Readers on CHED

My column last week elicited quite a number of responses from online readers. Here are some:

“CHED today is but a skin of what she used to be. The Chair only knows what to say when he has been ordered by his boss. CHED sure is slipping because of this kind of people.”

“Yes, CHED is useless and hopeless. There are so many schools duping the teens of their college years. Every hospital seems to have a nursing or midwifery or caregiving course. Who supervises these private institutions against duping the once-in-a-lifetime experience to be in higher education? There are lots of short-course computer schools, even call center schools. These are all duping the teens and their parents of the opportunity to attend a full-blown engineering, science, or management course for better professional opportunities of a lifetime. Yes, CHED is hopelessly useless.”

“CHED is useless. Its position is being used to reward people who are avid supporters of GMA. This is one agency that was destroyed by the GMA bata-bata system.”

“If you are really concerned about the current unqualified CHED leadership and the state of our universities as you crow about, why not send a letter to GMA or Congress to present your case? Or at least confront the very people you’re complaining about? It won’t just happen without your genuine concern. Go and move, not just talk about it.”

Non-online readers had less printable comments, not about the column, but about CHED.

I myself think that CHED is not hopeless. There are undoubtedly a few bad eggs in the basket, but they are very few compared to the huge number of competent and well-meaning officials in the bureaucracy, not to mention the hundreds of volunteer Technical Panel and Committee members.

It is very easy to solve the problem of CHED. Just fire the unqualified Commissioners and replace them with real scholars with international reputations, the way the law intended. Let the rule of law prevail, and everything will turn out right. That is what the law is for.

NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS: The National Book Awards for 2007 will be jointly given by the National Book Development Board and the Manila Critics Circle in November. Contact NBDB for details.

This is the citation for the 2006 Best Book in Education, given to Daughters True: 100 Years of Scholastican Education, 1906-2006, edited by Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz, Paulynn Paredes Sicam, Karina Africa Bolasco, and Ma. Ceres P. Doyo (St. Scholastica’s College): “This is one attractively packaged book born of loyalty, service, fond memories of Scholastican experience, edited by four of the country’s seasoned writer-editor-publishers. Certainly, a labor of love. It is a compendium of writings on milestones in the College’s history: its beginnings, its graceful growth and progress, its struggle for education designed ‘for the glory of God and the common good,’ its concept of the ideal Scholastican within and outside academe. The essays are indeed pleasurable and informative reading, written by the College’s best writers from different generations and persuasions. Henceforth, all other colleges and universities which have not come up with something like this will venture into this beautiful undertaking, the ultimate gesture and gift of love for the alma mater.” (written by Ophelia A. Dimalanta)

This is the citation for the 2006 Best Book on Film, given to Postmodern Filming of Literature: Sources, Contexts and Adaptations, by Joyce L. Arriola (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House): “The book is a much called-for step towards re-situating literary studies along the broader areas of cultural studies. It is as well a means to see the aesthetic connection between literature and film, a contextualizing previously frowned at by those who insisted on the distinction between high art and low art so-called. The book written by a respected literature scholar and academic is a significant contribution to film as well as literature, viewing the exciting convergence in the contemporary light.” (written by Ophelia A. Dimalanta)

“WORDS OF THE DAY” (English/Filipino) for next week’s elementary school classes: Jan. 28 Monday: 1. word/freeze [v.], 2. town/futbol, 3. shade/fret [in guitar], 4. meeting/formal, 5. polish/franc, 6. aspect/funeral; Jan. 29 Tuesday: 1. work/fork, 2. watch/fountain, 3. shake/foul [in games], 4. any/forgive, 5. porter/formula, 6. secretary/fracture; Jan. 30 Wednesday: 1. year/folder, 2. train/fort, 3. flight/foreigner, 4. surprise/forget, 5. system/format, 6. insist/fraction; Jan. 31 Thursday: 1. house/gulong [wheel], 2. happy/gitla, 3. thunder/gong, 4. division/guwardiya, 5. company/graft, 6. precept/guro; Feb. 1 Friday: 1. drink/gulang, 2. able/gubat, 3. color/gusot, 4. digestion/guwapo, 5. behavior/graffiti, 6. operation/guru. The numbers after the dates indicate grade level. The dates refer to the official calendar for public elementary schools. For definitions of the words in Filipino, consult UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino.