Diploma mill: Dismantling the broken system

Imagine a teacher, fresh from a “prestigious” master’s program, stepping into a classroom armed with a shiny diploma but little more than rote memorization. That teacher shapes the minds of our children—children who, despite their potential, drag at the bottom of global learning rankings like the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa). This isn’t a dystopian tale; it’s the grim reality of our higher education system, laid bare by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom II). Their urgent plea to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to crack down on diploma mills isn’t a footnote—it’s a national siren, demanding we confront how we’ve commodified learning into a cheap credential bazaar.

As an advocate deeply invested in elevating Philippine universities, I’ve seen this plague firsthand. These fly-by-night operations aren’t annoyances; they’re termites gnawing at our education ecosystem’s foundation. They cheapen genuine scholarship, produce underqualified educators, and sabotage quality basic education for millions. If we don’t act, we’re mortgaging our nation’s future to a culture of shortcuts.

The epicenter is teacher education and public administration graduate programs, where over half of all national enrollments cluster like moths to a dim flame. Why? Misguided government policies dangle salary bumps for degree holders, turning advanced studies into box-ticking exercises. Edcom II’s report paints a damning picture: master’s and Ph.D. pursuits have devolved into transactional rituals, quality sidelined for quantity. Institutions churn “graduates” from subpar programs prioritizing fees over rigor, fostering fake expertise.

This isn’t hyperbole. Karol Mark Yee, Edcom II executive director, nailed it: the credential chase is “purely transactional,” divorced from professional growth. Teachers aren’t villains—they’re victims of a system rewarding paper over prowess. The fallout: educators ill-equipped to ignite curiosity or tackle 21st-century challenges.

The consequences are catastrophic for our youngest learners. While teachers scramble for degrees to climb pay scales, Filipino students languish in Pisa and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study assessments, exposing our system’s hollow core. How can we expect innovative teaching when incentives skew toward accumulation, not excellence? Diploma mills issue bogus degrees and perpetuate mediocrity, unqualified instructors passing deficiencies to the next generation.

This isn’t abstract policy. It’s real lives: rural kids denied success by “advanced training” that’s just weekend seminars. It’s a workforce adrift in a global economy demanding skills, not stamps.

Peel back layers to find structural sins: muddled institutional roles, elitist gatekeeping, research neglect. With 656 public institutions—many duplicating low-value programs—resources squander on duplication, not distinction.

We’ve romanticized universities as all-purpose progress engines, but without clear missions, they sputter. Research starves while administrative bloat thrives; innovation withers. No wonder mills flourish in these cracks—they’re symptoms of a system elitist by design, egalitarian only in failure.

Patching potholes won’t suffice; we need seismic redesign. Look to the California Master Plan for Higher Education, a 1960s triumph stratifying institutions by mission for equitable growth. Adapt for the Philippines a tiered framework assigning roles with precision.

Picture it: community colleges focused on vocational skills and bridging to four-year degrees, empowering local workforces. Province-based state universities honing K-to-master’s teaching, rooted in regional needs. Elite research powerhouses—like expanded University of the Philippines system—for PhDs and inquiry.

To make it stick, CHEd must implement a “tiered regulatory approach,” tailoring oversight to institutional realities instead of one-size-fits-all policies letting mills proliferate. Accredit on outcomes, not optics; reward excellence, not existence.

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CHEd can’t go alone. DepEd must overhaul promotions: treat mill degrees as liabilities, not equals to rigorous ones. Tie advancements to competency—portfolios of classroom impact or peer-reviewed work. Shift incentives from credit hoarding to craft honing; mills will wither.

Edcom II’s clarion call is urgent. Diploma factories are a national embarrassment, eroding human capital and reputation. Statutory reforms—bipartisan, bold—are essential: guarantee quality, accessibility, purpose at every level.

The clock ticks. Our students aren’t pawns; they’re the prize. Our trajectory hinges on clinging to broken status quo or forging a system that educates. Leaders, listen to Edcom II. Dismantle mills, redesign the machine. The future—vibrant, equitable—awaits the brave.

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Dr. Fiorello Abenes is an emeritus professor at Cal Poly University in California. He was formerly faculty and institutional development manager for the United States Agency for International Development-funded Science, Technology, Research, and Innovation for Development program in the Philippines.