Here in China, schools calling themselves “international schools” are as common as traffic violators (and that’s a lot!). From the Philippines is an article exposing the same practice there.

Have you noticed that almost every new school these days claims to be an international school?

Top Department of Education (DepEd) officials agree “international” schools appear to have become a dime a dozen in the country.

And they say many of the nearly 150 so-called international schools in the country today are anything but.

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Aside from affiliations with overseas educational institutions, international schools were expected to have “challenging academic curricula, including language courses which are not normally taught in regular schools,” the legal office said.

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Some had zero foreign students. The DepEd mentioned the Metropolitan International Christian Academy in Sta. Ana, Manila; Praise Emerald International School in Quezon City; Christian International School in Caloocan City; International School of the Arts, Language and the Academe in Laoag City; International Christian Academy in Balagtas, Bulacan; Angel John International Academy in Sta. Maria, Bulacan; Mt. Olives International School of Tomorrow and Phoenix International School of Science and Technology, both in Bacoor, Cavite; Westmead International School and Waldorf School International, both in Batangas City; Sta. Clara International Academy in Antipolo City; International Montessori School in Sta. Rosa, Laguna; Yamato International School in Lambunao, Iloilo; Livingstones International School in Bacolod City; Passi Montessori International School in Passi City (Iloilo); and St. Elijah International School in Carcar, Cebu, among others.

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Antonio Tinio, Alliance of Concerned Teachers chair, urged the DepEd to “be more active in accrediting and monitoring these schools to ensure that they maintain certain standards of education quality and comply with laws protecting the interests and welfare of teachers, such as the mandatory allocation of 70 percent of any tuition increase to salaries.”

National Union of Students of the Philippines president Alvin Peters asked both DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education to “take a more active role in regulating schools—from the curricula they offer to the schools’ policies concerning the rights and welfare of both students and teachers and the tuition they collect.”

Undersecretary Vilma Labrador advises parents who are considering enrolling their children in an international school to find out if the institution has the necessary permits.

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