Academic Freedom in the Law of the Philippines

 Academic Freedom

Section 4(1) of Article XIV of the Constitution recognizes the state’s power to regulate educational institutions:

The state recognizes the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the educational system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational institutions.

The members of the editorial board of the Miriam College Foundation’s school paper were subjected to disciplinary sanction by the College Discipline Committee after letters of complaint were filed before the Board following the publication of the school paper that contains obscene, vulgar, and sexually explicit contents.

Section 5(2) of Article XIV of the Constitution guarantees all institutions of higher learning academic freedom. This institutional academic freedom includes the right of the school or college to decide for itself its aims and objectives and how best to attain them free from outside coercion or interference, save possibly when the overriding public welfare calls for some restraint. Such duty gives the institution the right to discipline its students and inculcate in them good values, ideals, and attitudes.

The right of students to free speech in school is not always absolute. The court upheld the right of students to freedom of expression, but it does not rule out the disciplinary actions of the school based on the conduct of their students. 

That power, like the power to suspend or expel, is an inherent part of the academic freedom of institutions of higher learning guaranteed by the Constitution. The court held that Miriam College has the authority to hear and decide the cases filed against respondent students (Miriam College Foundation, Inc. vs. CA, 348 SCRA 265).

What is academic freedom?

Section 5(2), Article XIV, provides that academic freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of higher learning.

The essential freedoms subsumed in the term “academic freedom” encompass the freedom to determine for itself on academic grounds:

1. Who may teach?
2. What may be taught?
3. How it shall be taught
4. Who may be admitted to study?

The right of a school to discipline its students is at once apparent in the third freedom, i.e., “how it shall be taught.” A school certainly cannot function in an atmosphere of anarchy.

All educational institutions shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights, and appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency. (Section 3 (2), Article 14)

Arokaiswamy William Magaret Celine was enrolled in the doctoral program in anthropology of UP Diliman. There was a portion of the dissertation that was lifted without proper acknowledgement, which tantamount to plagiarism. Nonetheless, the private respondent was allowed to depend on her dissertation, and 4 out of 5 panelists gave a passing mark except Dr. Medina.

The dean requested the exclusion of his name from the list of candidates for graduation. However, the letter did not reach the Board of Regents on time. Hence, the respondent graduated.

Where it is shown that the conferment of an honor or distinction was obtained through fraud, a university has the right to revoke or withdraw the honor or distinction it has thus conferred. This freedom of a university does not terminate upon the “graduation” of a student, for it is precisely the “graduation” of such a student that is in question (UP Board of Regents v. Court of Appeals, Aug. 31, 1999).

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