DAVAO City has been known as the center of education in Mindanao long before its former mayor Rodrigo Duterte became the Philippine President.
It just became more evident with the rising number of learning institutions which are intending and actually putting up schools here.
The city currently has a total of 667 private and public lower level education (kinder, elementary, junior and senior high schools, including madaris and Special Education or Sped, an additional of seven from 660 in the previous year.
"There is an additional of seven junior high schools to cater to the growing number of students in the city," said Allen Sacamos, planning officer III of the Schools Division Office-Davao City.
In higher education, there are already nearly 40 colleges in the city like Assumption College, Davao Doctors College, Holy Child College, Holy Cross College of Davao, Calinan and Sasa, San Pedro College and Philippine Women's College of Davao to name a few.
There are also five universities in the city, namely the Ateneo de Davao University, University of the Immaculate Conception, University of Mindanao, University of Southeastern Philippines, and the University of the Philippines-Mindanao.
An addition to the growing number of colleges in Davao City, however, is the Malayan Colleges Mindanao of Mapua School which will operate this coming school year.
Another one which already sent its letter of intent to the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) Davao Region is the Lyceum University of the Philippines (LUP).
Dr. Susan Labutap, supervising education program specialist of Ched Davao Region, said that although it's the right of an individual or organization to put up or build learning institution in a certain area, but there are still guidelines from the Ched that they need to follow.
She added that some people or organization must have found the city to be a "greener pasture" why they are intending to put up schools here, adding that since one of their requirements for those who intend to establish learning institutions here is their feasibility study on the city; whether it's good to construct schools here and to also determine the sustainability of their programs they plan to offer.
Labutap also did not disregard the fact that the city is already placed in the "map" being the center of education not only in the island but also in the whole country as well because of the top achievers in different fields that our universities have produced.
"Our universities here have produced graduates who topped the board exams in different fields, like UM, Addu among others," she said, adding that it must also be one of the reasons why the city is chosen by other schools like Mapua to establish their branches here.