PHL told to review free college education law

THE PHILIPPINE government should review its education policy under a free college education law to better fit the demands of the labor market instead of merely churning out degree holders, a congressional think tank said.

In a November report, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) said the Philippine labor market does not have the capacity to absorb all college graduates amid a surge in “college-educated labor,” raising concerns about a mismatch in higher education access and employers’ demands.

The government should look at restricting the beneficiaries of the 2017 free college education law to degrees on research and development (R&D) including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to produce graduates needed by the job market, the CPBRD said.

“It is strongly advisable to shift the focus of education policy away from increasing the number of college graduates and towards increasing the number of graduates with economically valuable skills,” according to the report written by David Joseph Emmanuel Barua Yap, Jr., Edrei Y. Udaundo and Jubels C. Santos.

“In particular, the courses afforded full benefits by the [Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act] could be restricted to courses that provide skills that are sought after by existing and emerging industries,” it added.

The CPBRD said college programs that do not produce “in-demand skills” could still be supported by free college education, either through a discount system or student loan program.

The government should also consider reducing the number of free college education beneficiaries by putting in place stricter entrance exams and retention requirements, allowing focused support to the “best and brightest” students, it added.

“An analysis of official government data on employment strongly suggests that Republic Act No. 10931 has indeed increased the number of college graduates in the youth labor force,” the CPBRD said.

However, the congressional think tank noted that the policy had eroded the wages of college graduates compared with nondegree holders.

“It can be inferred that the narrowing of the wage gap can be largely attributed to the anemic growth of the mean and median wages of college-educated youths,” it said.

College graduates are also competing for jobs in sectors that should not require college degrees, crowding out nondegree holders, it added. 

“Data reveal that the number of [managers, professionals and technician] jobs decreased by 45% from 2016 to 2022,” according to the report. “The share of noncollege-educated youth in [clerical, service and sales worker] jobs declined from 72% in 2016 to 62% in 2022.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio