MANILA, Philippines – The chief of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) advised university teachers to “improve their credentials” in an effort to make them globally competitive.
CHED Chairman Prospero “Popoy” de Vera told teachers and staff that it would be best if they work on their qualifications and skills to help Philippine universities be at par with other top institutions abroad. According to De Vera, Philippine university teachers need to “improve their credentials” and actively engage in more research and studies with their peers from other countries.
“Many of our faculty members still need to improve their credentials, finish their PhDs, for example… Dapat makapag-publish ka sa journals para makilala ka sa ibang bansa at ‘pag nag-research kayo, papayag sila mag-research kayo together,” De Vera said.
The statement came after the recent 2022 QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings was released. It showed that Philippine universities performed poorly in the research (citations per faculty) indicator.
READ: 4 Philippine schools among world’s top universities 2022
De Vera reiterated the need for teachers and faculty members to continually improve their degrees, undergo continuous professional development and to reach out and work with other professors from various local and international universities.
The chief also admitted that there is a need to “increase the overall funding for research on higher education.” Despite the financial constraints of pursuing further education, De Vera reminded teachers that there are available scholarships to study abroad. He even noted that this year, the commission’s funding to send Filipino scholars abroad to study has reached an all-time high.
“The funds available now in CHED is at all-time high compared to previous years. Pero ‘yong intake ng mga maga-abroad, parang hindi kasingtaas ng expected,” he said.
De Vera told university administrators to take advantage of the remote learning to help their teacher improve in Internationalization factor. Another indicator which the Philippine schools ranked poorly in the QS ranking as well. Under the law, foreigners are not allowed to teach. Foreign students are also hesitant to enroll in Philippine universities due to several factors including accommodations.
“But now, because of flexible learning… you can have foreign lecturers in your faculty and do it electronically,” he said.
“Many foreign students will not go to the Philippines compared to other countries because they might have better dormitories, better sports facilities… But there’s a way to address that because many of the classes are delivered online, so they don’t have to physically be here,” De Vera explained.
Despite the Philippines’ ranking, De Vera assured that the findings are not “reflective of what’s happening on the ground as far as the challenges of higher education are concerned.” He noted that several factors, such as the struggles of blended learning, were not considered.
The QS World University Rankings classify universities according to:
- Academic reputation (40 percent)
- Employer reputation (10 percent)
- Faculty-student ratio (20 percent)
- Citations per faculty (20 percent)
- International students (5 percent)
- International faculty (5 percent)
According to the London-based firm, the findings were based on more than 75,000 responses to the QS Employer Survey. The firm explained that their survey was “the world’s largest of its kind” and asked employers to identify institutions from which they source “the most competent, innovative, effective graduates.”
— Sally, The Summit Express