The schools being accused and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) have spoken, in regard to insinuations that the presence of Chinese students in universities and colleges in the country poses a threat to national security.
Private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Cagayan which include the St. Paul’s University of the Philippines (SPUP), University of Cagayan Valley (UCV), University of St. Louis Tuguegarao (USLT) and the Medical Colleges of Northern Philippines (MCNP) have come up with a joint statement which branded as “baseless and deeply offensive” the accusations hurled against the enrolled foreign students in Cagayan.
“The insinuation that the presence of Chinese students in the city’s universities poses a threat to national security is not only baseless but also deeply offensive. It is a blatant display of racism and Sinophobia that has no place in our society, especially within the realm of education… the suggestion that Chinese students may be involved in espionage is not only unfounded but also reflects a dangerous stereotype that unfairly targets an entire group of individuals based on their nationality,” they said.
They also described as “grossly overstated and baseless” reports that 4,600 Chinese students are enrolled there. The SPUP has 486 graduate students, including Americans, Chinese, Indonesians, Japanese, and Vietnamese nationals while the UCV, USLT and MCNP reported zero foreign students as of now.
CHED Chairperson J. Prospero De Vera III no less, said that no Chinese students are enrolled in public HEIs in Cagayan province and while there may be a significant number of Chinese students enrolled in SPUP – Tuguegarao City, he said the SPUP, in line with its internationalization efforts. is a private school that has the autonomy to accept foreign students from recognized foreign HEIs, including Chinese nationals.
“The foreign students are attracted by the affordable cost of quality education, the use of English as a medium of instruction, and the globally recognized quality of instruction in such fields as medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, public health, and engineering,” De Vera said, adding that CHED has not received any complaint against SPUP.
He further explained that in case of complaint or reports of violation, CHED will forward it, for its appropriate action, to the Inter-Agency Committee on Foreign Students, which is tasked to draw up the procedures and implement the guidelines governing the entry and stay of foreign students in the country in support of the government’s policy to promote the Philippines as a center for education in Asia and the Pacific. The committee is composed of representatives from the CHED, the departments of foreign affairs and education, Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
From an economic point of view, I feel sorry for the potential income that we are driving away because of the ridiculous accusations against Chinese students, who are merely here because they are attracted by the affordable cost of quality education, the use of English as a medium of instruction and the globally-recognized quality of instruction in such fields as medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, public health and engineering, among others,
As I have stated in my last column, about 80 million students graduate from high school in China every year and of that number, only eight million are able to go to college due to the insufficiency in the number of universities, particularly those that teach English proficiency which we have in abundance in the Philippines.
This means that there is a huge potential income in the remaining 72 million who will be looking for universities outside of China.
Each student will be spending a minimum of US$2,000 yearly and if the Philippines is fortunate enough to get, say, 30 percent of the said number of students to study here, it will spell billions in contribution to our economy.
Our government officials should think twice before accusing foreign students of any nationality as involved in ‘degrees for sale’ or ‘acting as spies’ because this undermines the integrity, dignity and reputation that have been built over the years by our educational institutions, both private and public.
If the only basis is the ongoing issue in the West Philippine Sea, absent any concrete proof, these accusations must be put to rest because they border on racism and Sinophobia and an affront to our educational system.
It is also a great insult not only to those running our colleges and universities but even to the local students enrolled there, as they study amid accusations that the educational institution where they go to is putting up degrees for sale.
As it is, our country is already losing out in tourism. Marketing wise, we pale in comparion to other countries. Do we also have to lose out when it comes to education?
We Filipinos are good in many, many things except that sometimes, our failure is acting as one. One agency undermining another will spell nothing but failure.
