PACU Celebrates 85Th Anniversary by Fabian B
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PACU Celebrates 85th Anniversary by Fabian B. Quitales It was another milestone in the history of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU), the oldest educational association in the country, when it celebrated its 85th Anniversary last August 18, 2017 at the Conrad Hotel. In line with the cel- ebration, PACU also held its general assembly and national conference, two separate major-events merged into a one-day affair. From the time it was established in 1932 up to the current era, PACU has continued to trailblaze in advocating the The PACU Officers led by Dr. Dhanna Rodas, President reason for being of private education in and requirements of the Filipino people, His talk entitled, “Economics of the country, that was aptly described PACU member-institutions were already Education and the Role of Private Ed- by the program-engineers to dub its around performing public service – the ucation Institutions in the Philippines,” anniversary celebrations this year as, only kind of public service enshrined in was truly engaging, with hearty jokes “PACU and Education: The Industry the Constitution. and clean, light sense of humor-some of that Builds the Nation.” At a time when PACU was very fortunate to have which came from farther down memo- the government was still ill-equipped Honorable Senator Ralph G. Recto, one ry lane when he and Dr. Vincent Fabel- in terms of facilities and manpower to of the most articulate legislators in the la, President of Jose Rizal University serve the growing educational needs country, as the keynote speaker. Sen. and Chairman of the PACU Public Pol- Recto was one of the authors of the icy Committee, were still classmates at historic Republic Act (RA) No. 10931, the De La Salle University – Greenhills otherwise known as “An Act Promoting Elementary School. It elicited a warm Quality Tertiary Education,” which was chuckle of laughter from everybody at also discussed during the conference. the Forbes Ballroom 3 of the Hotel. In his talk, Sen. Recto displayed One of the highlights of the his open-mindedness to this highly po- event was the launching of the PACU litical issue on education as shown by 85th Anniversary Commemorative Book his buy-in to some of the points raised headed by its Chair and Editor-in-Chief, by Coordinating Council for Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), Turn to page 6 in the hotly deliberated public consul- tations that have been successfully em- What’s Inside? bedded in the provisions of RA 10931. PACU Joins CHED...........................pg 3 “Let us continue our dialogues, our ex- Consultation Meeting changes of ideas, our engagement. Your on UniFAST support is needed. Your inputs lead to JURAN Awardee 2017......................pg 4 better policies. Include us among those Redesigning the Office of.................pg 5 you must teach,” said Sen. Recto. the Prefect of Discipline Person of the Year Awardees............pg 7 Sen. Ralph Recto as he delivers his keynote address 2 President’s Report MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT Dr. Dhanna Bautista-Rodas cudero among countless others in the re- he Philippine Association of gions who contributed to our cause. We T Colleges and Universities is a “socially are hopeful that our research based po- responsible organization that strength- sition abolishing the education deflator ens members’ capabilities, strives for and regulation on tuition fee increases international recognition by advocating for 88% of PHEIs be addressed consider- relevant and effective education poli- ing that massive government funding for cies”. tuition and development in state schools for new or upgraded professionals such are being put in place aggressively. We as health and wellness practitioners and As we continue our mission, also hope that government empowers dental assistants among others who re- gratitude and hope are in the offing. top performing PHEIs to consistently quire training in new technology and receive funding for meritorious quality use of state-of-the-art equipment. We ac- The Implementing Rules and performance, research and infrastruc- knowledge the Professional Regulation Regulations of RA 10931, Universal ture. In CHED, our immediate concerns Commission for meeting with PACU. Access to Quality Tertiary Education were welcomed and addressed recent- We sincerely hope that respectable au- Act was already tonomous and de- approved by the “The value of the season is thanksgiving and hope, regulated private UniFAST Board. higher education We attended the grateful for collaborations and contributions; and institutions with meetings of the very competent Technical Work- hopeful as we continue to fulfill the PACU vision professionals in ing Group with of “nation-building through transformative private various fields be PACU Public Pol- granted a fast icy Committee education in a deregulated environment for the lane to become chairperson Dr. CPD providers Vincent K. Fabel- global Filipino.” as soon as possi- la. He