PHILIPPINES

Lawmaker calls for lifting of foreign universities ban

Mindanao lawmaker Johnny Pimentel has filed a bill that would lift a ban on foreign universities, allowing them to establish campuses in the Philippines in a bid to turn the country into an even bigger hub for international students, writes Ellson Quismorio for the Manila Bulletin.

Pimentel’s proposed Higher Education Internationalisation Act, or House Bill 3165, enables foreign private universities to put up Philippine branches. “Considering that we are already drawing in a growing number of students from South Korea, India, Iran and China, we should capitalise on the hosting of international students to generate hundreds of millions of dollars every year for our economy,” said Pimentel, who chairs the house committee on good government and public accountability.

The foreign universities simply have to obtain a licence to transact business in the country from the Securities and Exchange Commission and an authority to operate from the Commission on Higher Education. At the same time, Pimentel pushed for the abolition of a provision in the 1987 Constitution that prohibits foreigners from controlling Philippine educational institutions.
Full report on the Manila Bulletin site