More low-income individuals, working students and even housewives and jail inmates can pursue higher education through the open learning and distance education system once it is institutionalized under a proposal pending in the Senate.
Senate President Franklin Drilon assured yesterday that Senate Bill No. 1821 would get the full attention and consideration of the chamber in order "to expand and further democratize educational opportunities for our people."
Drilon said distance education effectively addresses some of the major causes for the high dropout rate in the tertiary level and complements the efforts of the government to enhance the education, skills and competitiveness of the people.
In a speech before the graduates of the Asian Institute for Distance Education (AIDE) at the AIM Building in Makati City, Drilon commented "the quiet and effective efforts of the AIDE community" and its "innovative and pioneering way of helping promote the educational and intellectual advancement of our people, especially those who are constrained by personal, institutional and geographical circumstances."
"The courses that AIDE is offering manifest the Institute's desire to be relevant to the times and responsive to the needs of its target clientele," he said.
The Senate chief noted that only one-third of high school graduates is able to pursue higher education. He cited a number of reasons for the high dropout rate, among them: inaccessibility of schools, inadequate teachers and learning facilities, and poverty.
Three bills authored by Senators Juan Flavier, Sergio Osmeña Jr. and Raul Roco, have been consolidated into one bill -- Senate Bill No. 1821-- by the Committee on Education chaired by Sen. Teresa Aquino-Oreta.
The open learning and distance education system contemplated in the bill covers all private and public higher educational institutions with existing open and distance learning programs, and other schools to be authorized as qualified implementors of the program by the Commission on Higher Education.
The bill also proposes to give tax incentives to private entities, such as broadcast stations and telecommunications networks, which shall provide materials, time and services to the program.
The system will cater to the needs of those who cannot afford the high cost of traditional college education, those who cannot leave their place of work or home, and those who live far from schools.
Established in the country in 1984 as a pilot project of the Filipinas Foundation, AIDE is recognized as one of the pioneers of distance education in the Philippines.
It has served 2,385 distance learners and has been instrumental in helping about one of every three of these enrollees finish their respective programs.