MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. believes the Philippines has made strides in improving the quality of tertiary education, but acknowledged that the government still has its work cut out for it due to the country’s poor showing in university rankings in Asia.

Marcos was referring to Times Higher Education’s 2024 Asia University Rankings, which showed that no Philippine higher education institution (HEI) made it to the top 100.

In that list, Ateneo de Manila University placed in the 401 to 500 bracket, slipping from 84th place the previous year.

De La Salle University and the University of the Philippines ranked 501st to 600th, while the University of Santo Tomas and Mapua University were in the 601+ rank.

“This just goes to show that much work is still to be done. We must pursue a comprehensive and all-encompassing strategy that will turn this trend around,” Marcos said during the National Higher Education Summit on Wednesday, May 15.

Looking on the positive side, Marcos noted that 81 HEIs have made it to various world university rankings as of December 2023, much higher than the 52 HEIs in July that same year.

The government has set aside P134 billion for state and local universities in 2024, in accordance with the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, so that “more students can receive free tertiary education,” Marcos added.

Wednesday’s event was led by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which is celebrating its 30th founding anniversary in May.

“This day is indeed historic as no Philippine president has joined our celebration for more than one decade,” CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera III said. – Rappler.com