Several HEIs vow to accept displaced Colegio de San Lorenzo students

Several higher education institutions (HEIs) have committed to accommodate the more than 600 college students who were displaced by the sudden permanent closure of the Colegio de San Lorenzo (CDSL).

The HEIs on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to formally announce their acceptance of the students.

The CDSL announced its closure a week before the scheduled start of the school year, citing financial reasons and low enrollment turnout over the past years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The admitting schools are St. Joseph’s College of Quezon City, NBS College, Siena College, Trinity University of Asia, Our Lady of Fatima University, Manuel L. Quezon University, College of St. Catherine Quezon City, AMA University, Villagers Montessori College, WCC-Aeronautical and Technological College North Manila, STI College Fairview, and STI College Muñoz.

During the event, CDSL spokesperson Mark Vixen Dorado said that 304 out of 652 college students or 47% have been transferred to other HEIs.

Ninety-six percent or 625 of them have also been given their tuition refund checks, while documents of some 429 students have already been released.

Last week, Dorado said that 100% of the tuition of the students in their K to 12 program and basic education was already refunded.

CDSL president Mary Claire Balgan also announced on Tuesday that the remaining tuition balance of their students are now waived.

“Colegio de San Lorenzo has forgiven and waived all student balances. That should also help with their financial difficulties,” she said.

She also personally thanked the HEIs that have agreed to sign the MOA and opened their doors to the displaced students.

Further, CHED Chairperson Prospero de Vera III said that some of the provisions of the Manual of Regulations for Private Higher Education (MORPHE) were also waived to grant the admitting HEIs the “flexibility” to address some of the plights of the students.

Some of these concerns, he said, pertain to those graduating with Latin honors, and the credits to be given in subjects the college students already took in CDSL.

“The instruction of the Commission was to discuss to the HEIs, in the exercise of their power or their rights on academic freedom, to allow or to give consideration to the students to be transferred only for this batch,” de Vera said.

“If it needs that we give them flexibility, with respect to the MORPHE, then the Commission will allow the private universities to exercise their prerogatives in the exercise of academic freedom to address these concerns of the parents and students,” he added. 

Investigations

De Vera III also said they will deal with the investigations into the CDSL’s closure “in a proper time” after they have assisted all the affected students to transfer schools.

“We learned about the closure on August 12. It hasn’t even been a month since we got it. The position of the Commission is once we have effectively assisted the students to transfer, that is the time that we will look into possible violations of CHED requirements,” he said.

For CDSL’s part, Balgan reiterated their intent to cooperate in all the probes being sought by both the Quezon City (QC) government and other government agencies.

The QC legal department had earlier said CDSL’s school officials and others may face legal issues after closing down the institution during its supposed first day of classes.

Both the DepEd and the CHED also committed to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, Senator Raffy Tulfo is also seeking a Senate inquiry into the “abrupt, reckless, indiscriminate, and unceremonious” permanent closure of CDSL to allow lawmakers to come up with legislation that will govern similar situations. — BM, GMA News