CHED urges stronger ASEAN cooperation to future-proof higher education

ILOILO CITY — Higher education institutions across Southeast Asia must strengthen regional cooperation to prepare for disruptions caused by artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitical tensions and changing workforce demands, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said.

Agrupis called for closer coordination among ASEAN member states to ensure that universities and colleges remain relevant, resilient and capable of responding to challenges beyond their control.

She delivered the keynote address at the opening of the 2026 Higher Education Week celebration organized by CHED and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED) in Iloilo City on Oct. 14.

The event brought together education ministers and university and college presidents from the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

The gathering also coincided with the Philippines’ hosting of meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In her address, Agrupis discussed the 34th SEAMEO RIHED Governing Board meeting, where regional education leaders emphasized stronger collaboration among ASEAN member states “to address the common concerns that beset us today”.

The meeting also outlined regional initiatives intended to address the evolving needs of Southeast Asian higher education.

These included the Seventh Five-Year Development Plan, Common Space in Southeast Asian Higher Education, regional policy insights and the ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Programme.

“What stood out to me was how many of these concerns are shared across our countries and how much we can accomplish when we learn from one another and work together,” Agrupis said in her keynote address.

Agrupis identified artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitics, international talent mobility and growing skepticism about the value of university degrees as major challenges confronting higher education.

She described these developments as “forces that universities cannot control, but must be able to anticipate and navigate”.

A 2025 policy brief by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia projected that artificial intelligence could account for 10% to 18% of ASEAN’s gross domestic product by 2030, equivalent to approximately USD 1 trillion.

However, the same policy brief indicated that only six ASEAN member states had adopted explicit national AI strategies.

These were Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Agrupis recalled a question raised during the UNESCO Transforming Education Summit in Paris, France, last July about whether artificial intelligence could eventually make universities obsolete.

“Will artificial intelligence and the rapid transformation of how knowledge is produced, accessed, and applied eventually make universities obsolete? […] My answer, when I represented the ASEAN, [was a] big ‘No’,” she said.

“I answered ‘No’ not because our universities are immune already to disruption, but because our region is taking concrete steps to build future-ready higher education systems,” she added.

Agrupis said universities must adapt to technological changes rather than view emerging technologies solely as threats to traditional education.

She also raised concerns about climate change and its potential consequences for public health, educational institutions and communities.

Citing projections from the University of Chicago’s Climate Impact Lab, Agrupis said an El Niño episode between September 2026 and February 2027 could result in 38,700 additional heat-related deaths.

The projection was associated with a 1.2-degree Celsius temperature increase in the later months of the period.

Of the projected deaths, 19,300 were expected in Indonesia, while the remaining 19,400 represented the combined estimate for the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.

“As a biologist myself, every single degree centigrade increase in temperature totally changes the ecosystem, both at the micro level and at the macro level,” the CHED chairperson remarked.

Agrupis also cited findings from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Higher Education Global Trends Report and World Bank data to highlight increasing international mobility.

The UNESCO report, released in May 2026, indicated that 7.3 million students had studied abroad, more than three times the number recorded in 2000.

Meanwhile, World Bank data showed that the share of immigrants with tertiary education increased from 22% in 2000 to 30% in 2020.

Agrupis also pointed to changing perceptions about the value of higher education among younger generations.

An April 2025 survey by employment platform Indeed found that 51% of Generation Z respondents, generally those born between 1997 and 2012, considered their college degrees a waste of money.

The same survey found that 68% believed they could perform their jobs without a college degree.

“They reveal a fundamental reality. The continuity and quality of higher education are increasingly shaped by forces that universities cannot control, but must learn to anticipate and navigate them,” she said.

To address these challenges, Agrupis identified three interconnected priorities that education authorities, universities, colleges and other stakeholders must pursue to prepare higher education for the future.

These are anticipatory leadership, innovation that translates knowledge into practical solutions and sustainability that strengthens long-term resilience.

Anticipatory leadership

Agrupis said ASEAN higher education authorities are increasingly emphasizing anticipatory leadership, which focuses on preparing institutions for emerging challenges before they become critical.

“This means recognizing challenges before they come urgent, and preparing our institutions through policies, partnerships, and coordinated action,” Agrupis said.

She cited discussions during the SEAMEO RIHED Governing Board meeting on how the Regional Initiative for SEA Higher Education (RISE) could advance shared priorities.

These priorities include digital transformation, teacher education and ASEAN GEMS Plus.

Agrupis also highlighted several regional policy documents intended to strengthen cooperation and innovation in higher education.

These included the ASEAN Ministerial Statement on AI-Enabled Teaching and Learning and Digital Transformation and the Framework for the ASEAN Centre of Excellence for Teacher Education and Development.

She also discussed ASEAN GEMS Plus, a Philippine proposal to expand opportunities for educational and research collaboration across the region.

The initiative builds on ASEAN Gems, an online platform developed by Education Malaysia Global Services that connects students across ASEAN with scholarship opportunities.

The proposed ASEAN GEMS Plus would expand the platform to include research grants, researcher mobility and innovation partnerships aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Agrupis also cited the Philippine Senate’s ratification of the 2011 Tokyo Convention, formally known as the Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education, on Sept. 7, 2026.

The convention seeks to facilitate the recognition of higher education qualifications across participating countries, supporting academic mobility and international cooperation.

She also highlighted the Education Philippines (EduPhil) Program, which aims to attract more foreign students to Philippine higher education institutions.

Agrupis stressed that anticipatory leadership is particularly important in preparing universities for climate-related disruptions and growing geopolitical tensions.

She said the Philippine government had already introduced measures intended to maintain educational continuity during emergencies.

Among these is CHED Memorandum Order No. 12, Series of 2025, which establishes policies and guidelines for Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) programs in higher education institutions.

The order increased the allowable distance education component of academic programs from 25% to 51% of total course units.

According to CHED data as of June 2026, 31 higher education institutions had been authorized to offer ODeL programs.

The policy provides institutions with greater flexibility to deliver instruction when circumstances prevent students and teachers from attending traditional classroom sessions.

“As we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions may be difficult to predict, but our capacity to respond can be strengthened in advance,” Agrupis said.

“This is one way we are building greater flexibility into higher education, so that when circumstances disrupt classroom-based instruction, god forbid may El Niño not repeat what happened in the COVID-19 dilemma, learning can continue without compromising academic quality,” she said.