A measure seeking to expand the access to educational services by establishing and administering a transnational higher education recently passed on second reading at the House of Representatives.

It also prescribes minimum standards for partnerships, collaborative arrangements, and the Philippine commercial operations of foreign higher education institutions

If approved and eventually enacted into a law, supporters of House Bill 8682 or the proposed “Transnational Higher Education Act”, are confident that it will pave the way for the delivery of higher education study relevant to the changing needs of the people and the society.

Thus, higher education shall serve as an instrument to generate productive knowledge, innovation, and technology necessary to compete in the knowledge economy.

It also recognizes that rapid developments, brought about by globalization, have created a trend for borderless teaching and learning.

KABAYAN Party-list Rep. Ron P. Salo, one of the principal authors of the bill, said that this proposed bill took two years at the committee level due to complex issues surrounding the same.

“The purpose of HB 8682 is to open the door and enlarge this in order for the Filipinos to attain a world-class quality of education” he said.

HB 8682 also covers 11 different modes of transnational higher education operations ranging from academic franchising to offering of double degrees through a process called “validation.”

It also prescribes minimum standards for partnerships, collaborative arrangements, and the Philippine commercial operations of foreign higher education institutions.

This also allows for offshore or overseas operation of Philippine colleges and universities.