Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education Chair Loren Legarda presided over a public hearing on April 23, 2026, on six priority measures seeking reforms in the country’s higher and technical education system, including governance, quality assurance, and scholarship programs.

The bills include proposals to strengthen the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), modernize the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), reform governance of state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs), expand scholarship programs, and establish a national professional standards and quality assurance system.

During the hearing, Legarda said the existing charters of CHED and TESDA—both enacted more than 30 years ago—no longer reflect current developments in the education sector.

She cited institutional gaps in governance and policy alignment as key issues being addressed by the proposed reforms.

Findings presented by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) pointed to structural problems in LUCs, including disparities in faculty compensation and inconsistent compliance with CHED recognition standards.

The commission also noted that lower-income local government units face challenges in hiring qualified faculty due to lower salary grades, affecting education quality.

Among the proposed measures are differentiated autonomy for SUCs based on performance, mandatory certification for members of governing boards, and the creation of a Philippine Higher Education Leadership Academy.

For TESDA, the proposed modernization bill seeks to restructure its governing body into a board of advisers, expand its secretariat functions, and require impact evaluations for scholarship programs.

Another measure seeks to streamline overlapping mandates among CHED, TESDA, and the Professional Regulation Commission through a unified professional standards and quality assurance framework, with the aim of updating outdated professional laws affecting curriculum development.

Legarda said the committee will refine the proposals through technical working groups following the hearing.