfully in that new global economy, we must have a skilled workforce,” he told summit participants.
“And that will depend upon their training and their education. I would rather that consensus forged in this summit be incorporated in the proposed budget for CHED and SUCs for 2025 because only then can ideas be translated into reality,” he pointed out.
The President hoped that as everyone looks further in the higher education horizon, the summit could yield answers and solutions to the challenges and opportunities the sector is facing.
He encouraged every stakeholder to work with the government and strengthen efforts towards an inclusive, equitable, accessible and sustainable higher education sector.
Marcos rallied for a unified action to mold a new generation of critical thinkers, problem solvers, and visionaries who will realize the aspiration for a Bagong Pilipinas and push the nation into a future of growth, opportunity and prosperity.
“In my view, it is the only way that our country will succeed,” he said.
The President also acknowledged the gargantuan task at hand, although he said 81 Philippine Higher Educational Institutions have been included in various world university rankings last year, no Philippine university has reached the Top 100 in the recent Times Higher Education’s 2024 Asia University Rankings.
Much work still to be done
While acknowledging the stellar showing of the country’s higher educational institutions in various world university rankings, Marcos on Wednesday cited the need to improve the country’s academic performance.
In his speech during the National Higher Education Day Summit (NHEDS) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Marcos recognized the significant increase in the number of higher educational institutions (HEIs) that were included in world university rankings.
At least 81 HEIs were included in various world university ranking, which is higher than the 52 in July 2023.
There were 1,977 HEIs in the Philippines as of January 4, 2024. Of the figure, 113 are state universities and colleges (SUCs); 137 local universities and colleges (LUCs); 1,714 private HEIs; and 13 other government schools (OGS), CHED-supervised institutions, and special schools.
“However, we must acknowledge that in the recent Times Higher Education’s 2024 Asia University Rankings, unfortunately, no Philippine university has reached Top 100, with the country’s top schools either dropping or maintaining their rankings,” Marcos said.
“This just goes to show that much work is still to be done. We must pursue a comprehensive and all-encompassing strategy that will turn this trend around. The state of our education today shapes the future of the nation,” he added.
Marcos said the future of today’s generation largely depends on the quality of higher education system that the present leadership could provide where the young are armed with the right skills to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world.
“Giving the youth the right competencies and skills and training is the only way for them to prevail, and to prosper, in this highly competitive world. Our greatest obligation to them is to mold them into critical thinkers, into problem solvers, into visionaries, wielding the skills that will allow them to succeed in the future,” Marcos said.
“Without an educated workforce that will implement them, any national economic blueprints will remain simply as that — blueprints. We will not have the means or the capacity or the labor force to be able to make those plans a reality,” he added.
“Without skilled manpower who will run them, industries will grind to a halt, social services will cease to function. Without a national pool of talent who can master new technologies and adjust quickly to tectonic changes, the country will be perpetually catching up, left behind by societies whose educational system has been made more adept,” he noted.
Marcos is the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the NHEDS.
The NHEDS is the first summit of its kind to be held in observance of the 4th National Higher Education Day (NHED) and 30th founding anniversary of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) created on May 18, 1994 through Republic Act 7722 or the Higher Education Act of 1994.
The CHED was created to promote relevant and quality higher education, ensure its accessibility and protect academic freedom in the Philippines, among other functions.
In 2021, the Republic Act 11522 declared May 18 of every year as the NHED to commemorate CHED’s founding anniversary. “Access, Quality and Competitiveness at the Core of Higher Education Reforms” is the theme for this year’s NHED. PND
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