W. Academic Freedom

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

Concept

Academic freedom protects the exercise of learning, teaching, and institutional judgment in higher education. The State must protect its exercise and observance for intellectual growth, research, professional education, and the enrichment of historical and cultural heritage. Institutions of higher learning, faculty, and students enjoy academic freedom. (Sec. 2, Rep. Act No. 7722)¹ (Pimentel v. Legal Education Board, G.R. No. 230642, 10 September 2019)²

Governing provisions

Republic Act No. 8292 states that all institutions of higher learning, public or private, enjoy academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Its policy for chartered state universities and colleges includes ensuring the enjoyment of constitutionally guaranteed academic freedom. (Sec. 11, Rep. Act No. 8292)³ (Sec. 2, Rep. Act No. 8292)⁴

Republic Act No. 7722 preserves the academic freedom of universities and colleges and identifies the limited matters in which the Commission may affect an institution’s curricular freedom. The State’s reasonable supervision and regulation of educational institutions must be harmonized with academic freedom. (Sec. 13, Rep. Act No. 7722)⁵ (Pimentel v. Legal Education Board)²

Requisites / Rules

• Academic council. In a state university or college governed by Republic Act No. 8292, the council comprises the president as chairman and instructional staff with ranks not lower than assistant professor. It reviews and recommends curricular offerings and disciplinary rules, subject to appropriate board action. (Sec. 10, Rep. Act No. 8292)⁶
• Admission and graduation. The academic council fixes requirements for student admission, graduation, and conferment of degrees, subject to review or approval by the Board of Regents or Trustees through the president. (Sec. 10, Rep. Act No. 8292)⁶
• Institutional governance. The governing board may enact rules necessary for the university’s or college’s purposes and functions, provided they are not contrary to law. Administration is vested in the president, who is appointed by the board upon a duly constituted search committee’s recommendation. (Sec. 4, Rep. Act No. 8292)⁷ (Sec. 6, Rep. Act No. 8292)⁸

Distinctions

Legal education is preparatory and distinct from the practice of law. Jurisdiction over legal education belongs primarily to the political departments, subject to reasonable supervision and regulation; authority over admission to the Bar belongs exclusively to the Supreme Court. A rule concerning law school enrollment must therefore be distinguished from one concerning admission to legal practice. (Pimentel v. Legal Education Board)²

Key doctrines

Institutional academic freedom includes a higher education institution’s discretion to decide who may be admitted to study. In Pimentel v. Legal Education Board, the Court held that an exclusionary, state-mandated admission test impermissibly displaced that discretion and declared the challenged issuance unconstitutional. The Court did not, however, invalidate the entire statute governing legal education. (Pimentel v. Legal Education Board (Leb), G.R. No. 230642, 9 November 2021)⁹

Exceptions

The Commission may affect curricular freedom through minimum unit requirements for specific programs, general education distribution requirements it determines, and specific professional subjects stipulated by licensing entities. Private educational institutions may not be subjected to academic or curricular restrictions that are not required of chartered state colleges and universities. (Sec. 13, Rep. Act No. 7722)⁵

Under Republic Act No. 5521, religious or political tests may not be required in university personnel appointments, nor may an applicant’s religious or political opinions or affiliations be examined. The same provision prohibits university personnel from inculcating sectarian tenets in teaching or attempting to influence students for or against a church, religious sect, or political party during a political campaign. (Sec. 12, Rep. Act No. 5521)¹⁰

Bar tip

Identify the decision being regulated: curriculum, admission to study, or admission to the Bar. Then test the measure against institutional discretion and the applicable limits on state supervision. (Sec. 13, Rep. Act No. 7722)⁵ (Pimentel v. Legal Education Board (Leb))⁹ (Pimentel v. Legal Education Board)²