CHED lauded for phaseout of courses

Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta lauded yesterday the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for ordering the phaseout of courses in 136 colleges and universities whose graduates have been performing poorly in board examinations the past five years.

"The move would help raise the quality of teaching in tertiary institutions and pave the way for imposing common standards in accrediting college courses," she said.

Oreta had recommended the phaseout of courses in colleges and universities with low passing rates in board examinations in the previous Congress when she was chairman of the Senate committee on education.

The Presidential Commission on Educational Reform, of which Oreta was also a member during the previous Congress, also made a similar recommendation. The proposal was reiterated under the Medium Term Higher Education Development and Investment Plan that Oreta helped flesh out as Senate representative.

Oreta said that CHED should follow up the phaseout of courses with the release of the list of the country’s top colleges and universities in board examinations. She made this recommendation two years ago to help students decide on which schools are best for them.

"The advisory of top schools regionwide and nationwide is another way of improving the quality of college education in the country," she said, "because colleges and universities would now be encouraged to upgrade their teaching standards to attract more students."

She stressed that the advisory of the colleges and universities that have been performing well in board examinations would help guide students in choosing the best schools for them.

"The proposal would also foster competitiveness among schools and prompt them to improve the quality of education that they offer students as well as the compositions of the faculty," Oreta added.

Meanwhile, Oreta called on CHED to immediately release the list of schools increasing tuition rates for the coming school year.

"Withholding the list will deprive students and parents of the chance to prepare adequately for the coming school year and might even lead to high dropout rates," she said.

The CHED said it could not name the schools that had already notified them of their plan to raise their tuition fees this year because the list is not yet complete.

"CHED should immediately release the list, whether complete or incomplete, to give parents enough time to decide on whether they should cope with the new tuition fees or transfer their kids to other schools offering lower fees," Oreta explained.