DAVAO CITY- Schools accepting foreign students are reminded that they have to be accredited by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) lest they face a P50,000 fine for each foreign student found in their rolls.
The BI announced this as it intensifies
its campaign against schools with foreign students but have not sought
accreditation from the bureau.
Rowena Regalado, foreign student desk
officer of the BI, refused to name the schools they are now investigating. “We
are still hoping for their (the schools) cooperation on this matter at the
soonest time possible, but we strongly urge them to seek accreditation
immediately or they will be dealt with accordingly,” Regalado said. The BI is
also asking schools and universities not to accept foreign students who do not
have the student’s visa stamped on their passports or a special study permit.
The campaign, which was “softly launched”
in October last year, will be intensified in the first quarter of 2007.
“Our aim here is to protect these foreign
students from being taken advantage of fly-by-night schools and those that
offer sub-standard education," Regalado said.
