Phl schools rank low in int’l quality audit

MANILA, Philippines – Youth party-list group Kabataan said that the government’s neglect of its duty to maintain the quality of higher education in the country was largely to blame for the Philippine higher education institutions’ poor performance in a education quality audit conducted by an international education network.

Based on the QS World University Rankings, the University of the Philippines is No. 1 in the country and No. 62 in Asia; the Ateneo de Manila University is No. 68; University of Santo Tomas, No. 104; De La Salle University, No.107.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino said that the government, particularly the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has continued to show a lack of urgency and aggressiveness to push Philippine colleges and universities, especially their owners and administrators, to do something about the sad state of the quality of education they give their students.

“It is worth noting that majority of the top Asian schools, including the leading Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are State universities substantially funded and supported by their respective governments. This appreciation for tertiary education starkly contrasts with the education policies of the Aquino administration. In our country, state universities and colleges (SUCs) are neglected to utter destitution,” Palatino said.

CHED, Palatino noted, continued to reduce the subsidy given to state universities and colleges which allow them to improve their facilities, hire better professors and lecturers, and conduct research and development activities.

The Philippines has 2,180 colleges and universities only 112 of which are SUCs. Palatino noted that the Philippines is dominated by private schools.

“It is alarming that our SUCs are increasingly pressured by the government to function as private schools. The University of the Philippines, for instance, the top university of the country, receives insufficient funds from the government. The UP is yearly being pushed to increase tuition to cover the lack of funds. UP now has a tuition of as much as P1000-P1,500 per unit. That translates to P18,000 per semester, excluding miscellaneous fees,” Palatino said.

Palatino also said that the Aquino government repeatedly pits basic education and tertiary education against each other, which shows its “very limited” view on education. –Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star)