Higher education in colleges and universities faces two major problems at the moment. Not only is there a continuing decline in the quality of education, even the number of enrollment – especially in private institutions – is dropping.
The deteriorating quality of our graduates from colleges and universities has been a continuing concern for decades that has eluded reforms which includes the institution of the specialized Commission on Higher Education in 1994.
It’s embarrassing that our tertiary level output can only compare to the local top science high school graduates or European and Japanese secondary level students. No wonder that Filipino workers have to undergo retraining or accept lower positions to get jobs abroad.
For a developing nation that continues to send its people to take on jobs in other countries, there does not seem to be any sense of urgency in tackling the problem of a deteriorating education quality. Or if there has been any strategic response formulated, it does not seem to be working.
The continuing decline in the quality of our professional workers does not only affect the Philippines’ competitive advantage as a supplier of qualified and reliable workers in the global employment stage, it also does not bode well for the future of our domestic companies.
How can we talk of building world class Filipino companies and conglomerates when these are staffed by workers and professionals whose aptitude and level of work cannot even compare with the average world standard?
We take pride in having Dr. Patricia Licuanan, who comes highly respected from the private sector, as current CHED chairperson. But the problem may not readily be just a question of leadership but more of structure that is beset by political whim and limitations of law.
For example, in the current tug-of-war on the issue of tuition fees, private institutions of higher education complain that the cap on enrollment fee increases as imposed by CHED ultimately affects the quality of education that they can offer.
The environment in state universities and local colleges, on the other hand, is affected by the amount of public funds appropriated for their operations. Even with three-digit increases in tuition fees over the last years, these public tertiary institutions of learning still charge much lower than its private counterparts, which severely hampers their operations and leads to lower quality of learning.
But the operational difficulty of colleges and universities from lack of funds, either directly from tuition fees or from government subsidies, is not the only problem.
Private learning institutions complain of stringent regulations imposed on them that do not just inhibit their conduct for improving the curriculum and learning environment, but also of a lack of an overall strategy in the national education vision that would include the role of the private sector.
I understand that there are moves to make the CHED more responsive and effective in carrying out its mandate by amending relevant parts of RA 7722 or the Higher Education Act of 1994. The sooner these proposals go through Congress, the better for our country.
Prohibitive cost of education
The bigger problem at the moment though, and partly because of the current version of RA 7722 that allows for “unregulated” hikes in enrollment charges, is the continuing rise in tuition fees despite the imposition of this so-called cap in any imposed increases.
Both private and public schools have been almost yearly announcing hikes in the cost of an academic unit while at the same time raising miscellaneous charges, i.e., laboratory, library, athletic, medical and dental, ID, registration, and just about anything that could be justified.
Whether or not these additional costs are valid, the fact remains that the total bill of a student before being accepted for the semester has become prohibitive for most families.
Decreasing tertiary education enrollment
Consequently, enrollment both in tertiary education has been decreasing. And the enrollment ratios of private colleges and universities versus state- or local government-run schools are seeing a reversal favoring the latter.
In the case of the government-subsidized schools, the assessment increase during enrollment is not the major disincentive but rather the limitation in the number of students that can be accepted every semester. Not only are state universities and local colleges burdened by decreased appropriations, there are less now in existence.
There was a time when 96 percent of the total tertiary level enrollment was accounted for by the private sector. This is now down to 60 percent. It shouldn’t be surprising since tuition fees have shot up by as much as 1,000 percent since a decade ago.
Funding education than “dole-outs”
Faced with pressures to bring our education standards up to par at least even with regional standards, and given the seeming reality of a higher cost in delivering quality education, government must quickly explore alternatives that will bring students back to school.
At the moment, the Philippines is experiencing double-digit dropout rates which is far from what other countries in the region is experiencing. As family incomes continue to erode, parents understandably defer the education of their children in favor of more basic necessities such as food and shelter.
Perhaps now is the time to seriously consider rechanneling more government dole-out programs to support education. And it need not be wholly for free. Those who benefit from these “scholarships” should return the money back to the state in some form that future deserving students may be able to benefit also from it.
FilOil Flying V Pre-season games
Congratulations to FilOil Flying V sports group headed by Raffy Villavicencio and ably assisted by Joey Guillermo for the highly successful ongoing pre-season games.
Watch the remaining knock-out games to determine the finalists live at the FilOil Flying V Arena at San Juan. For more details about this tournament and the forthcoming start of the collegiate basketball season, visit PCCL (Champions League) website, www.CollegiateChampionsLeague.net.
