Roco vows to close unlicensed schools

Education Secretary Raul Roco said yesterday that he will create a task force to go after elementary and secondary schools operating without permits from the department.

Roco vowed to exhaust all legal means to padlock these schools because they rob the students not only of their money but their time as well.

"One by one, we will go after unlicensed schools. We’ll also extend assistance to the students who have already been victimized," he added.

The Federation of Association of Private School Administrators (FAPSA) has estimated that there are over 300 illegal schools in Metro Manila, most of them found in Marikina City.

Eleazar Kasilag, FAPSA president, said the proliferation of illegal schools could be blamed on the complacency of DECS. He alleged that DECS has attributed its inefficiency to its lack of police power to close down schools.

"We may ask the assistance of other agencies to put a stop to the proliferation of illegal schools. The task force will study the strategies that we can adopt to implement this program," Roco added. — Sheila Crisostomo