CHED launches study on student admission, retention in SUCs

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has initiated a research project to assess equity in the admission and retention policies of state universities and colleges (SUCs) as part of its goal to make higher education inclusive for Filipino learners.

In a media briefing on Monday, CHED chairman Prospero de Vera III said that public universities have so far been successful in increasing access to higher education ever since they started offering free tuition in 2018.

However, despite said access, he stressed that equity has become a problem in SUCs. As to those already admitted, he lamented that the attrition rate or the number of students not completing their education remains “very high.”

“As more and more students take the admission test in our public universities, the admission system becomes more and more competitive,” de Vera said.

“Clearly, we should be concerned with the issue of equity in higher education. We must be concerned that if our admission system is not examined, there is a possibility as what happens in other countries that those who are less prepared to go to university, those coming from public schools, those coming from rural areas, the children of indigenous communities, are going to get marginalized and they won't be able to enter universities,” he cautioned.

To help address this, CHED has commissioned a research project to Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, Samar State University and the University of Southern Mindanao to determine the equity dimension of the admission and retention in select SUCs in the Ilocos Region, Eastern Visayas and Soccsksargen.

Under the study, de Vera said CHED aims to find out who are taking the admission tests, what are their socioeconomic profiles and who among them gets admitted.

“If we find out that the admission system disproportionately disadvantages certain sectors, the study will now direct universities about the options that they can take to improve their admission system so more people from public schools, from rural areas, children of indigenous communities, children of rebel returnees will able to get in,” he said.

“Once they get in, the study will also find out what happens to those who are already in the universities. Are our support systems in place? Do they get the services that they need? Do they drop out and fall by the wayside? And what can be done by universities to address this so that they complete their education,” he continued.

De Vera said CHED doesn’t have to finish the whole study to start reforms in higher education because part of the study is already documenting the best practices of SUCs. He also encouraged other SUCs to join the study to share their own interventions.

Last year, de Vera said that entrance tests in higher education should focus more on equity so that poor students would be given higher chances of getting free education in SUCs. 

He also stressed that it is the government's responsibility to bring education to those coming from poor families, those coming from public schools, children of indigenous communities and the children of rebel returnees.—RF, GMA Integrated News