'Overburdened' CHED taps World Bank for review of staff, structure

February 5, 2026 | 5:38pm

MANILA, Philippines — A revamp will soon be in the works at the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) after it announced Thursday, February 5, that it is bringing in the World Bank to review its structure, staffing and operations.

CHED said in a news release Thursday that the World Bank-backed "functional review" will examine whether the agency’s current organizational structure and workforce are still aligned with its mandate and responsibilities.

The initiative was discussed during a January 30 meeting led by CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis, together with CHED commissioners and directors, and a World Bank team headed by Lead Economist Tara Beteille.

CHED said the review will include an assessment of staff qualifications and a mapping of its workflows. 

"The review will also address the potential overlap in roles between CHED and other agencies," the commission's statement read.

EDCOM II, in its final report released last month, identified several functional issues with CHED that has led it to become overburdened and understaffed since its creation in 1994.

CHED was designed as a collegial, consultative body rather than a hierarchical department to protect academic freedom and ensure institutional advancement, according to the commission. However, studies by EDCOM II note that CHED has since become overburdened by an expanding mandate, with at least over 100 laws and policies increasing its responsibilities, especially financial aid programs.

While CHED’s budget increased by 633% between 2013 and 2023, its personnel complement grew by only 22.7%, forcing the agency to rely heavily on contract of service staff. Currently, administrative tasks such as managing billions in scholarships through UniFAST consume nearly 60% of the workload in regional offices. 

To address this, EDCOM II recommended right-sizing CHED’s staffing and updating its 30-year-old charter to better align its structure with its current responsibilities.

CHED oversees around 2,000 higher education institutions, all of which serve a combined total of 5.4 million students.