Posted by anonymous
As a person involved in higher education, I will vote for the candidate who vows to do the following for private and Catholic schools: First, he will abolish the injustice suffered by parents who send their children to private or Catholic universities. While their taxes subsidize students in public colleges and universities, they receive no government subsidy for their children in private or Catholic schools. As one parent laments: "With my taxes, I finance the schooling of anonymous University of the Philippines students (who, for all I know, are rich), while the government offers me no help for the education of my child in a private school. Why should I be penalized for choosing to send my child to a private school that offer quality education?" Indeed, since almost 80 percent of private tertiary education is private, are not these parents unjustifiably penalized for the inability of the state to provide sufficient access to quality tertiary education? Second, he will see to it that government treats private and Catholic educational institutions like real partners. The Education Act of 1982 states: "Every school is a partner of the State in the discharge of the obligation of the latter to provide an education for its citizens." In 1994, the late Brother Andrew Gonzalez wrote an accurate and stinging account of this so-called "partnership." He wrote: "The amazing feature of the Philippine Higher Education system is that, there is state control without the state paying for it. Higher education is mostly private and is supported almost totally by tuition. Both fees/tuition and curricula are controlled by government without the government having to pay for such control. The irony of the situation is that, in State Colleges and Universities, while the state for practical purposes funds everything, it has little control because of the independent charters of these institutions." Third, he will revise the system of subsidizing public higher education. Today, there is a sudden proliferation of so-called SUC's (State Universities and Colleges) and LUC's (Local Universities and Colleges) that are established merely by Congress or local legislation, oftentimes by-passing the rigid requirements of the Commission on Higher Education. These SUC's and LUC's compete for the meager government subsidy for public tertiary education, resulting in poor facilities and substandard programs. Originally, these were supposedly established to offer government priority courses not available in private colleges and universities. But once established, they neglect to develop these priority courses like agriculture, fishery, etc., and instead compete with private schools. Fourth, he will stop the drift towards the commodification of education. Many Philippine schools today view education as a commodity to be bought or sold. If education is a commodity, then educational institutions will transform themselves into businesses and will expand through what is now called "educational franchises" which, most of the time, offer nothing but education of the "fast-food" variety. Nowadays, multi-national corporations, media conglomerates, and even business tycoons have invested highly in local universities, but seldom for motives related to education. The result is the loss of intellectual and cultural autonomy of schools who need the investment to survive. Fifth, he will see to it that all government agencies demand from all schools, colleges, and universities strict compliance to education laws and requirements. He will appoint heads of these agencies not for political reasons, and give his all-out support to them, especially when they are harassed by unscrupulous politicians and businessmen. Sixth, he will aggressively invest in research in private universities. In the United States, private tertiary institutions receive big research funding. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receives from the federal government $43 million annually for 138 different research projects and provides significant support for graduate students who work on these projects. The result: Over 100 biotechnology patents have been licensed to US companies in the last decade - licenses that induced investment of nearly $650 million, generated 10,000 new jobs and $3 billion in new annual revenues. Seventh, he will ask Congress to pass laws to regulate cross-border transactions in education. Our schools are now being invaded by students from neighboring Asian countries who find in many private schools an easy and cheap way to obtain a university degree. Also, as regards migration of intellectuals, the flow is almost always from the Philippines to richer countries. Immigration policies in these countries are designed to seduce Filipino intellectuals and academicians to immigrate and establish residency there. There must be laws that will safeguard the interest of Philippine education against the onslaught of globalization and harmful trade agreements. Finally, he must appreciate the great contribution of the private and Catholic schools to national progress. Through the centuries, these schools have produced well-rounded and values-oriented leaders, professsionals, and workers who have helped build the nation, the family, and the Church; and gave the name "Filipino" the respect and dignity it deserves.
Catholic education--a new dawn?
