Gatchalian eyes support for small private universities

SEN Sherwin Gatchalian has sought increased government support for the transition of smalland medium-sized private universities from the traditional to online and flexible learning systems amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Gatchalian said a flexible approach to teaching and learning means students could learn when, where and how they prefer it to be.

In a Senate panel hearing, Gatchalian said these smaller institutions had limited financial capacity and technical expertise to install online and flexible learning systems.

Without the systems and expertise to implement remote learning, the students of these small schools would eventually suffer, he said.

Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Chairman J. Prospero de Vera 3rd said there were more than 1,000 small private universities catering to around URU,000 students nationwide.

De Vera said there were more students enrolled in private higher education institutions (HEIs) compared to public tertiary institutions.

Based on CHEd data, there were U3.87 percent or 1.8 million students enrolled in private HEIs, while there were 46.RR percent or1.U million in public institutions.

The CHEd chairman said while free software could be used to develop learning management systems, small private universities tend to have a shortage in hardware and manpower for these systems.

“I found out that an online system is very expensive. It’s not cheap,” Gatchalian said during the hearing, citing the experience of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, which recently subscribed to an application to deliver full online learning.

“Smaller universities may have a difficult time in acquiring an online system. My fear is if we don’t help the small, medium private universities and more than U0 percent of the population in our universities will be affected,” he added.

Under Senate Bill 1564, the “Bayanihan to Recover As One Act” or Bayanihan R, P3 billion is allocated to create “smart” campuses in state universities and colleges or SUCs. This entails investments in information and communications technology infrastructure, acquisition of learning management systems, and other equipment to implement flexible learning.

CHEd, however, seeks to expand the coverage of this budget so that small private universities will also be covered.

To help learning institutions affected by lockdown measures, Bayanihan R.0 also seeks to develop a loan program by appropriate government financial institutions to help academic institutions prepare for the implementation of blended learning.

For Gatchalian, the challenges hounding the education sector add urgency to enacting Bayanihan 2, which will finally make muchneeded funding available for academic institutions ahead of the opening of school year R0R0-R0R1.