CHED chairwoman Dr. Ester Garcia said the move was meant to provide a level playing field for both private and public colleges and universities, as well as improve the country’s educational system.
"We are giving them autonomy because we want them to enrich their programs even more. We also want to inspire other schools to improve their performance," Garcia said.
Previously, only the 108 state colleges and universities enjoyed full autonomy.
Autonomous schools can also issue to their graduating students special orders which traditionally come from the CHED.
"These schools have been thoroughly monitored by CHED before they were given this status. We set strict requirements and they have to pass these," Garcia said.
She added that CHED would review the performance of the autonomous schools every five years.