An Act Making the Inspection and Recognition of Private Schools and Colleges Obligatory for the Secretary of Public Instruction, and for Other Purposes

March 10, 1917

ACT NO. 2706

AN ACT MAKING THE INSPECTION AND RECOGNITION OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OBLIGATORY FOR THE SECRETARY OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of Public Instruction to maintain a general standard of efficiency in all private schools and colleges of the Philippine Islands so that the same shall furnish adequate instruction to the public, in accordance with the class and grade of instruction given in them, and for this purpose said Secretary shall be authorized to inspect and watch said schools and colleges in order to determine the efficiency of the instruction given in the same and to make the necessary regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 2. For the purposes of this Act, a private school or college shall be any private institution for teaching managed by private individuals or corporations, which is not subject to the authority and regulations of the Bureau of Education, and which offers courses of primary, intermediate, or secondary instruction, or superior courses in technical, professional, or special schools, for which diplomas are to be granted or degrees conferred.

SECTION 3. Any person or group of persons desiring to open or establish a private school or college in order to be recognized by the Government, shall incorporate under the provisions of Act Numbered Fourteen hundred and fifty-nine, known as the Corporation Law, and shall file with the Secretary of Public Instruction a petition setting forth:

1. The name and location of the college or school.

2. The names and addresses of all officers, directors, governing boards and faculties.

3. The date of the organization.

4. The date of the incorporation.

5. The total amount of money actually invested in the college or school, and such other information relative to the financial condition of the college or school, as the Secretary of Public Instruction may require.

6. A description of the buildings occupied or to be occupied by the college or school, with full details regarding the number and dimensions of the rooms, plumbing and sanitary arrangements, and facilities for the proper lighting and ventilation.

7. A list of the teachers and assistants, showing their academic degrees, profession, experience, and qualifications, and the subjects taught by each.

8. Complete information concerning the curriculum established or to be established, with full details regarding the amount of instruction to be given on each subject.

9. Full information relative to laboratories and laboratory equipment.

10. All other details and data which the Secretary of Public Instruction may request for the purpose of passing upon the application.

SECTION 4. Whenever the Secretary of Public Instruction is satisfied, in view of the data and information furnished him, that the petitioning school or college is sufficiently equipped to give adequate instruction to the public, he shall grant to the petitioning corporation the necessary authority for opening such school or college, but such authority shall be subject to revocation at any time when it can be proved that such school or college is not properly managed or does not carry out its curriculum, or that the teachers and assistant instructors of said institution do not maintain the standards hereinafter provided for or are incompetent in their work, or that fraud has been committed in making the application.

It shall be the duty of the Secretary of Public Instruction from time to time to inspect, either himself or through his duly authorized agent, all schools or colleges to which he has granted permits to open, and to see that the same are properly maintained and kept up to the standards hereinafter provided in this Act.

SECTION 5. One year after the date of the opening of the school or college, if the Secretary of Public Instruction is satisfied that the school or college is managed in a satisfactory manner and furnishes the public adequate instruction in any or all of its courses of instruction, he shall issue to such school or college a certificate granting it Government recognition with respect of any or all of its courses, which shall entitle such school or college to give to students having completed the course for which Government recognition has been granted, a certificate setting forth that they have completed the particular course of studies prescribed by the Government of the Philippine Islands, which certificate shall entitle students having graduated from the course or courses recognized by the Government in said school or college to all the benefits and privileges enjoyed by graduates in similar courses of studies in the public or Government schools.

SECTION 6. The Secretary of Public Instruction shall from time to time prepare and publish in pamphlet form the minimum standards required of primary, intermediate, and high schools and colleges granting the degrees of bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, or any other academic degrees. He shall also from time to time prepare and publish in pamphlet form the minimum standards required of law, medical, dental, pharmaceutical, engineering, and agricultural schools or colleges and other special schools giving instruction of a technical or professional character.

SECTION 7. Government recognition shall not be granted to any school or college failing to maintain approved courses of study, unless such school or college observe otherwise all the requisites and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Public Instruction.

SECTION 8. Government recognition shall not be granted to any school or college unless the corporation managing the same has furnished bond in a penal sum to be fixed by the Secretary of Public Instruction, conditioned upon the adequate and efficient administration of said school or college and the observance of all regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Public Instruction and compliance with all other obligations required of such school or college by said Secretary.

SECTION 9. The Secretary of Public Instruction may at any time revoke the Government recognition granted to any school if it can be shown to his satisfaction that such school or college has failed to keep up to the standards prescribed for it by the Secretary of Public Instruction.

Whenever it can be shown to the Secretary of Public Instruction that any school or college has granted diplomas or conferred degrees upon students who have not completed the necessary work prescribed for such diplomas, or degrees, the Secretary of Public Instruction shall revoke the Government recognition and shall also deny to such school or college the right to continue to exist as an unrecognized school.

SECTION 10. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the graduates of any recognized course in a private school shall be entitled to the same benefits and privileges as graduates from the same course in the Government schools and shall be free to enter, should they so desire, the next higher course in a Government school, provided there be room for them in the school they wish to enter.

SECTION 11. The Secretary of Public Instruction shall be authorized to appoint a Commissioner of Private Education, who shall:

1. Inspect all schools applying for permission to open or for Government recognition.

2. Propose standard courses of study for primary, intermediate, and secondary and collegiate grades and for technical, professional, or special schools or colleges.

3. Report to the Secretary of Public Instruction on the organization, financial arrangements, buildings, faculty and teaching staff, curriculum, and general conditions of all schools applying for permission to open or for Government recognition.

4. Report and make recommendations to the Secretary of Public Instruction concerning the fitness of any school or college for Government recognition and, in case of schools already recognized, recommend the revocation of said recognition if the required standards are not maintained.

5. Under the direction of the Secretary of Public Instruction, cause to be published from time to time, for the information of the public, a list of the approved private schools or colleges, setting forth what courses have been recognized in each school or college.

6. Under the direction of the Secretary of Public Instruction, prescribe the rules under which the diplomas and school records and papers or any printed matter of the school or advertisements of the school or college may bear the legend "Officially recognized by the Government," or words to that effect.

The Commissioner of Private Education shall be under the direct authority of the Secretary of Public Instruction, and besides the powers and duties herein provided for shall be subject to such other regulations concerning his powers and rights as the Secretary of Public Instruction may prescribe.

The Commissioner of Private Education shall receive compensation at the rate fixed in the Appropriation Act and shall have the necessary personnel authorized by said Act.

Approved, March 10, 1917.