A Position Paper on the NAHEI Academic and Cultural Competitions and the CHED National Games

[ Download the Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) format ]

The Ateneo de Naga University, as an institution committed to a shared goal of promoting quality education within the context of a democratic and pluralistic society, hereby expresses its reservations about the following CHED initiatives:

1. NAHEI Academic and Cultural Festivals
2. CHED National Games.

The planning and organization of these initiatives have been driven by well-meaning intentions on the part of the CHED National Office and the other parties involved. Its eventual implementation may well be also motivated by good intentions but under the current circumstances, our institution respectfully registers its objection with the intention of clarifying some contentious issues.

The aforementioned projects have been conceptualized with very little regard for consultation and genuine collaboration with the stakeholders. They have been largely a product of a top-down approach to management, which debilitates or defeats the very purpose of an organization—for the mutual benefit of member-institutions.

The concept of the establishment of Regional Associations of Higher Education Institutions (RAHEI) as provided in A Roadmap to Quality Higher Education: A New Philippine Education Highway enumerates the following avowed objectives of RAHEIs, which eventually comprise the NAHEI:

1. “[t]o promote the interests of education in the Philippines towards the total development of the human person through the higher educational institutions’ initiatives and consistent with national goals expressed in the Constitution;
   
   xxxxx
   
   
2.  to represent the interests of colleges and universities in the Philippines  before the Commission on Higher Education and other government offices and/or agencies, before the general public, as well as before international bodies;
   
   xxxxx
   
   
3. to foster closer relationships among member schools, colleges and universities and to encourage and develop acquaintance among their authorized representatives as an opportunity for greater service to the student population all over the country to encourage as much as possible mutual consultation on particular problems”; (emphasis supplied)

Clearly, the above-quoted objectives (note the parts in bold letters) of RAHEIs/NAHEI give primacy to consultation and mutual engagement of all member-institutions. However, the current development in relation to the operations of the RAHEIs/NAHEI and the involvement of CHED as an institution disregards, wittingly or unwittingly, these principles of consultation and maximum participation of the concerned parties.

Both the NAHEI Academic and Cultural Festivals and the CHED Games have been conceptualized and enfleshed without or more charitably, with very little knowledge and participation of the private higher education institutions. Such lack of consultation appears to be the reason why the organizers have failed to see the financial, logistical or academic ramifications of the projects’ implementation. These consequences of varying degree of seriousness will certainly be borne not only by the school administrators but also by the students and parents. The following are the identified potential problems:

1. Added (Undue) Financial Burden

The projects, once implemented, will surely entail a considerable amount of money. The funds will be needed to defray expenses to be incurred not only during the actual competitions but also during the preparation at the school level prior to the competition, such as training, transportation, allowances, costumes, uniforms, among others.

Currently, Ateneo de Naga University, on its part is already exacting P50.00 per student as PRISAA fee. This fee is utilized to finance the training and competitions of athletes during the PRISAA meet.

The Handbook for Academic and Cultural Festivals under the segment heading “Membership, Fees and Dues” provide that “membership with RAHEI is by accreditation only. Only duly accredited NAHEI member-schools are eligible to participate in NAHEI competitions and authorized to collect fees from students.”(emphasis supplied) Under the segment on fees and dues, the same document provides that a one-time membership fee of P5,000.00  upon application and annual dues of P 2,000.00 every year thereafter shall be collected from member-schools. Under the segment heading,  “Financial Management and Control”, the sources of funds do not include any subsidy or budget that will be given by the government through CHED to finance the projects and programs of the Association, notwithstanding the fact that based on existing records, the formation of such Association was clearly a CHED initiative.  Moreover, the Minutes of the NAHEI Board Meeting held on 16 September 2009 provides that one of the issues raised by some of the attendees was the fee for the CHED National Games, Academic and Cultural competitions. The minutes of the meeting provided that the contribution from students in private higher institutions shall be P 100.00 per semester and P 15.00 per semester for students in State Universities and Colleges.

The immediately preceding paragraph clearly supports the contention that the funding of these projects will be imposed upon the students and parents without any prior, adequate and comprehensive consultation. This impending financial burden must be appreciated in the light of a population that, for the most part, has been in a continued struggle to finance quality education.

Another major factor which supports a call to reconsider the viability of pursuing these ambitious projects is the actual conditions of Luzon and even other parts of the country. A substantial part of the country has been ravaged by natural calamities and some of the victims have not even started bouncing back due to lack of means to do so. If the two national events will be implemented as planned, they may prove to be insensitive to the plight of those who have greatly suffered due to the most recent calamities.

