Who is Shirley Agrupis, the new CHED chief?

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Agrupis takes over CHED as the country faces a learning crisis, with 4 in 10 college students dropping out despite the free tuition law, according to the Second Congressional Commission on Education

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has accepted the courtesy resignation of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Prospero de Vera III and appointed CHED Commissioner Shirley Agrupis as his successor.

Agrupis takes over from De Vera, who served as CHEH chairman for seven years. De Vera and other Cabinet-rank officials had submitted their courtesy resignation upon orders of Marcos, who is pursuing a “bold reset” of this administration, prompted by his poor performance ratings as well as the outcome of the 2025 Senate race, where only six administration bets won.

“Maybe the President wanted to give a fresh start to the CHED. Or maybe there were other reasons. A collegial body like the CHED always comes under such pressure from within. But I’m not going to say that was the reason. I’m just guessing that played a lot in the acceptance of the resignation,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said, when asked why De Vera was replaced.

Agrupis was first appointed to CHED in 2024. She was in charge of 22 state universities and colleges across Northern Luzon, Central and Eastern Visayas, Central and Southern Mindanao, CARAGA, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Before this, she served as a full-time university professor and the immediate past president of Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Ilocos Norte.

Agrupis is an alumna of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, where she earned her biology degree and Master of Science, majoring in Plant Morpho-Anatomy and Physiology. She obtained her Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Sciences from the United Graduate School of Agricultural Science at Gifu University, Shizuoka University Campus in Japan.

Agrupis assumes the leadership of CHED at a time when the Philippines is facing a severe learning crisis. At the tertiary level, the Second Congressional Commission on Education report found that four in 10 Filipino students are dropping out from college despite the free tuition law.

In a statement on Thursday, May 29, De Vera congratulated Agrupis on her new role and wished her success in leading the commission. He also expressed gratitude to his colleagues at CHED for their shared work during his tenure.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the Filipino people and to give an opportunity to every aspiring young Filipino to achieve his/her dream of completing their university education through the Universal Access to Quality Education law (RA 10931). It has also been a privilege to work with committed colleagues in CHED and across the higher education sector to promote access, equity, and quality in Philippine higher education,” he said. – Rappler.com