Academic freedom and the university of the Philippines perspectives from select former Student Regents

Abstract

The concept of academic freedom is generally associated with three ideas: the freedom to determine who should teach, who will be taught and what will be taught. These three key ideas deal with the University's freedom on matters of recruitment, admission, and curriculum. Academic freedom inhibits the academic institution from any form of intervention or imposition from the forces outside the university. The University of the Philippines, the country's national university, is known to be the leading undergraduate and graduate university in the country housing most of the country's centers for excellence and development in higher education. This value of academic excellence of the students, faculty and the institution as a whole is coupled with what the University proudly promotes: academic freedom. In fact, in its new charter, the University is given the right and responsibility to enjoy academic freedom. This provision of the charter strengthens the constitutionally granted freedom of higher education institutions on academic freedom. The University Code likewise provides for academic freedom and even defines the concept. However, such definition has been leaning on the side of the faculty. [Introduction]