BI chief ties foreign student surge to education hub promotion

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco speaks before lawmakers during the House Committee on Justice’s hearing on influx of Chinese students in Cagayan province on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Screengrab from House of Representatives livestream)

MANILA, Philippines — The surge in the number of international students, including those from China enrolled in Philippine schools can partly be attributed to the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHEd) promotion of the country as a regional and global education hub, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said on Wednesday.

“The Philippine government has been promoting the country as a regional and global education hub. CHEd’s ‘study in Philippines campaign’ has greatly boosted the number of foreign students in the country,” Tansingco said during the House Committee on Justice hearing.

Committee members lawmakers asked about the influx of Chinese students in Cagayan province, where Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites are located. 

Tansingco added that the surge may also be due to the memorandum of understanding signed by CHEd and the Chinese Ministry of Education “to fast track bilateral cooperation on higher education” and another memorandum of agreement between the two signed by China’s president and then president Rodrigo Duterte in 2019.

“Higher education was marketed during the China International import expo in 2018; CHEd study in the Philippines programs target the country to become a center of quality education especially in Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). So these factors contributed to the increase of foreign students, not only Chinese nationals,” he added. 

Based on the data presented by CHEd before lawmakers, there are  9,680 Indians students in the country from 2022-2023, followed by Chinese (5,921), Nigerian (799),  Thai (259), and Nepalese (186).

It also showed that most of the Chinese students are in Metro Manila schools (3,028), while Central Luzon hosts 1,903; Western Visayas 566; Northern Luzon 174, and Central Visayas 150 during the same period. 

Tansingco explained that the entry and stay of foreign students in the country is governed by an executive order, in which an interagency on foreign students was created chaired by the CHEd, co-chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Education. 

It was Cagayan 3rd District Rep. Joseph Lara and Cagayan 6th District Rep. Faustino “Inno” Dy who revealed the alleged influx of Chinese students in colleges and universities in Tuguegarao last month amid China’s continued aggression in the West Philippine Sea.