House addresses ‘new normal’ in higher, technical education

By Ben Rosario | May 08, 2020

The House of Representatives has started taking measures to address the challenges faced by the higher education sector as the country marches towards the “new normal” while under the threat of the deadly COVID 19 pandemic.

 

(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

 

Baguio City Rep. Mark Go, chairman of the Higher and Technical Education Committee, said a technical working group was formed on Thursday to speed up the approval of measures aimed at strengthening the Commission on Higher Education which will be in the forefront of the on-line education among college students.

Pending before the panel are House Bill 1855, authored by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City), and HB 6449 by Go, seeking to strengthen the CHED by revising Republic Act (RA) 7722 or the “Higher Education Act of 1994.

Deputy Speaker Michael Romero and fellow 1Pacman Partylist Rep. Enrico Pinedafiled HB 1936 proposing additional appropriation to the Higher Education Development Fund to advance and strengthen the higher education sector in the country.

During Thursday’s virtual hearing, Go stressed that it has become necessary to harmonize the existing body of laws pertaining to the CHED and provide it with the necessary powers and functions to achieve its expanded mandate.

The Baguio City lawmaker noted that the CHED was not envisioned to have implementation functions. Under RA 7722, CHED was mandated to perform policy-making, regulatory, and developmental functions over all public and private higher education institutions, he said.

“We believe that technology and other advances could now be put into place in our tertiary system and that we should be able to strengthen and have the powers of CHED commensurate to the needs of the times,” said Rodriguez, as he sought the immediate passage of his bill.

Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Sarah Jane Elago , together with the Makabayan bloc, filed House Resolution 831 calling for fair and equitable pandemic response and recovery plan in education: end current academic term, pass all, promote health literacy, provide emergency relief fund amid COVID-19 public health crisis

Almost two months into holding classes online, many, both from students and faculty alike, are still offline in terms of teaching and learning continuity, said Elago.

“Those without access to computer and reliable internet at home, especially students from families with no income due to lockdown, are disproportionately affected,” she lamented.

As the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education met Thursday, the country’s academe called on schools to prepare for specialized on-line courses to keep students safe from COVID 19 while continuing with their education.

Makati-based iAcademy has reportedly pioneered special courses on computing, business and design as it offered students home-based part-time jobs to help them earn extra money while observing the enhanced community quarantine.

“This is just one of the ways where we can be of help to our students during these trying times,” said Vanessa Tanco, iACADEMY’s president and CEO.