EDCOM 2 pushes for quality control on graduate programs amid 'competence imbalance'

The Second Congressional Commission on Education’s (EDCOM 2) called for stricter quality control on graduate programs on teacher education and public administration amid a supposed "diploma mill" system wherein graduate students use further studies just for promotion without necessarily improving competency.

EDCOM 2 cited the latest study, “Investigating the State of Graduate Education in the Philippines: Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Implications,” authored by Anne Lan Candelaria, Eric Arthur Dio, and Jovelyn Delosa and conducted through a Research Fellowship with the Ateneo de Manila University.

“Data from CHED shows that in the last 10 school years, more than half of our country’s total enrollment in graduate programs is in the field of education and yet, our elementary and secondary students in the basic education sector have been lagging based on Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and Programme for International Student Assessment results in the last 20 years,” EDCOM 2 said.

"There is a strong public perception that the pursuit of advanced degrees has at times become transactional—a means to gain promotion points rather than to enhance teaching competence, leading to a situation where low-quality or 'fly-by-night' schools provide the same career benefits as high-quality universities,” EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee added.

The study noted that as long as public school teachers can present documents that will show they have satisfied the credits and/or degree requirements, then they will earn the equivalent points for promotion.

“This [situation] also explains why we lack teachers who are competent in more specialized fields, which is confirmed by a finding in a previous EDCOM 2 study which suggests that our public high schools lack science teachers with the appropriate specialized degree,” it pointed out.

EDCOM 2 said the situation has resulted in an "imbalance," which it said undermines the purpose of professional development and points to an urgent need for systemic reform.

'Structural inequalities'

EDCOM 2 also noted that eight out of 10 graduate students are unable to complete their degree programs within the prescribed period of two years for master’s degrees and four years for doctoral degrees since most specialized graduate programs are mainly offered by private universities and concentrated in Metro Manila.

“To solve these deep-seated systemic and structural inequalities, the EDCOM 2 study strongly advocates for intensified governance and quality assurance from CHED. CHED should adopt a tiered regulatory approach for HEIs (higher educational institutions) offering graduate programs, shifting away from a uniform policy to account for differences in institutional capacity, program quality, and regional context,” EDCOM 2 said.

“This regulatory shift should be complemented by action from the Department of Education, with the recommendation that DepEd should consider the quality of HEI and graduate programs for career progression purposes, moving beyond simply accepting degrees from any CHED-recognized institution,” EDCOM 2 added.

EDCOM 2 is the Congressional body mandated to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector. —VAL, GMA Integrated News