Vol 145 (3): v-vii, September 2016
EDITORIAL
Measuring the performance of our higher education institutions – Part I
In AY 2014-2015, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) accredited a total of 1,935 higher education institutions (HEI’s) in the country consisting of 1,708 (88.3%) and 227 privately-owned and publicly-funded institutions, respectively [1]. The number of private institutions increased by 25% since AY 2003-2004. On the other hand, the Philippine population grew by 19.5% from 2003 to 2014 (99.14 million) with a corresponding GDP per capita growth of 184% [2].
State universities and colleges (SUC’s) are operated with funds that are drawn from the yearly national expenditure program that is submitted for Congressional approval and signed into law as the General Appropriations Act by the Philippine President. Their number has increased by just one since AY 2003-2004 while that of HEI’s that are financially supported by local government units rose by almost 120% to 101. Undergraduate and graduate enrollments in AY 2014-2015 were at 3.812 million and 0.649 million respectively, which are 1.58 and 1.67 times their corresponding values in AY 2003-2004. More than forty-four percent (44.18%) of undergraduates and 46.19% of graduate students enroled in public institutions during AY 2014 – 2015. Among SUC’s in AY 20122013, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines served the largest student population with 78,874 followed by the University of the Philippines (71,300) and the Mindanao State University (51,048) [3].
From 2006 to 2016, the yearly national budget is equivalent to 19.3 1.32% of the GDP in the preceding fiscal year [4]. A growing Philippine economy means more government revenues that become available to fund public programs and initiatives that promote the greater good. The national budget in 2015 is 1.59 times bigger than it was in 2009 with the SUC budget allocation increasing by 61.53%. On average, the University of the Philippines (UP) gets 27.361.32% of the annual SUC budget. . . . . . read more
