Chapter I THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction Jose Rizal, our national hero once said that The youth is the hope of the future after realizing the importance of the youth in building the nation. History dictates that Filipinos educate their youth to nurture, enhance and innovate their intelligence and capabilities to aid and support oneself, his family, and his countrymen. With that, the Philippines had always been giving priority to education since they see the importance of this in nation building. In section 17, of Article II and Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which provides for the State Policies and Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports, respectively, states that: The State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress and promote total human liberation and development.1 The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.(emphasis supplied)2 To follow these constitutional provisions, government has instituted an educational system that would give high quality of education for the Filipino youth and assess them to be efficient in the field to which would make them globally competitive. The era of globalization has brought higher standards in the quality of workers needed here and abroad that's why there is an earnest need for the government to create and lead a path that would improve the quality of our human resource here in the Philippines. Establishing an entrance examination as a preliminary step in leading the students to their course-matching will eventually lead to job-skill matched labor forces and would eventually make them work enthusiastically and aim to innovate and develop their field of specialization, hence aiding the competitiveness of the Philippines as a developing country.

1 2

Section 17 of Article II State Principles and Policies of the 1987 Philippine Constitution Section 1 of Article XIV Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, Sports of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

1.2 Background of the Study Education in the Philippines Article 14 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines stipulate that the school shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency. The education system generally aims to: 1. Provide for a broad general education that will assist each individual in society to attain his/her potential as a human being, and enhance the range and quality of the individual and the group; 2. Help the individual participate in the basic functions of society and acquire the essential educational foundation for his/her development into a productive and versatile citizen; 3. Train the nations manpower in the middle-level skills required for national development; 4. Develop the high-level professions that will provide leadership for the nation, advance knowledge through research, and apply new knowledge for improving the quality of human life; 5. Respond effectively to changing needs and conditions through a system of educational planning and evaluation. (Education Act of 1982, section 4). In a developing country, like the Philippines, where 68 million Filipinos 10 years old and over in 2008, 95.6 percent are basically literate, which refers to the ability of a person to read and write with understanding a simple message in language or dialect 3, government must have established a framework to which a diversified higher education for tertiary. Because of the necessity to systematize the educational system, on May 2013, the President had signed a law, K-12 Educational System for basic education, which gives primary education an
3

Literacy of Men and Women in the Philippines (Results from 2008 Functional Literacy Education and Mass Media Survey). Reference Number 2011-11, March 8, 2011

integrated view that would make our country competitive among other developing countries. With that, the Commission on Higher Education had issued a strategic plan that would conform to the changes in basic education to upgrade the quality of higher education in achieving the international standards to be involve in global competitiveness. According to an article made in 2001, the differences in educational institutions explains more of international variation in student performance than differences in the resources nations devote for schooling. (Woessman, 2001)4 Entrance examination is a standardized aptitude exam where it measures the knowledge obtained by the students in various skill areas (such as verbal, math, analytical and writing skills). These tests are not designed to measure what you have learned in school; rather, they measure your potential to perform well in the future. Your high school courses will help you prepare for these exams.
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The status quo before a student can study for tertiary level, one

must have to take college entrance examination of the school they wanted. The results of which will determine if their score complies with the required score of the course they wanted to specialized into, but of course not all students pass the course they wanted hence they will enrol to different course until they fully known what is the appropriate course for them. Due to this course mismatching, job-skills mismatching cant be avoided. According to CHED commissioner Licuanan, there are over 500,000 college graduates every year and only 40% will land a job a year after graduation.6 Job mismatch are common among todays workforce which led to more employees became restless and frustrated with their current job and career path and eventually makes them unproductive affecting our business, trade and economic competitiveness to other countries.7

4 5 6

Woessmann, Ludger. Why Students in Some country do better. Education Matters, Summer 2001, Volume 1, no. 2 http://www.myfuture.com/schools/articles/taking-college-entrance-exams Flores, Helen. CHED and PBEd address jobs mismatch, The Philippine Star, July 4, 2013. Pagematch 1, sectionmatch 1 7 American English. Job Mismatch Dilemma Communicating the Solution. July 2, 2013

