REPUBLIC ACT NO.

7722 (CHED)

AN ACT CREATING THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

SEC. 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Higher Education Act of 1994”.

SEC. 3. Creation of the Commission on Higher Education. - In pursuance of the abovementioned policies,
the Commission on Higher Education 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.

SEC. 8. Powers and Functions of the Commission. - The Commission shall have the following powers
and functions:

a. formulate and recommend development plans, policies, priorities, and programs on higher
education and research;

b. formulate and recommend development plans, policies, priorities and programs on research;

c. recommend to the executive and legislative branches, priorities and grants on higher education
and research;

d. set minimum standards for programs and institutions of higher learning recommended by
panels of experts in the field and subject to public hearing, and enforce the same;

e. monitor and evaluate the performance of programs and institutions of higher learning for
appropriate incentives as well as the imposition of sanctions 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. identify, support and develop 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 standards, policies and
guidelines 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. develop criteria 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. direct or redirect purposive research by institutions of higher learning to meet the needs of agro-
industrialization and development;

k. devise and implement resource development schemes;

l. administer the Higher Education Development Fund, which will promote the purposes of higher
education;

m. review the charters 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 rules and regulations 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.

SEC. 12. The Technical Panels. - The Commission shall reconstitute and/or organize technical panels for
different disciplines/program areas. They shall assist the Commission in setting standards and in program
and institution monitoring and evaluation. The technical panels shall be composed of senior specialists or
academicians to be appointed by the Commission.

SEC. 13. Guarantee of Academic Freedom. - 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) minimum unit
requirements for specific academic programs; (b) general education distribution requirements as may be
determined by the Commission; and (c) specific professional subjects 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.

SEC. 14. Accreditation. - The Commission shall provide incentives to institutions of higher learning, public
and private, whose programs are accredited or whose needs are for accreditation purposes.

SEC. 18. Transitory Provisions. - Such personnel, properties, assets and liabilities, functions and
responsibilities of the Bureau of Higher Education, including those for higher and tertiary education and
degree-granting vocational and technical programs in the regional offices, under the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports, and other government entities having functions similar to those of the
Commission are hereby transferred to the Commission.

The Commission shall have the authority to appoint its own personnel.

All regular or permanent employees transferred to the Commission shall not suffer any loss of seniority or
rank or decrease in emoluments. Personnel of the Bureau of Higher Education not otherwise transferred
to the Commission shall be reassigned by the DECS in any of its offices and bureaus: Provided, however,
That, any employee who cannot be accommodated shall be given all the benefits as may be provided
under existing laws, rules and regulations.

Jurisdiction over DECS-supervised or chartered statesupported post-secondary degree-granting

A transitory body is hereby created which shall be composed of the Secretary of Education, Culture and
Sports (DECS), Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, Chair of the House
Committee on Education and Culture, a representative each of the Association of Christian Schools and
Colleges (ACSC), the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), the Philippine
Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU), the Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges
and Universities (PAPSCU), the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), and
the Philippine Association of Private Technical Institutions (PAPTI).

The transitory body shall facilitate the complete and full operation of the Commission which shall not be
later than three (3) months after the effectivity of this Act. It shall likewise, promulgate the rules and
regulations necessary to effectively implement the smooth and orderly transfer to the Commission. The
transition period not exceeding three (3) months shall commence from the approval of this Act.

RA 7796 (TESDA)

AN ACT CREATING THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY,

1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Technical Educational and Skills Development Act of 1994” or
the “TESDA Act of 1994.”

SECTION 3. Statement of Goals and Objectives. — It is the goal and objective of this Act to:

a) Promote and strengthen the quality of technical education and skills development programs to attain
international competitiveness.
b) Focus technical education and skills development on meeting the changing demands for quality
middle-level manpower;

c) Encourage critical and creative thinking by disseminating the scientific and technical knowledge base of
middle-level manpower development programs;

d) Recognize and encourage the complementary roles of public and private institutions in technical
education and skills development and training systems; and

e) Inculcate desirable values through the development of moral character with emphasis on work ethic,
self-discipline, self-reliance and nationalism.

SECTION 5. Technical Education and Skills Development Authority; Creation.

— To implement the policy declared in this Act, there is hereby created a Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), hereinafter referred to as the Authority, which shall replace and absorb
the National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC), the Bureau of Technical and Vocational Education
(BTVE) and the personnel and functions pertaining to technical-vocational education in the regional
offices of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) and the apprenticeship program of the
Bureau of Local Employment of the Department of Labor and Employment.
SECTION 7. Composition of the TESDA Board. — The TESDA Board shall be composed of the following:

The Secretary of Labor and Employment-- Chairperson

Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports - Co-Chairperson

Secretary of Trade and Industry - Co-Chairperson

Secretary of Agriculture - Member

Secretary of Interior and Local Government - Member

Director-General of the TESDA Secretariat - Member

In addition, the President of the Philippines shall appoint the following members from the private sector:
two (2) representatives, from the employer/industry organization, one of whom shall be a woman; three
(3) representatives, from the labor sector, one of whom shall be a woman; and two (2) representatives of
the national associations of private technical-vocational education and training institutions, one of whom
shall be a woman. As soon as all the members of the private sector are appointed, they shall so organize
themselves that the term of office of one-third (1/3) of their number shall expire every year. The member
from the private sector appointed thereafter to fill vacancies caused by expiration of terms shall hold office
for three (3) years.

The President of the Philippines may, however, revise the membership of the TESDA Board, whenever
the President deems it necessary for the effective performance of the Board’s functions through an
administrative order.

The TESDA Board shall meet at least twice a year, or as frequently as may be deemed necessary by its
Chairperson. In the absence of the Chairperson, a Co-Chairperson shall preside. In case any member of
the Board representing the Government cannot attend the meeting, he or she shall be regularly
represented by an undersecretary or deputy-director general, as the case may be, to be designated by
such member for the purpose. The benefits, privileges and emoluments of the Board shall be consistent
with existing laws and rules.

SECTION 8. Powers and Functions of the Board.

— The Authority shall primarily be responsible for formulating, continuing, coordinated and fully
integrated technical education and skills development policies, plans and programs taking into
consideration the following:

a) the State policy declared herein of giving new direction and thrusts to efforts in developing the quality
of Filipino human resource through technical education and skills development;

b) the implementation of the above-mentioned policy requires the coordination and cooperation of
policies, plans, and programs of different concerned sectors of Philippine society;

c) equal participation of representatives of industry groups, trade associations, employers, workers and
government shall be made the rule in order to ensure that urgent needs and recommendations are readily
addressed; and

d) improved linkages between industry, labor and government shall be given priority in the formulation of
any national-level plan.
The Board, shall have the following powers:

1) promulgate, after due consultation with industry groups, trade associations, employers, workers,
policies, plans, programs and guidelines as may be necessary for the effective implementation of this Act;

2) organize and constitute various standing committees, subsidiary groups, or technical working groups
for efficient integration, coordination and monitoring technical education and skills development programs
at the national, regional, and local levels;

3) enter into, make, execute, perform and carry-out domestic and foreign contracts subject to existing
laws, rules and regulations;

4) restructure the entire sub-sector consisting of all institutions and programs involved in the promotion
and development of middlelevel manpower through upgrading, merger and/or phase-out following a user-
led strategy;

5) approve trade skills standards and trade tests as established and conducted by private industries;
establish and administer a system of accreditation of both public and private institutions;

6) establish, develop and support institutions’ trainors’ training and/or programs;

7) lend support and encourage increasing utilization of the dual training system as provided for by
Republic Act No. 7686;

8) exact reasonable fees and charges for such tests and trainings conducted and retain such earnings for
its own use, subject to guidelines promulgated by the Authority;

9) allocate resources, based on the Secretariat’s recommendations, for the programs and projects it shall
undertake pursuant to approved National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan;

10) determine and approve systematic funding schemes such as the Levy and Grant scheme for technical
education and skills development purposes;

11) create, when deemed necessary, an Advisory Committee which shall provide expert and technical
advice to the Board to be chosen from the academe and the private sector: Provided, That in case the
Advisory Committee is created, the Board is hereby authorized to set aside a portion of its appropriation
for its operation; and

12) perform such other duties and functions necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act consistent
with the purposes of the creation of TESDA.