CHED positioning policies to address anticipated Super El Niño impact

MANILA — Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said on Tuesday they are positioning policies to address the anticipated impact of the “super” or “very strong” El Niño.

Agrupis said they recently issued a policy to higher education institutions on mitigating the expected effect, including water conservation measures.


“The Commission on Higher Education is really positioning its policies to address this anticipated El Niño. We just issued a policy on how the higher education institution across our 2,300 higher education on how to mitigate within their capabilities the extreme effect of Niño like water conservation and how to prepare themselves to maintain academic sustainability like just we had in COVID,” Agrupis said.


“We have already deployed capacity building across our HEI. Number one is the artificial intelligence-mediated fisheries so that with this technology, we can at least follow where is the movement of our marine aquatic resources in times of El Niño… This is one priority area across our 17 SDG,” Agrupis added.

Agrupis said this during the 4th ASEAN–EU Policy Dialogue on Higher Education in Quezon City, meant to tackle how education can develop skills for a sustainable blue economy.

European Union Mission to ASEAN Deputy Head Radomir Jansky, Singapore’s ambassador to the Philippines Constance See, and Agrupis were some of the individuals who spoke at the event.


“We also support financially capacity building, different studies to identify issues and find solutions. So there are a number of areas we want to step up cooperation with ASEAN on these issues. Green, connectivity are our top priorities. And as we are looking at our 50th anniversary with ASEAN, we are also looking at possibilities to step up this relationship,” Jansky said.

Agrupis admitted the youth’s loss of interest in agriculture and fisheries programs is one of the pain points of higher education.

To entice more students, Agrupis said they are offering scholarships.


“We want to make agriculture and fisheries sexier than yesterday. First is that we offer them lot of scholarship program. In the Presidential Merit Scholarship Program, no less than the president mandated us to give a special slot for agriculture and fishery. Second is that we have devised an extension program because, and I think just the students without the involving of the community to let these young people know the need of capacitating our future generation is very important. That’s why we have an extension program through our universities, especially those in the coastal areas,” Agrupis added.