1.3 Statement of the Problem Examinations play vital roles not only in our educational system but also in the society as a whole. The society demands from its members a diversity of specialized functions. On the other hand, a country can be said to be well developed if it has a highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure which is significantly brought about by its citizens who are highly educated Thus, the occurrence of national examination in a particular country can determine diversified specialized functions which, however, at any level of educational stratum possess the greatest threat for a well-developed society in the sense that it will trigger a student to be in an area of study to which he/she does not want at all. Corollary, national examinations for tertiary level have long become a growing concern since students were obliged to take the exam considering the fact that it does not test their true capabilities, instead it will limit their skills or talent to a particular field of study. Nevertheless it will help a student identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. Efforts should therefore be directed towards strengthening national examinations for tertiary level which will definitely affect job efficiency, global competitiveness and unemployment rate of a particular country.8 1.4 Significance of the Study Higher education plays a central role in national life and in all sectors of the economy. It produces the teachers at all education levels, the bureaucrats of all positions, the professionals in various services and the executives and technical workers in industry. Despite educational attainment, the writers herein recognize the continuous increase in number of unemployment rate. Recent report shows that the figures of the jobless rate this year rose to 7.5% from 2012's 6.9%.9 As noted by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), majority of the unemployed were high school graduates (31.7%), college undergraduates (14.6%) and college graduates (21.3%).

http://www.filipinasoul.com/2006/11/national-college-entrance-exam-back-again-with-more http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/07/college-entrance-exams http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324635904578639780253571520.html http://beyondhallyu.com/culture/the-pressures-of-the-south-korean-education-system

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J. Cerda, Philippine Star, published June 11, 2013. (www.philstar.com/business/2013/06/11/952797/philippine-unemployment-6.9-7.5)

This study will be a significant endeavor in developing economic growth of the country through analyzing the students' access to higher education. This study will also be beneficial to the students and the universities; by giving the former guidelines in leading them to the career path according to their skills and interests and to make the latter understand the needs of its students and benefits of quality education, thereby assuring them both a competitive advantage. Also, this research will provide recommendations and

solutions by imparting the importance of rigorous admission requirements such as access, selection, the admission process, equity and other links to tertiary level. This paper attempts an evaluation and provides suggestions for policymakers.

1.5 Scope and Limitation of the study This study will concentrate on the policies, educational systems and how other countries like the United States of America and other Southeast Asian nations to which Philippines belong set the standards as to the effectiveness of their national examinations which greatly affects the over-all employment, job matching and socio-economic growth. In addition, the study revolves around the positive and negative effects of national examination in the said countries taking into consideration their status of the countries which are considered highly developed because of its high rate in terms of job efficiency, unemployment rate and also it being a globally competitive country. Lastly, this study will also dwell on the fact that national examinations are sometimes said to be a test to determine a students capability who will, in turn, contribute in the future as one of those who belong to the diversified specialized function and that national examinations as are currently done in the aforementioned countries, whether or not it is recommendable here in the Philippines which will help in the augmentation of job efficiency, global competitiveness and unemployment rate in the Philippines and this study will also tackle about the researchers position regarding the issue.10

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http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/the-great-stagnation-of-american-education/

http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/37474463.pdf http://gse.buffalo.edu/org/inthigheredfinance/files/Country_Profiles/Asia/China.pdf http://www.ncee.org/programs-affiliates/center-oninternational-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/south-korea-overview/south-korea-system-and-school-organization/

Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE In line with this studys aim to demonstrate the effects of standardized National Examination in the Philippines and other selected countries and to determine if it is recommendable to have such policy again, writers herein sought important variables and relevant materials such as published journals, articles, books, government documents and even the popular media.

With the increase of population, poor education, political instability and weak leadership, unemployment occurs and thus results to job inefficiency. It is also for these reasons that at present, higher education is taken not only as a prerequisite to the professional ranks, but also serves as a license to at least get a good job opportunity. Also, young people nowadays have focused their ambitions on college entrance examinations, for it is important not only to go to college but to the "college of your choice."

Higher education has differentiated as it has expanded, and colleges are distinguished from one another not only in curricular offerings but, perhaps and the more important, in status. Status is closely connected to how high a college's standards for admissions are, on how "selective" a college is. The more selective private colleges and universities are would mean that a high score on the "NCEE" may open opportunities they had only dreamed of. For others however, a low score may close doors they had counted on walking through.

The Philippines in 1973, through the then President Ferdinand Marcos enacted Presidential Decree No. 146, which intended to upgrade the quality of education by requiring all high school graduates seeking admission to post-secondary degree programs necessitating a minimum of four years' study to pass a national entrance examination.

The unemployment rate during the effectivity of this law was 5.9 percent, specifically from 19781983, while for underemployment was a problem, 29.0 percent. (An Analysis of the Philippine Economic Crisis, Diliman, Q.C.: University of the Philippines Press)

However in 1994, the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) was abolished through the passage of Republic Act 7731. Section 2 thereof particularly provided that those who failed the examinations, as required P.D. No. 146, and failed to make the grade for admissions shall no longer be denied or refused enrollment by any school, college or university to any post-secondary program necessitating a minimum of four (4) years as prescribed under the said Decree subject to the admission requirements of the institutions concerned.

In Measurement and Evaluation in the Philippine Higher Education: Trends and Development, written by Carlo Magno and Richard DLC Gonzales, it was stated that the NCEE (1973-1994) was taken by every graduating high school students to be admitted to a degree course in higher education. The intention was to screen graduating high school students if they are eligible to study for college. This test became controversial because the test used primarily English language that may prejudice students from rural and poor areas, which led to abolition in 1994.

The 1988 unemployment rate of 8.3 percent (12.3 percent in urban areas) peaked at 11.4 percent in early 1989. By 1994 until 2013, Philippines Unemployment Rate averaged 9.1 Percent reaching an all-time high of 13.9 Percent in March of 2002 and a record low of 6.3 Percent in September of 2007. (National Statistics Office, Joana Taborda11)

In China, the National College Entrance Exam or National Matriculation Examination, held annually is commonly known as Gaokao. This is known as the worlds largest standardized test and a prerequisite for entrance into almost all higher learning institutions at the undergraduate level. It is usually taken by students in their last year of senior high school, although there has been no age restriction since 2001.

In 1958, Gaokao began as a system to encourage a fair distribution of students to all universities. After repeated discussions and experiments, the National Matriculation Examination was eventually set as a fundamental policy system in 1959.12 However, the normal pace of the education system was disrupted and many young Chinese lost the chance to study due to the Cultural Revolution that began in 1966. When Chinese leader Deng
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Published 9/10/2013 10:25:37 AM , http://www.tradingeconomics.com/philippines/unemployment-rate Guodong Wei, On the Reform of Chinas NCEE since 1977 (PhD diss., Hebei University, 2008).

Xiaoping reinstated the Gaokao in 1977, about 5.7 million Chinese competed for 220, 000 university spots for that year alone. ("35 Years of the Gaokao, Zhang Wan13)

Due to the importance placed on this exam, there has been strong pressure to keep the processes transparent and corruption-free. The government's efforts have not been entirely satisfactory. Leaking of exam content, bribery, and other abuses are still being constantly exposed.14 Different criticisms have also been thrown at this kind of examination such as psychological pressure, regional discrimination and that students inability to think using analytical reasoning. (NCEE Presentation, Gang Chen, Allie Schexnayder and Emily Dimmit)

Unemployment Rate in China remained unchanged at 4.10 percent in the second quarter of 2013 from 4.10 percent in the first quarter of 2013. Unemployment Rate in China is reported by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the PRC. From 2002 until 2013, China Unemployment Rate averaged 4.2 Percent reaching an all-time high of 4.3 Percent in June of 2011 and a record low of 3.9 Percent in September of 2002. (Chinas Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of PRC)15

In South Korea, College Scholastic Ability Test also known as Suneung is a type of standardized test accepted by all South Korean universities. Suneung is managed by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation. The test is offered on the second Thursday of November of every year.16

The Korean College Scholastic Ability Test has five sections: Language Ability, Mathematical Ability, First Foreign Language Ability (English), various "elective" subjects in the social and physical sciences, and 'Second Foreign Languages or Chinese Characters and Classics'.

