An Act to Amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 12 of Act No. 2706, as Amended by Act No. 3075

November 13, 1936

COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 180

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS ONE, TWO, THREE, FIVE, SIX, AND TWELVE OF ACT NUMBERED TWENTY-SEVEN HUNDRED AND SIX, AS AMENDED BY ACT NUMBERED THIRTY HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE, TO REPEAL SECTION SEVENTEEN OF ACT NUMBERED FOUR THOUSAND AND SEVEN, KNOWN AS "THE REORGANIZATION LAW OF NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO"; AND TO ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF PRIVATE EDUCATION TO BE HEADED BY THE DIRECTOR OF PRIVATE EDUCATION

SECTION 1. Section one of Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and six is hereby amended to read as follows:

"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 Philippines so that the same shall furnish adequate instructions to the public, in accordance with the class and grade of instructions given in them, and for this purpose said Secretary or his duly authorized representatives shall have authority to supervise, inspect and regulate said schools and colleges in order to determine the efficiency of instruction given in the same."

SECTION 2. Section two of Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and six is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 2. For the purposes of this Act, the term private school or college shall be deemed to include 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 or of the University of the Philippines, or of the Bureau of Public Welfare, and which offers courses of kindergarten, primary, intermediate or secondary instruction or superior courses in vocational, technical, professional or special schools by which diplomas or certificates are to be granted or titles and degrees conferred."

SECTION 3. Section three of Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and six is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. Any person or group of persons desiring to open or establish a private school or college must first secure the permission of the Secretary of Public Instruction before opening or establishing the same, and shall file with the Secretary of Public Instruction a petition setting forth:

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

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

"3. The date of the organization.

"4. The total amount of money actually invested and other information relative to the financial condition of the school or college.

"5. 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.

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

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

"8. Full information relative to laboratories, equipment and libraries.

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

"If the Secretary of Public Instruction is satisfied that the opening or establishment of said school or college is warranted by public interest and that satisfactory instruction can be given by it, the said Secretary of Public Instruction may grant a temporary permit.

"No institution shall call itself or be called a University, unless and until it shall have fulfilled the following requisites in addition to those that may be prescribed by the Secretary of Public Instruction:

"1. The operation of a recognized post-graduate course in liberal arts and sciences or in education, leading to the master's degree;

"2. The operation of a four-year under-graduate course in liberal arts and sciences;

"3. The operation of at least three professional colleges;

"4. The possession and maintenance of a professionally administered library of at least ten thousand bound volumes of collegiate books; Provided, however, That the operation of a recognized post-graduate course in liberal arts and sciences or in education, leading to the master's degree shall not be required of universities recognized as such prior to the approval of this Act.

"All private schools and colleges already opened or established before the approval of this Act which do not come under the supervision of the Secretary of Public Instruction shall meet all the requirements of this Act before June, nineteen hundred and thirty-eight. Failure to do so will subject the person or persons directing or managing the same to the penalties provided in section twelve of this Act in addition to the closure of the school, college or institution concerned."

SECTION 4. Section five of Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and six is hereby amended to read as follows: HcACST

"SEC. 5. If one year after the effective date of the issuance of a permit to open, 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 to any or all of its courses. The certificate of recognition 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 Secretary of Public Instruction, which certificate shall entitle the 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.

"Unless exempted for special reasons by the Secretary of Public Instruction, any private school or college recognized by the Government shall be incorporated under the provisions of Act Numbered Fourteen hundred and fifty-nine, known as the Corporation Law, within ninety days after the date of recognition, and shall file with the Secretary of Public Instruction a copy of its incorporation papers and by-laws."

SECTION 5. Section six of Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and six is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 6. The Department of Public Instruction shall from to 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. It shall also from time to time prepare and publish in pamphlet form the minimum standards required of law, medical, dental, pharmaceutical, engineering, agricultural and other special or vocational schools or colleges giving instruction of a technical, vocational or professional character."

SECTION 6. Section twelve of Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and six, as amended by Act Numbered Thirty hundred and seventy-five, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 12. Any person or group of persons who shall open, direct, maintain, or manage a private school or college as defined by this Act, without the prior approval of the Secretary of Public Instruction or who shall advertise, publish, or otherwise announce, verbally or by means of signs, cards, letterheads, or advertisements, or through any other form of publicity, that such person or group of persons has applied for authority to open a private school or college, or for the recognition of such school or college, when he has not actually so applied, or that such private school or college has been duly authorized, when, in reality, the same has not been so authorized, or such authority has been cancelled; or that it is recognized, when, in reality, it has not been recognized or such recognition has been withdrawn; or that it permits itself to be called a university, when, in fact, it has not fulfilled the requirements set forth in section three of this Act, or that it has not been granted authority to do so, shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred pesos, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, in the discretion of the court: Provided, That in the case of corporations or partnerships, the president, secretary, director, administrator or manager shall be held responsible for the violation."

SECTION 7. Section seventeen of Act Numbered Four thousand and seven known as the "Reorganization Law of nineteen hundred and thirty-two" abolishing the Office of the Commissioner of Private Education is hereby repealed. Hereafter the Division of Private Schools and Colleges shall be known as the Office of Private Education and the Chief of the said Office shall be known as the Director of Private Education and shall receive a compensation of five thousand one hundred pesos per annum.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, November 13, 1936.