The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Friday, Aug. 16, urged affected students of the St. Vincent De Ferrer College of Camarin (SVDFCC) in Caloocan City to reach out to its National Capital Region (NCR) office for guidance and assistance.
This comes after CHED, along with the local government of Caloocan, posted notices outside SVDFCC and throughout the city to inform the public about the closure of its programs.
“We encourage affected students to reach out to CHED-NCR for assistance and guidance,” CHED Secretary Popoy De Vera said.
CHED made this move following SVDFCC’s defiance of its order to phase out five programs, including Bachelor of Elementary Education, Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, and Bachelor of Secondary Education.
In 2021, CHED ordered the phase-out of these programs at SVDFCC due to “deficiencies in their academic performance and achievement” found after a thorough evaluation and validation.
“SVDFCC is no longer included in the list of higher education institutions authorized to offer the aforementioned degree programs,” CHED said.
Prohibited from accepting students
CHED stressed that SVDFCC is “prohibited” from accepting students for enrollment in these programs beginning the 1st term of the Academic Year (AY) 2022-2023. “Students who were already enrolled that year will be allowed to complete their studies until graduation or transfer to other institutions” with the assistance of CHED-NCR.
“Students who entered these programs as first-year students in AY 2022-2023 will not be given a Special Order, which is a requirement for graduation,” CHED said.
CHED noted that in 2022, SVDFCC filed an urgent motion asking the Commission to withdraw the order. CHED denied this request with finality, citing “no legal and compelling reasons to reverse the decision.”
“Although this denial of appeal was questioned by SVDFCC in other courts of competent jurisdiction, CHED has not received any injunction or relief against the implementation of its decision,” De Vera said.
CHED also noted that in April of last year and February of this year, it ordered SVDFCC to “immediately cease” accepting students for enrollment.
Red light
Meanwhile, De Vera noted that this serves as a “red light” to higher education institutions (HEIs) across the country to “improve the quality and performance” of their academic programs.
“We don’t tolerate this kind of behavior and performance,” De Vera said.
CHED, he added, continues to evaluate the academic performance and achievements of degree programs to “ensure that our students receive the quality of education they deserve.”