Press Release
January 28, 2009

PLAN 'ILL-CONCEIVED'
Chiz rejects CHED's 5-year college proposal

Senator Chiz Escudero today brushed aside a proposal to convert the present educational system into a 5-year college system, describing it as "ill-timed" and "poorly conceived."

Escudero said the plan, proffered by the Commission on Higher Education's (CHED), does not even merit the benefit of discussion especially during these times when an economic crisis looms over the roof of every Filipino family.

"This is one of CHED's plans that don't bode well for the Filipino parents who are already feeling and bearing the economic crunch. Then we have those parents who unwittingly lost their educational savings for their children with the collapse of the pre-need industry," he said.

The senator said that instead of saddling the Filipino parents with an additional cross to carry, CHED should hold their hands through these hard times.

Escudero stated that in lieu of the additional year in college, CHED should work within the existing four years and improve the educational standards without increasing cost on the part of the students and the parents.

"The government cannot pass the buck to the people when there's a need to improve and work on a deficiency and inadequacy in the way they do things in the government. If coming at par with the rest of the world is what CHED and the Palace want for our students, they should start introspecting," he explained.

Malacanang said it is allowing CHED to revise the country's educational system, specifically for nurses and other allied health medical courses so that our graduates will remain the most in demand and the most competitive in the world.

"Well, the Palace can start infusing enough resources to our educational system from early education to tertiary to create the education standard required to fulfill the educational needs and to take advantage of the full potentials of the students".

Escudero is an early childhood education proponent, authoring RA No. 8980 in Congress which calls for a comprehensive policy and a national system for early childhood care and development.

CHED, for its part can also start reviewing the curriculum of those courses they want the 5 year system to start with, Escudero said.

"They should revisit the curricula in the universities and begin to exact more accountability to those schools that do not deliver. Why burden the students by tightening financial constraints with an additional tuition-paying year?"

Escudero called on Malacanang to nix the proposal as it will add more inequalities to access to education.

"The government has yet to bring education close and accessible to the people and here is this proposal, jeopardizing equality of access yet again. This should receive the palace's thumbs down".

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