House panel to review track record of universities

MANILA, Philippines - Parents and students will soon be able to distinguish the universities and colleges that offer quality education from the so-called diploma mills.

The House committee on higher and technical education will bare the track record of 1,856 universities and colleges based on the performance of their graduates across 46 professional licensure examinations.

Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, chairman of the panel, said the review would cover 1,636 private and 220 public institutions of higher learning, including 110 state universities and colleges.

He noted that the committee’s report would enable parents and students to discern and keep away from the diploma mills.

“We will update consumers as to where they will likely get the best value for their money when it comes to buying a college education and where they will probably get the short end of the stick,” Romulo said.

“If for example 100 percent of a university’s professional teaching graduates pass the licensure examination on their first take, then this information will be made readily available to the public,” he explained.

“Conversely, if say only 30 percent of the graduates of an accounting school make the grade the first time they take the licensure test, then we are also sure to broadcast this information,” he added.

The lawmaker also said his panel intends to get the help of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in gathering, aggregating and then reporting the data.

Through 46 professional regulatory boards, the PRC administers the licensure examinations for accountants, aeronautical engineers, agricultural engineers, agriculturists, architects, chemical engineers, chemists, civil engineers, criminologists, customs brokers, dentists, electrical engineers, electronics engineers, environmental planners, fishery technologists, foresters, geodetic engineers, geologists, guidance counselors, interior designers, and landscape architects.

The PRC also administers the examinations for librarians, marine deck officers, marine engineer officers, master plumbers, mechanical engineers, medical technologists, metallurgical engineers, midwives, mining engineers, naval architects, nurses, nutritionists and dieticians, optometrists, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists, physicians, professional teachers, psychologists, radiologic and X-ray technologists, real estate service providers, respiratory therapists, sanitary engineers, social workers, and veterinarians.

Romulo has been pushing for greater public access to higher education. He is the author of the proposed Act Establishing a Student Assistance Program by Banks and Government Financial Institutions.

Under the program, an eligible student may obtain a low-cost bank loan to pay for the tuition of the college or university where the borrower has been accepted. The student may also use the money to finance all other schooling as well as living expenses.

The loan will have an effective interest rate pegged to the 91-day Treasury bill rate, which stood at 0.666 percent per annum as of Aug. 2.

The bank may apply an add-on three to five percent annual interest rate. But instead of the student paying for the extra interest charges, the bank may claim the corresponding amount as tax credits. The bank may then use the credits to pay or offset its tax obligations.

The borrower would pay off the loan periodically, starting two years after graduation, but not later than eight years after leaving college.

Borrowers would be issued either Social Security System (SSS) or Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) numbers, depending on their preferred future employment.

The bank may then enlist the SSS or GSIS to collect repayments via salary deduction or withholding tax.

The lender may also ask the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to help collect from borrowers with job contracts abroad.