The World Bank (WB) has called on the national government to push the grant of scholarships to deserving but poor students of public schools.
It also called for the introduction of student loans and a review of the tuition fee structure in the public school system.
“It is important that there is an equitable access to the opportunities for higher education,” Emanuela di Gropello, WB economist and co-author of a WB study on higher education, said in a press briefing yesterday.
“What is important is how the budget is used, there is no direct correlation to the spending against the need for higher education. It is how money is being used and allocated. Policy makers or government must make sure to use in more beneficial means such as research, skills upgrade and mechanism to ensure inclusiveness in terms of opportunities,” she said.
“Putting Higher Education t o Wo r k : Skills and Research for Growth in East Asia” was presented to participants of a higher education workshop organized by the Commission on Higher Education and the WB at the Edsa Shangri- La Hotel yesterday.
The study showed that employers in both manufacturing and services in the East Asia and Pacific region including the Philippines are looking for workers who possess skills in problem solving, communications and management, among others.
The Philippines, along with other low- and middle-income countries in the East Asia and the Pacific region is climbing the technology ladder and assimilated important technologies by becoming more open, developing infrastructure and improving its manufacturing industry.
Gropello said building skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or the so-called STEM disciplines, in raising workforce productivity and capacity for innovation are essential to overall economic expansion.
The WB study said there is a skills gap in the service industry, export and technologically intensive sectors, which represent a “very serious bottleneck” for innova- tion and productivity in the Philippines.
“For the Philippines to grow faster and achieve continued technological deepening, two main priorities are evident for higher education, address skills gap by maintaining coverage and improving the quality of higher education gradu- ates; and increase research relevant to the economic needs in universities or departments,” the report stated.
The report also recommended that the Philippines improve the use and allocation of public resources, while moving from historically negotiated budgets to performancebased allocation.