CHED says school that gave Daniel Matsunaga honorary degree has no permit

The Commission on Higher Education clarified on Tuesday that the school that recently gave actor Daniel Matsunaga an honorary degree has not been issued a permit to operate and therefore cannot grant such a degree.

The CHED issued the announcement after the Brethren Evangelical School of Theology (BEST) based in Gapan, Nueva Ecija conferred on Matsunaga on Saturday a Ph.D. in Humanities, major in Social Work, CHED Officer-in-Charge and spokesperson J. Prospero de Vera III said in a statement.

Matsunaga posted the awarding on his Instagram account over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am very honored to be the recipient of such an amazing award. I just want to thank God for everything He has done in my life...also to the executives for believing and trusting me with such a big award. !To my family who has always been there for me, no matter what the situation, or how big my problems were, they never left me alone. Just got my Doctorate Degree in Humanity Major in Social Work.(Honoris Causa) To God be all the Glory always!!!???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? #blessed

A post shared by Daniel Kenji Matsunaga (@dandanmatsunaga) on

Sep 8, 2018 at 6:20am PDT

According to CHED records, BEST has not applied for an authority to operate.

It is not recognized as a higher education institution (HEI), CHED added.

The CHED said BEST's awarding of the honoris causa degree is a violation of the agency's policies and guidelines as set by CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 19, series of 2014, or the "Enhanced Policies and Guidelines on the Conferment of Honorary Doctorate Degrees by HEIs."

According to the said CMO, honorary doctorate degrees may only be granted by HEIs that have been in existence for at least 25 years. 

The HEIs must also "possess a well-acknowledged academic reputation, institutional values and mission, among others," before it can confer honorary degrees.

The CHED said it will not recognize the honorary doctorate degrees awarded by BEST.

The government agency will also impose sanctions against BEST with regard to the offering of degree programs, it said.

GMA News Online is contacting BEST for comment. —KG, GMA News