The recent announcement made by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) on considering the proliferation of master’s and doctor’s degree “diploma mills” in teacher education on the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is a timely and needed call for reforms in Philippine Higher Education. This concerns the quality and credibility of graduate education programs, especially those that shape the educators of the nation.
EDCOM’s call for greater regulation and quality assurance in graduate programs should be beyond appreciative. Education is touted as the bedrock of national development, and teachers are central to the system. When the institutions that prepare and advance the knowledge of teachers lower the academic bar, the whole system of education suffers. For-profit diploma mills that confer degrees with little academic work are a perverse part of the higher education system and undermine the professional achievements of qualified educators.
EDCOM’s finding that the government’s hiring and promotion policies have unintentionally led to the growth of poor-quality graduate programs is particularly striking. In some instances, educators seek higher academic qualifications not to enrich their knowledge and skills, but simply to fulfill the requirements for promotions or salary increases. This situation, undoubtedly created from positive intentions, has established a demand for quick and cheap degrees, and, thus, the growth of poor-quality graduate programs. The emphasis on credentials, rather than actual competence, detracts from the very essence of higher education, which is to cultivate generations of critical thinkers, researchers, and innovators that can transform the quality of teaching and learning.
As the primary regulatory body for higher education, CHED has a critical responsibility. It has to enforce stronger accreditation systems, monitor compliance of higher education institutions, and impose necessary sanctions against those that fail to uphold the required academic quality. More than this, a change of thinking is largely needed—not only within institutions, but also with teachers and policymakers—regarding the balance between real learning, research- based teaching, and professional practice on one side, versus the mere holding of degrees on the other.
The problems faced by the Philippine education system makes EDCOM’s advocacy relevant more than ever. The credibility of graduate programs impacts the quality of teachers, which, in turn, affects how students learn. If a teacher did not critically and meaningfully engage with graduate work, he or she would find it challenging to teach students the higher-order skills of critical and analytical thinking. Hence, the quality of teacher education is not just a problem of administrative management, it is primarily a moral and, perhaps, social obligation.
The EDCOM advocacy is a call to all education stakeholders to wake up. It is a reminder that sincere and real improvements in education on all fronts can only be achieved through integrity and accountability, with a shared resolve to pursue excellence. The strengthening of teacher education is not about increasing the number of degree holders in the system; it is about producing teachers who meet the highest ideals of a qualified and professionally ethical educator.
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.17568114
