British Envoy Supportive of Educational Development in Philippines

“Education is the real future,” said British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad after sharing about the new development of the two-step change with British universities offering joint degrees or degrees present in the UK with collaboration of countries in the South East Asia including the Philippines.

“Like in Singapore, Malaysia, and China, you can get a degree the same as if you were studying in UK. The University of Nottingham has a campus in Malaysia and China,” he adds.

This is a possibility in the Philippines in which the British diplomat said that they are actively shaping.

The National University is among the PH universities discussing with 10 UK universities to form joint ventures in the Philippines specifically Manila and elsewhere.

“We still have to wait until the constitution itself is reformed so that the education sector can open up to a foreign partnership,” he expressed, referring to Article 14 Section 4.2 of the 1987 Constitution.

Scholarships for masters, doctoral studies, and research fellowships are also offered by the UK government through the Chevening Scholarship programme.

Ahmad shared that from eight scholars per annum, there was a big shift to 40 this year.

There are currently 26 Filipinos in the UK taking their Master’s degree in various UK universities under the program.

Among the notable alumni of the scholarship are Glenda Gloria, Managing Editor of Rappler.com and co-founder of NewsBreak and a former CEO of ABS-CBN; and Noel Bonoan, Chief Operating Officer of KPMG Philippines and former Undersecretary for the Department of Finance. (jsme/PIA-7-Cebu/asv)