MANILA -- The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Office of the Ombudsman and the University of the Philippines (UP) System to promote and safeguard the public interest, educate the youth, and instill ethical and moral standards in universities and colleges nationwide.
“CHED welcomes and commends this worthy initiative of Ombudsman Martires to target young people and build the foundation of an ethical and moral future for the country. We commit the full support of the commission and will mobilize the close to 2,000 public and private universities starting tomorrow,” CHED chair J. Prospero de Vera III said in his speech during the MOA signing.
Under the MOA, de Vera said the CHED would facilitate the production of information and education materials on ethics and accountability and disseminate these materials for the use of professors teaching the Ethics subject under the General Education in universities; organize workshops for General Education professors in the teaching of the Ethics subject; and disseminate these materials to other education stakeholders.
"Together with higher education institutions (HEIs), the commission will initiate the development of a three-unit subject on Ethics and Accountability in the Public Service that can be offered as an elective in colleges and universities," de Vera said.
"We also want to mobilize the expertise of the Ombudsman in the review and the improvement of the General Education curriculum particularly in the ethics subject, and in the other projects and activities of the commission," he added.
To promote accountability, ethics and good governance, de Vera said the CHED would also support fora and symposia in HEIs on those concepts with the participation of the Ombudsman and other government agencies and the related activities of university-based youth groups.
Meanwhile, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said he is overwhelmed that the CHED and the UP System responded to his call to end corruption in the government and in all of its forms.
"We only do an investigation when the crime has been done, that is reactionary. So, pigilan naten ang krimen sa pamamagitan ng pagtuturo sa kabataan na hindi lamang masama ang pagnanakaw kung hindi krimen din ang pagpatay at marami pang ibang masamang bagay na hindi natin dapat gawin (let's stop crime by teaching our youth that not only stealing is evil, that killing someone is also crime and other evil acts which we shouldn't do)," Martires added.
Meanwhile, UP System president Danilo Concepcion said the initiative would empower the youth sector as key players in nation-building and human development.
"Ito ay isang paraan ng pagpapakita ng pagmamahal sa bayan. Kinakailangan na ang bayan natin ay mapamunuan ng mga tunay na nagmamahal dito at ito ay mangyayari lamang kung ang korapsyon ay masusugpo sa pinakaugat nito (This is one way to show patriotism. The nation must be ruled by those who truly love the nation and this can only be done by arresting the root of corruption)," Concepcion added.
The CHED will sign a memorandum of understanding with TVUP - UP's Internet Television Network - for the production of the video materials. (PNA)