However, beginning on 2017, every college applicant should take a Korean history test during the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a prerequisite for more Korean history classes at secondary schools. The Ministry of Education announced Tuesday it will include
13 14 15

Published CRIEnglish 5/22/2007 11:40:33 http://english.cri.cn/7146/2012/10/16/2702s727369.htm "Spotlights on college admission abuse, China Daily, 2004". China Unemployment Rate, http://www.tradingeconomics.com/china/unemployment-rate 16 College Scholastic Ability Test Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation

the subject in the CSAT that all collegian hopefuls are required to take. Its decision follows the government and the ruling Saenuri Partys recent agreement to strengthen history education amid growing concerns that young students know very little of history. History was a compulsory subject from 1973 to 1993, for national tests for college entrance. However, as the country adopted the annual CSAT in 1994, history became a part of the social studies section of the test and was incorporated into one of the 11 optional subjects of the CSAT in 2005. (History to be compulsory in college test, Nam Hyun-woo.)17

This exam is taken seriously. According to an article entitled Life and death exams in South Korea written by James Card18, the National Police Agency would ask motorists not to honk their horns near schools and teams of volunteers and special police units work as traffic managers. The US military halts live-fire training and aviation missions to give testtakers quiet time. The South Korean stock market opens late and closes early. This year, even the aggressive farmers protesting the rice market opening agreed to mellow out for the day. Often, students are escorted by police, especially if students don't think they will arrive at the test center on time and planes are grounded to reduce noise pollution. Since the test is almost a life-or-death exam for students, the preparation for it is so secure and strict that since its beginning from 1993, Suneung questions have never been leaked. Questions are made by chosen professors and teachers, who are locked in a hotel with blackened windows, no communication and a full library of questions until the end of Suneung.

Unemployment Rate in South Korea decreased to 3.10 percent in August of 2013 from 3.20 percent in July of 2013. Unemployment Rate in South Korea is reported by the Korea National Statistical Office. From 1999 until 2013, South Korea Unemployment Rate averaged 3.7 Percent reaching an all time high of 7.1 Percent in June of 1999 and a record low of 3.0 Percent in September of 200219. (Korea National Statistics Office, Joana Taborda)

17 18

Published 2013-08-28 17:05 http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/08/116_141863.html Published 11/30/2005 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GK30Dg01.html 19 Published 9/11/2013 9:35:49 AM http://www.tradingeconomics.com/south-korea/unemployment-rate

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY

Method of Research

This study was conducted in order to determine the advantages and disadvantages of having a national examination for entering the tertiary level. To be able to gather the necessary data, the researcher utilized the descriptive method, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The survey and interview methods were the research instruments used for the data-gathering.

Employees and fresh graduates who have been chosen in this study accomplished a survey questionnaire to evaluate the challenges in their career growth, job efficiency and over-all satisfaction.

The credibility of findings and conclusions extensively depend on the quality of the research design, data collection, data management, and data analysis. This chapter will be dedicated to the description of the methods and procedures done in order to obtain the data, how they will be analysed, interpreted, and how the conclusion will be met. This section is to justify the means in which the study was obtained and will help in giving it purpose and strength as it will then be truthful and analytical. All these will help in the processing of the data and the formulation of conclusions.

Specifically, this research will cover the following: the research design and method, the respondents or subjects to be studied (which will include the sampling method), the data collection instrument, and the data analysis. This study utilized the descriptive method of research. As widely accepted, the descriptive method of research is a fact-finding study that involves adequate and accurate interpretation of findings. Descriptive research describes a certain present condition. Relatively, the method is appropriate to this study since it aims to describe the present condition of technical analysis as it is used in the stock market. The technique that was used under descriptive method is the normative survey approach and evaluation, which is commonly used to explore opinions according to respondents that can represent a whole population.

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Chapter IV PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The result from this analysis, regarding the most desirable criterions for National Examination for Tertiary Level that affects job efficiency, global effectiveness and unemployment rate for tertiary students, is inconclusive; however enacting law akin to the presidential decree no. 146 which requires all high school graduates seeking admission to tertiary degree programs necessitating a minimum of four years' study to pass a national entrance examination is pivotal in achieving the goal of minimizing, well if not total eradication, of the wobbliness of our current educational system with regard to harmonization of jobs available in the market and the courses being offered by both the private and public institutions of learning. A legislation which intends to align the disparity between the

available careers and employment available in our present set up is a key to realize in marking the end of the disparity. It is admitted however that a closer scrutiny is ought to be made by the different sectors of our society, from Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines (CHED), the lead agency primarily engaged in the supervision of tertiary education, to private and public sectors from the business. In order that harmonization of both education and employment is matched. Quality education is essential for creating a sustainable human resource base upon which to build a countrys development. Asia is experiencing a growing need for skilled managers and professionals in a variety of fields. Investing in higher education will help developing Asian countries build high-income economies, with the innovation, knowledge, and technology needed to thrive in an interconnected, competitive world. As economies in the Asian region have grown larger and more complex, they have also become more integrated through economic and social exchange. Higher education is seen to have an ever more important role in human resource development and the movement of people, students, and the workforce in the region. 20

The question is how governments can improve higher education through adequate policies and regulations, and how they can position their economies for further development. Higher education must also become more diversified, more inclusive and equitable in terms of access, and financially sustainable through cost sharing and partnerships, including
20

Higher Education Across Asia: An Overview of Issues & Strategies; Nov 2011; Asian Development Bank pp. 5-48

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partnerships with the private sector21. While demand for expanded higher education systems is increasing, so is concern about the quality and relevance of the education provided. Countries must carefully review higher education priorities to better serve the needs of labor markets and support progress toward knowledge-based economies. Higher education

systems across much of Asia have made extraordinary gains in expanding access, diversifying curricula, and experimenting with new instructional delivery systems. At the same time, this success has created new challenges brought about by explosive enrollment growth; shortages of qualified instructional staff; a need to improve instructional quality; and, in many cases, severe financial constraints. These issues are interwoven, and their solutions are interdependent. Higher education systems across Asia face four overarching challenges 22: (a) maintaining and improving education quality, even in the face of serious financial constraints; (b) improving the relevance of curriculum and instruction at a time of rapid change in labor market needs; (c) increasing and better utilizing the financial resources available to higher education; and (d) balancing the continued expansion of access to higher education with greater attention to equity and to the need to raise quality. In a report by the World Bank entitled, Putting Higher Education to Work: Skills and Research for Growth in East Asia, the Washington-based lender said skills gaps in the Philippines are particularly large in the service industry, export sector, and technologically intensive sector. The report said employers and employees find these gaps to be particularly severe in creativity, leadership, and problem solving skills. Many firms face the challenge of hiring higher education graduates who simply do not have the right skills, and these skills mismatches have been widening between firms and employees at all employment levels, th e report said. Given this, the report highlighted the importance of shifting investments towards building the countrys research capacity, particularly in higher education institutions.

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Philippine Economic Update: Accelerting Reforms to Sustain Growth Dec 2012 World Bank p7 Higher Education Across Asia: An Overview of Issues & Strategies; Nov 2011; Asian Development Bank pp. 5-48

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Chapter V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Education of individuals is a vital power to propel the economic growth of nations and thus, its access to every Juan is needed to alleviate every Juans way of life. Our government is encouraged to a sound extent in formulating ample policies and regulations so as to position our great Nation to a stance of better life for every Juan. The accessibility and consideration of tertiary education in our country need to be emphasized as to how education will be funded by the government for those who have less in life, so as to enable any person to have access to education, at a cost which is deemed desirable. In other countries, while public schools for primary and secondary education are fully funded by the government, tertiary education is at shouldered by the student. The assistance which is shared to students comes in the form of student allowances for scholars, student loans and subsidised institutions. The desirable allocation of funding to each of these is a topic of debate, as it has always been an incessant problem for the executive department of the government. In recent decades, we have watched both the globalization of education and the education of globalization becoming means and ends unto themselves. They have become systems of mutual dependency and responsiveness. We see new education structures emerge,

simultaneously creating both new solutions and new challenges in learning. Of recent vintage, the epic introduction of online education conquers not only our conventional classrooms but geopolitical borders challenging the traditions of educational systems set in place since perhaps the beginning of time. This moment in time calls for an amplification of our educational structure as the hour of change has ascended and we are ordained to encounter it as our world of globalization has set in. The amalgamation of local, national, international, and public and private ventures in the global community would somehow produce an enthralling transformation of education systems, structures and standards around the world as economic globalization creates new demands and benchmarks from workers. Within a countrys educational system, the relevant institutions and policies include the ways in which a society finances and manages its schools, how a society assesses student performance, and who is empowered to make basic educational decisions, such as which curricula to follow, which teachers to hire, and what textbooks to purchase. If resources are to be used effectively, policies must create incentives that encourage school personnel to behave in ways that do not necessarily further their own interests. For instance, without the right incentives, teachers may avoid using the most promising teaching strategies, preferring to use
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the techniques they find most convenient. In terms of policy, one might speculate that if a nation assesses the performance of students with some sort of national exam and uses this information to monitor teachers, teachers will put aside their other interests and focus mainly on raising student achievement23

Today, tertiary institutions referred as higher education institutions by the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines (CHED) are licensed, controlled, and supervised by CHED. In an effort to effectuate its mandate of rationalizing its supervision of institutions of higher learning, CHED has prescribed guidelines for granting privileges of autonomy and deregulation to certain schools. According to the guidelines, the general criteria examined by CHED are an institution's "long tradition of integrity and untarnished reputation", "commitment to excellence", and "sustainability and viability of operations". This autonomous status allows universities to design their own curricula, offer new programs and put up branches or satellite campuses without having to secure permits, confer honorary degrees, and carry out operations without much interference from CHED. While the avowed purpose of its creation is lauded by most academic scholars, since the inception CHED, there is no significance growth as to balance in making the job employment available to the graduates of tertiary education and the courses offered by the higher education institutions. Needless to point out, the autonomy given to tertiary institutions does not serve the purpose in propelling our economy to higher sphere as we position our nation in the global community. There is indeed an overarching objective to infuse the concepts of sustainable learning structures from conventional schooling in formal education settings to learning in non-formal programs. Sustainable education can help prepare our society for a swift-paced world of rapid scientific, social, technological, workforce and demographic changes we all live now. Education is our gateway from the present to the future, as the old adage goes, a deep recognition of the importance of education is the indispensable first step if we are to achieve the level of participation in the global community envisioned by this country. Infusing the concepts of sustainability throughout learning experiences will help nourish that awareness. The entire sum of this requires the active participation and involvement of educators,

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Education Matters VOL. 1, NO. 2 Why Students in Some Countries Do Better By Ludger Woessmann

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government, businesses, and nongovernmental organizations working toward common goals will lead to an understanding of multiple perspectives and informed decision-making. Recommendations Quality research enables universities to produce ideas for the business community and contribute to technology upgrading in firms, generating knowledge and technological innovation, Emanuela di Gropello, World Bank lead economist and lead author of the report said. Low spending in research and development, low number of licenses, and low number of patents all indicate a low capacity for research and innovation, di Gropello said. For the Philippines to grow faster and achieve continued technological deepening, the government should address skill gaps by maintaining coverage and improving the quality of higher education graduates, and increasing research relevant to economic needs in a few universities or departments. The government should also increase education spending in relation to gross domestic product, improve the use and allocation of public resources and complete the process of granting autonomy to universities while strengthening the role and functions of university boards. Legislation to reform existing law from the mandate of Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines (CHED) to enactment of laws after a period of review and several consultations with stakeholder groups is justified. Reform should focus on increasing the capacity of the Philippine tertiary education system to serve students and cultivating the quality of student outcome in terms of learning, completion and employment. The current hierarchy of tertiary degrees and qualifications should be reviewed, simplified and clarified. Clear and transparent pathways to higher level programmes and qualifications should be established throughout the Philippine tertiary education system. Stronger policies should be advanced and enacted to avert unwarranted mission drift, while fostering the development of ladders of qualifications, particularly in emerging technology-related fields. A constant external review of the supply of and demand for tertiary education graduates at all levels should be commissioned by the CHED. The review should take into account employment rates and salary levels related to field of study as well as qualification level. The CHED should continue to focus primarily on national goals for tertiary education attainment and improving tertiary education quality assurance both as to the terms of learning and significance. The CHED and the tertiary education institutions should work together to
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improve an agreed accountable framework which makes clear how each institution will play its part in the achievement of the national goals and what mechanisms, implementation and performance indicators the institutions will use to report their progress. The composition

of education institutional governing boards should be reviewed to ensure adequate representation of the public interest. The private sector and employers should be represented whenever possible.

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