Despite the challenges brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), more than two million Filipino youth have been receiving assistance from the government according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
“Sa pangkabuuan, lagpas dalawang milyong kabataang Pilipino ang natutulungan ng pamahalaan sa gitna ng COVID-19 na pandemya (In total, the government is helping more than two million Filipino youth in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic),” CHED Chairman J. Prospero E. De Vera III said during the Commission’s 27th founding anniversary kick off on Monday, May 17.
“All these achievements were made possible by the hard work of all CHED and UNIFAST personnel all over the country,” De Vera added.
De Vera explained that the Commission recognizes the diligence, patience and hardwork of the people of CHED and those in higher education institutions (HEIs) to accommodate every inquiry of students about its programs.
“As long as we work together in the spirit of bayanihan and as long as we learn and educate as one, we can withstand all trials that we face,” De Vera added.
CHED commenced its 27th Founding Anniversary with the theme Padyak! Moving Forward, Claiming Victory for Philippine Higher Education (Pamantasan: Pandayan Tungo sa Kaunlaran).
De Vera said that this year’s celebration commemorates a significant milestone for CHED which has accomplished a number of “groundbreaking undertakings” amidst the challenging circumstances brought by the ongoing pandemic.
The week-long celebration kicked off with the online ceremony to formally open Higher Education Week. This was followed by regional opening activities, and a conference on Advancing Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Higher Education.
CHED said that throughout the week, there will be other webinars of conferences, symposia and training programs, as well as awards and recognition of deserving programs and employees.
The CHED was created on May 18, 1994 by virtue of Republic Act 7722 (RA 7722), otherwise known as the Higher Education Act of 1994.
CHED’s mission is to “protect, foster and promote the right of all citizens to affordable quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to ensure that education shall be accessible to all.”
In the last 27 years, De Vera said that CHED has broadened the access of deserving and qualified Filipino students to higher education opportunities by extending financial assistance to poor but deserving college students through scholarships, grants and loan programs.
CHED is also set to hold the first National Higher Education Day on May 18 and every year on this date thereafter by virtue of Republic Act 11522 that was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on February 5 this year.
