Student interns return home from Israel
Two hundred sixty student interns from 30 state universities and colleges who are under a student internship abroad program in Israel have been safely repatriated to the Philippines, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) said yesterday.
The student interns had already completed their 11 months of international internship/training under the Granot Agrostudies Program in Israel.
Last July, CHEd, through Commission en banc Resolution 396-2020, suspended all foreign internships for academic year 2020-2021 to protect the health of the students.
It also instructed all higher education institutions to bring home all their students who are still abroad.
“At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte instructed all agencies to expedite the return of all Filipinos to their families. CHEd has been closely monitoring the situation of these students since March 2020. With the collaborative effort of the Commission and its partner government agencies and stakeholders, out of the 599 student interns deployed in Israel, 260 have already returned to the country on 14 October,” CHEd chairperson Prospero de Vera III said.
The returning students will be staying at the University Pad in Manila for their mandatory quarantine while waiting for the result of their swab tests, except for the students of Pampanga Agricultural State University (PASU) and Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU).
The PASU and TAU students will be fetched and transported to Clark City by their respective provincial government and immediately be sent for swab testing upon arrival at their quarantine facility.
“The Agrostudies student interns were assisted by CHEd through the help of the RRCG Transport System Co. Inc. and the Philippine Army personnel upon arrival at NAIA. They will also be closely monitored and assisted by CHEd while staying at their quarantine facility until they are reunited with their families,” De Vera explained.
“The Commission thanks the Embassy of the Philippines in Tel Aviv and the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Middle East and African Affairs for their decisive support in the repatriation of student interns from Israel upon the completion of their internship,” he added.