Press Release
October 6, 2011

FINANCING HIGHER ED, LOW PASSING RATES REMAIN MAJOR PROBLEMS IN PHL'S EDUC SECTOR--ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara summed up the most pressing concerns of our education sector as financing higher education, by the state and families, and the predominantly poor performance of country's graduates in the national board and licensure exams.

Angara, a former UP President, emphasized the importance of the vast tracks of land endowed to state universities and colleges (SUC's) in the Philippines.

"You must all learn how to generate funds from your land ownership--that's what lands grants are for, to raise extra money for operating expenses," he said.

However, Angara admitted that even with the income from utilizing the land grants, most universities will still not earn enough to cover all of their financial needs.

Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, recognized the struggle of the students' families to scrape together enough money for tuition and other school expenses. He urged for the creation of a new loan program for students in both public and private colleges.

"I think we now need a new, sustainable loan program for those in college, with terms that are affordable and student-friendly. This, I believe, is one solution to help alleviate the financial burden of parents and students at the beginning of every semester," he suggested.

Another main concern, said Angara, is the dismal performance of our graduates in different licensure exams. This could be the result of the deteriorating quality of education, less access to proper training due to high rates, or the emergence of unregistered review centers.

"Who oversees these institutions who claim to prepare the graduates for the grueling board exams in their chosen profession? We must set guidelines for them, or perhaps create a body tasked to watch over the hundreds of review centers that have mushroomed in the past few years," said Angara.

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