Thursday, May 22, 2008 Review centers given extension to integrate with schools
AFTER warning review centers of possible closure if they fail to integrate with schools by the end of this month, the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) has extended for the second time their compliance with Executive Order (EO) 566.
The six months extension was reached after an en banc meeting last Tuesday that took up the issue.
The extension announced by Ched executive director William Medrano which gives the 800 review centers in the country until the end of this year to comply with the EO.
"It was extended upon the appeal of the other review centers so that they can finish their documents and other papers and register as well," Medrano said.
Earlier, acting Ched chairman Romulo Neri warned that review centers that fail to beat the deadline to integrate with regular schools face closure.
He said the commission is no longer keen on granting a second extension of the deadline, which was set to expire on May 28.
Neri said the November 2007 extension for the imposition of the EO, which mandates independent review centers to integrate with regular schools was due to the request of the review center organizations.
Under the EO, existing review centers are given one year starting in November 2006 until November 2007 to integrate with the school-based review centers in order to continue their operations.
The EO also provides that only accredited and reputable higher educational institutions may qualify to operate review center. The EO also mandated Ched to supervise and regulate the operations of independent review centers.
Ched later issued Memorandum Order (MO) 55, dated November 27, 2007 extending the deadline for the integration for another six months following the request of independent review centers.
MO 55 also provides that review center operations or activity being conducted after May 2008 will be considered illegal and violators thereof will be liable for administrative and criminal sanctions.
The power of Ched to regulate review centers in the Philippines is embodied under EO 566 promulgated in November 2006 and Ched had likewise promulgated MO 30 as an implementing rules and regulations of EO 566
Earlier, the Federation of Accredited Review Centers of the Philippines (FARCP) and the Excel Review and Training Center (ERTC) asked Ched not to extend May 28 deadline.
FARCP said the extension of the deadline would give the impression that Ched lacks the political will to regulate the operations of review centers in the country.
"It gives a wrong signal to students as well as the foreign employers of Filipino professionals as such extension could be construed as lack of political will of the government," said Dr. Alfredo Aquino, ad interim secretary general of FARCP.
For his part, ERTC head Santos Cuervo, in a letter to Neri appealing for non-extension of the deadline, said the recent scam in the Civil Engineering Board Exam in November last year that resulted in the re-examination of two subjects could have been prevented had review centers are under strict monitoring and supervision of Ched.
They said the EO has given more than enough time for the review centers to comply.
Medrano said they acknowledged the concern of FARCP and ERTC and according to him there would be no third extension.
He also admitted that a recent incident in a Baguio-based review center could have been averted as well as the problem of a fly-by-night review centers in the country had the industry been regulated.
Recently, an administrative officer of the Northcap Review Center ran away with P1.2 million in registration fees, leaving thousands of students hanging in the balance.
In 2006, the country suffered from a severe beating from the international community due to the Nursing Board Examination scandal, which caught the attention of foreign governments, specifically the US, Great Britain and Australia.
These countries even threatened not to employ Filipino professionals as a consequence of the scam due to cloud of doubts hounding the licensure examinations in the Philippines. (AH/Sunnex)