nurtured ble. We thank the our advocacies into fruition up to the ly by Chairperson Patricia B. Licuanan, leaders and staff of the Department of UniFAST Board level. We must express Commissioners De Vera, Adamat, De Labor, Department of Science and Tech- our gratitude for his focus and efforts, Las Llagas and Alibin, Executive Direc- nology, the Commission on Data Priva- persistently advocating for the partici- tors and staff. We hope that our pend- cy and other departments who opened pation of Private Higher Education In- ing position papers will be addressed. In their doors and welcomed PACU repre- stitutions in Tertiary Education Subsidy the Department of Education, we thank sentatives to discuss and address policy and Student Loans. Secretary Briones, Undersecretaries Cat- issues. ibog and Mateo who continue to solve In spite of other challenges the faulty computer system problems Among us in PACU, the Exec- in the education sector, let us remain that hamper timely payment of the sen- utive Committee, Board of Directors, grateful to all our partners who support- ior high school vouchers that remain un- and presidents of member schools did ed our advocacies. paid even after a semester. Let us pray not hesitate to support and assist PACU for their speedy recovery. At the Tech- endeavors providing resources, spaces, In the government, we thank nical Education and Skills Development manpower, equipment and supplies in President Duterte through the cabinet Authority we thank Secretary Mamon- activities for sharing information and members for sustaining quality educa- diong for going around the country to capacity–building. We must not for- tion. At the House and the Senate, we meet stakeholders in the regions. We get the efforts of countless vice presi- thank the chairpersons and members of look forward to their progress especial- dents, deans, directors and heads of our the committees on education especially ly in the important role they play in de- member schools. PACU appreciates the the Honorables Hofer, Salceda, Lobre- veloping, validating and implementing countless secretaries, technical staff and gat, and Senators Recto, Aquino and Es- new short programs to fill the demand Turn to page 8 3 PACU Joins CHED Consultation Meeting on UniFAST by Dr. Arnaldo De Guzman standards for SUCs. Quality standards for SUCs, as stated in Section 10 of the IRR, are too broadly stated such that they are subject to a variety of interpretations which may or may not guide the SUC toward improving quality. The list of requirements should be more specific, and should contain at a minimum enrolment caps/limits for SUCs and student-fulltime faculty ratios. Both are consistent with deliberations at Congress and the Senate, within UniFAST, and even with PIDS economists. PACU understands Participants of the consultation meeting from the private sector a more comprehensive list (including these tion in SUCs, LUCs and public Technical-Vo- two mentioned) was part of the draft IRR presented to the UniFAST Board last Octo- he Commission on Higher Edu- cational Institutions (TVIs), TES should be T ber, and that should be included in the IRR. cation (CHED) called for a public consul- apportioned so that its funding is balanced This approach is better than a generic set of tation meeting with representatives of the between SUCs and private Higher Educa- categories. private sector including the members of tion Institutions (HEIs). PACU believes that PACU to discuss the Implementing Rules there should be an IRR guideline requiring 5. Introduce penalties for SUCs that and Regulations (IRR) of the Universal Ac- 60% of TES beneficiaries to be in the pri- violate quality standards. Penalties should cess to Quality Tertiary Education Act –Uni- vate HEIs. be introduced for SUCs that violate these fied Student Financial Assistance System standards (ex. admit more students than for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) or the 3. The schools can optimize the use allowed). Republic Act (R.A.) 10931 last October 18, of available resources by making TES flex- 2017 at Philippine International Conven- ible. Related to the previous point is an 6. Define “nearest SUC” for TES pur- tion Center (PICC) in Pasay City. acknowledgement that TES funds may not be completely used up by the poorest de- poses. Section 30 of the IRR repeats Section 7A of RA 10931, but does not elaborate Dr. Vincent Fabella as PACU Public ciles (example, not enough are interested upon it. Some elaboration is needed, es- Policy Committee Chairperson and other for college). In such cases, Unifast should pecially if TES shall also be used for private PACU members, raised the following com- be able to move these unused allocations HEIs. As fees vary greatly between SUCs, ments on the draft of IRR for RA 10931 to to other groups under Listahanan 2.0 that PACU proposes a more equitable interpre- the CHED technical working group: may want to use them to go to college. Language in the IRR should allow Unifast tation of Section 7A of RA 10931 is to look at average SUC costs in the region and use 1.