LIVE: Senate Holds Hearing on CHED Charter , TESDA Modernization Act | April 23

Why It Matters

If enacted, the package would reshape governance, accountability and workforce alignment across Philippine tertiary and technical-vocational education, affecting millions of students and public funding priorities. The reforms could centralize regulatory roles, grant differentiated autonomy to better-performing institutions, and drive system-wide quality and employability improvements.

Summary

Senators held a committee hearing April 23 to review six major higher-education reform bills, including measures to overhaul the CHED charter, modernize TESDA, and set governance standards for local and state universities and colleges (LUCs and SUCs). Lawmakers and education officials from CHED, TESDA, DepEd, PRC and other agencies discussed proposals to standardize LUC creation and governance, clarify CHED’s regulator role, introduce differentiated autonomy for SUCs, and replace the decades-old higher education law with a new Higher Education Development and Innovation Act. The bills would also establish a Philippine professional standards and quality assurance system and a presidential merit scholarship, with sponsors aiming for rapid technical working groups and passage before the budget season. Officials emphasized aligning programs with labor-market needs and strengthening oversight, leadership preparation, and institutional quality assurance.

Original Description

LIVE: Senate holds hearing on Thursday April 23, regarding the strengthening of the CHED Charter and TESDA Modernization Act.| via Senate of the Philippines