REPUBLIC ACT No. 7722 AN ACT CREATING THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

"Higher Education Act of 1994".

Section 1.

Section 2. Declaration of Policy.

The State shall 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. The State shall likewise ensure and protect academic freedom and shall promote its exercise and observance for the continuing intellectual growth, the advancement of learning and research, the development of responsible and effective leadership, the education of high-level and middle-level professionals, and the enrichment of our historical and cultural heritage.

State-supported institutions of higher learning shall gear their programs to national, regional or local development plans. Finally, all institutions of higher learning shall exemplify through their physical and natural surroundings the dignity and beauty of, as well as their pride in, the intellectual and scholarly life.

Creation of the Commission on Higher Education.

Section 3.

is hereby created, hereinafter referred to as the Commission.

The Commission shall be independent and separate from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), and attached to the Office of the President for administrative purposes only. Its coverage shall be both public and private institutions of higher education as well as degree-granting programs in all post-secondary educational institutions, public and private.

Composition of the Commission.

Section 4.

(5) (1) (4) (10)

The Commission shall be composed of five (__) full-time members. During the transition period which begins upon approval of this Act, the President may appoint the Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports as ex officio chairman of the Commission for a maximum period of one (__) year. Thereafter, the President shall appoint a Chairman of the Commission and four (__) commissioners, who shall be holders of earned doctorate(s), who have been actively engaged in higher education for at least ten (__) years and must not have been candidates for elective positions in the elections immediately preceding their appointment. They shall be academicians known for their high degree of professionalism and integrity who have distinguished themselves as authorities in their chosen fields of learning. The members of the Commission shall belong to different academic specializations.

In no case shall any and all of the Commissioners appoint representatives to act on their behalf.

Term of Office.

Section 5

(4) (4) (3) (2)

The President shall appoint the full-time chairman and the commissioners for a term of (_____) years, without prejudice to one reappointment. The terms of the initial appointees shall be on a staggered basis: the full-time chairman shall hold office for a term of (_____) years, the next two (2) commissioners for three (__) years, and the last two (2) commissioners for two (__) years.

The commissioners shall hold office until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified. Should a member of the Commission fail to complete his term, his successor shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines but only for the unexpired portion of the term.

Rank and Emoluments.

Section 6.

Board of Advisers.

Section 7

a. the Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports, as chairman;

b. the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority, as co-chairman;

c. the Secretary of Science and Technology;

d. the Secretary of Trade and Industry;

e. the Secretary of Labor and Employment;

f. the President of the Federation of Accrediting Associations of the Philippines (FAAP); and

g. the President of the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE).

There shall be constituted a Board of Advisers which shall meet with the Commission at least once a year to assist it in aligning its policies and plans with the cultural, political and socioeconomic development needs of the nation and with the demands of world-class scholarship.

The Board of Advisers shall be composed of the following:

Two (2) additional members of the Board of Advisers may be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Commission.

Powers and Functions of the Commission.

Section 8.

(higher education and research) (executive and legislative branches) (minimum standards) (experts) (monitor and evaluate) (sanctions) (identify, support and develop) (standards, policies and guidelines) (develop criteria) (direct or redirect purposive research) (devise and implement) (review the charters) (rules and regulations)

-The Commission shall have the following powers and functions:

a. formulate and recommend development plans, policies, priorities, and programs on (_________________);

b. formulate and recommend development plans, policies, priorities and programs on (1) (____________);

c. recommend to the (_________________________), priorities and grants on higher education and research;

d. set (___________________) for programs and institutions of higher learning recommended by panels of (____________) in the field and subject to public hearing, and enforce the same;

e. (__________________) the performance of programs and institutions of higher learning for appropriate incentives as well as the imposition of (___________) such as, but not limited to, diminution or withdrawal of subsidy, recommendation on the downgrading or withdrawal of accreditation, program termination or school closure;

f. (________________) potential centers of excellence in program areas needed for the development of world-class scholarship, nation building and national development;

g. recommend to the Department of Budget and Management the budgets of public institutions of higher learning as well as general guidelines for the use of their income;

h. rationalize programs and institutions of higher learning and set (_________________________) for the creation of new ones as well as the conversion or elevation of schools to institutions of higher learning, subject to budgetary limitations and the number of institutions of higher learning in the province or region where creation, conversion or elevation is sought to be made;

i. (_______________) for allocating additional resources such as research and program development grants, scholarships, and other similar programs: Provided, That these shall not detract from the fiscal autonomy already enjoyed by colleges and universities;

j. (_____________________) by institutions of higher learning to meet the needs of agro-industrialization and development;

k. (_________________) resource development schemes;

l. administer the Higher Education Development Fund, as described in Section 10 hereunder, which will promote the purposes of higher education;

m. (____________) of institutions of higher learning and state universities and colleges including the chairmanship and membership of their governing bodies and recommend appropriate measures as basis for necessary action;

n. promulgate such (______________) and exercise such other powers and functions as may be necessary to carry out effectively the purpose and objectives of this Act; and

o. perform such other functions as may be necessary for its effective operations and for the continued enhancement, growth or development of higher education.

The Secretariat.

Section 9.

The Higher Education Development Fund.

Section 10.

(Five hundred million pesos (P500,000,000) (Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000) (forty percent (40%) (thirty percent (30%) (one percent (1%) (three percent (3%) (five percent (5%)

-A Higher Education Development Fund, hereinafter referred to as the Fund, is hereby established exclusively for the strengthening of higher education in the entire country.

a. The Government’s contribution to the Fund shall be the following:

1. the amount of (_____________________________) as seed capital;

2. the amount of (_______________________) for the initial operation of the Commission;

3. the equivalent of (_____________________) annual share on the total gross collections of the travel tax;

4. the equivalent of (_____________________) share of the collections from the Professional Registration Fee; and

5. the equivalent of (___________________) of the gross sales of the lotto operation of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

b. Starting Fiscal Year 1995 and every year thereafter, government financing institutions identified and requested by the Commission may contribute to the Fund an amount equivalent to not less than (___________________) but not more than (______________________) of their unimpaired surplus realized during the immediately preceding year.

c. The Fund shall have a private portion to be raised from donations, gifts, and other conveyances including materials, equipment, properties and services by gratuitous title.

(seed capital of the Fund) (earnings of private) (separate staff, independent administratively) (regions and programs)

- The Fund shall be administered by the Commission. For sound and judicious management of the Fund, the Commission shall appoint a reputable government financial institution as portfolio manager of the Fund, subject to the following conditions.

As administrator of the Fund, the Commission shall prepare the necessary guidelines for its use, subject to the following conditions:

a. No part of the (______________), including earnings thereof, shall be used to underwrite overhead expenses for administration;

b. Unless otherwise stipulated by the private donor, only (______________) contributions shall be used for administrative expenses;

c. The Commission shall appoint and organize a (__________________________) and budgetarily separate from the Commission Secretariat; and

d. The Fund shall be utilized equitably according to (_________________).

The Technical Panels.

Section 12.

Section 13.

Guarantee of Academic Freedom.

(minimum unit requirements for specific academic programs) (general education distribution requirements) (specific professional subjects)

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting the academic freedom of universities and colleges. In particular, no abridgment of curricular freedom of the individual educational institutions by the Commission shall be made except for: (a) (_________________________); (b) (_____________________)as may be determined by the Commission; and (c) (______________________)as may be stipulated by the various licensing entities. No academic or curricular restriction shall be made upon private educational institutions which are not required for chartered state colleges and universities.

Accreditation.

Section 14.

Tax Exemptions.

Section 15.

Authority

Section 16.

(Five hundred million pesos (P500,000,000) (Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000)

The amount of (______________________) is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the seed capital of the Fund. The additional amount of (______________________) is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of the funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated or out of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) funds for the initial operation of the Commission.

The sum equivalent to the appropriations for the current year for the Bureau of Higher Education and the degree-granting-programs of the Bureau of Technical-Vocational Education, including those for higher and tertiary education and degree granting vocational and technical programs of the Bureau of Technical-Vocational Education in the regional offices, as well as parts of the budgetary items under the DECS budget that are concerned with higher and tertiary education and degree-granting vocational and technical programs such as those for personal services, maintenance and other operating expenses and capital outlay, shall be transferred to the Commission.

Thereafter, the funds necessary shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.

Transitory Provisions.

Section 18.

Repealing Clause.

Section 19.

Separability Clause.

Section 20.

 May 18, 1994

Approved: