Ched taps UST to participate in Philippine TNE development
The Commission on Higher Education (Ched) together with the British Council has selected the University of Santo Tomas (UST) to participate in its Transnational Education (TNE) project to internationally improve the quality of education in the Philippines.
The TNE scheme offers a two-year program that will support twinning, joint degree programs, dual degrees and franchise models for priority postgraduate studies, starting on master’s level programs in the Philippines and the UK.
British Council Philippines Education Head Lotus Postrado is expecting at least five postgraduate programs to be developed in this project and to be offered in schools around the country by August 2018.
Postrado said in a report from Pie news that results and issues will be addressed with Ched “for TNE to be offered more easily in the Philippines”.
The recent K to 12 shift in the country proved it difficult to align the undergraduate studies’ curriculum with the TNE project. However, postgraduate studies were not affected by the curriculum shift and showed the project’s possible implementation in the Philippines.
The Philippine government allocated £350,000 or ₱21.7M for the project while £150,000 or ₱9.4M was shelled out by the British Council.
Ten preselected universities in the country namely the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, Mirriam College, University of San Carlos, Saint Louis University, Silliman University, Bicol University, and Central Luzon State University are to participate in the TNE scheme.
According to a report by British Council’s research manager, Michael Peak, a growing youth population, economy, widespread use of English, and a comprehensive TNE strategy has proved the Philippines’ feasibility in implementing the TNE project.
Last August 2015, a commissioned study by the British Council about the issues regarding the TNE implementation highlighted that some government policies hinder foreign higher education institutions on freely operating in the country.###