A part of the declared rationale for the CHED National Games enunciates that, “[A]s mandated by law, all educational institutions shall undertake regular sports activities throughout the country in cooperation with athletic clubs and other sectors.” The schools across the country have already been involved in various sports activities with different athletic organizations. That alone is already costly but is still being undertaken in recognition of the value of sports in the integral formation of the human person. But to impose another national sports event or academic and cultural competition, which will not be financed by the government but by the students instead will already be superfluous in its intent and impractical in its actual implementation.

2. Logistical Concerns

There is an obvious haste in the conceptualization and planning of these two major events under the auspices of NAHEI and CHED. This can be gleaned from the available records.

The records of the NAHEI Board of Trustees Meeting on 16 September provides that on 7 August 2009 organizational meeting, the proposed integrated academic and cultural competitions for NAHEI member-schools effective AY 2009-10 has been unanimously considered/approved during the said meeting. The fact that the said calendar covering AY 2009-1020 has been approved after the current academic year has already commenced speaks of a hasty process and an apparent desire to ensure that these events be done at the soonest possible time, without any declared reason.  A more prudent and careful way of planning these events would necessitate approval of the events prior to the current academic year. This will provide adequate time for consultation, coordination and preparation.

Given the complexity of the manning and operation of the two national events, and the necessary preparations on the part of member-schools, it will be onerous to expect the member-schools to effectively participate in these undertakings. The preparations will entail funding, identification of persons responsible for the events per school, recruitment of players or contestants, scheduling of the training, and still other logistical concerns.

The status quo already presents a clear case of faculty saddled with various academic and non-academic concerns. With the current teaching load of eighteen units (18) units per semester and some institutional or departmental commitments, they will be unduly burdened if they will still be required to attend to and supervise the training of student-athletes and competitors. This would also divest them of the time they could rightfully spend attending to academic consultations and research. Clearly, these were not taken into consideration by the organizers, otherwise, more foresight could have prompted them to defer or conduct massive consultation with member-schools prior to the planning and organization.

3. Implications on the Academic Formation of the Students

Given the current context-- that there are already various events where different schools compete-- the preparation and actual deployment of students who will be joining the academic, cultural and sports competition in question will create another set of interruptions that will veer them away from their academic undertakings.  Considering that the second semester starts on November, which is still part of the rainy, if not, typhoon season, it will not be practical and favorable for the student to be compelled to train rather than be required to stay focused in their studies. The initial leg of the second semester is naturally contingent. Interruptions of classes must be kept at a very strict minimum. Besides, one of the fundamental policies of CHED is to ensure that “all institutions of higher learning shall exemplify through their physical and natural surroundings the dignity and beauty of, as well as their pride in, the intellectual and scholarly life.” (emphasis supplied)

As has been strongly articulated by the Chairman of CHED himself, the role of CHED is to “attain the highest levels of quality in higher education”. Undoubtedly, two of the fundamental pillars of quality education are instruction and research. CHED itself has been regularly updating its policies, standards and guidelines governing various academic programs to fine tune them even more. This special leaning of CHED towards improving both instruction and research is commendable. These priority areas must not be drowned in the extra-curricular activities that could possibly and unduly deplete the higher education institutions' attention and resources. Furthermore, CHED has been very strong in promoting the extension of academic programs from four years to five years, in recognition of the need to be globally competitive. Clearly, this move to increase the number of academic years will also create an increase in the number of academic days but with the interruptions in the actual classroom  instruction as a consequence of the participation in the two national events, this additional number of contact hours will just be dissipated and will consequently be put to naught.

Notwithstanding our reservations as substantiated by the foregoing reasons, we would also like to respectfully know the implication of non-participation in the NAHEi Academic and Cultural Competition and the CHED National Games. This specific issue was not explicitly explained in any of the handbooks providing the guidelines for both events. There was no categorical statement describing whether  participation in these events is mandatory. Considering that the two documents setting forth the rules in the said national events are silent as to this specific issue, we hereby ask for an unequivocal pronouncement from your office.

Under the segment heading, “Termination of membership”, one of the grounds for termination of membership in the NAHEI is non-participation in NAHEI activities. Another document explaining the creation of RAHEI/NAHEI provides that “[i]ncentives granted by CHED such as scholarships for faculty development, student scholarships and financial assistance will be coursed through CHED Regional Offices in coordination with the Regional Association of HEIs (RAHEIs)”. Will the non-participation of an higher education institution be construed as a cause for termination and, consequently, prevent the institution concerned from receiving scholarships and other financial assistance from CHED? We suggest that this issue be taken with greater circumspection and due regard to existing laws as this is directly linked with the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association and the equal protection clause.
     
Finally, we express our sincerest gratitude for having acknowledged and read this paper. We strongly hope that the CHED will consider the basis for our objections and provide space for a more meaningful engagement and genuine collaboration in the attainment of our common goals.