The Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) is a non-profit organization based in Makati City

Makati City

The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...

, the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 with the mandate of providing assistance to private education institutions in the Philippines.

History

FAPE was established in the sixties from the confluence of two factors, namely: the recognition of the crucial role of private education in national development and the campaign that had been launched by private school associations for the formation of an educational foundation that would address the needs of private education in the country.

In response to these factors, a perpetual trust fund was created under the initiative of the Philippine government

Politics of the Philippines

The Politics of the Philippines takes place in an organized framework of a presidential, representative, and democratic republic whereby the president is both the head of state and the head of government within a pluriform multi-party system...

 with the help of the United States government.

FAPE was formally created by Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos on November 5, 1968 by means of Executive Order No. 156, in implementation of the Project Agreement of June 11, 1968 between the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 and United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 governments. The two governments therewith agreed to establish the Fund for Assistance to Private Education with the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) as its trustee, and to allocate a Ps24 million irrevocable trust fund from the Special Fund for Education authorized under U.S. Public Law 88-94 as initial capital which would be augmented through donations, grants, and other transfers from private as well as public entities.

As of 1994, through prudent and expert management and through grants from the national government, FAPE is worth over Ps140 million. It has disbursed over Ps166 million worth of assistance programs since its creation. All disbursements have kept faith with the stipulations of the enabling instrument that the initial capital must be kept intact and unimpaired at all times, utilizing only the earnings therefrom.

Affiliated Agencies

FAPE was mainly responsible for the establishment of the Private Education Retirement Annuity Association (PERAA), a multi-employer trust fund presently providing a retirement plan for about one-third of al private school personnel, and the Center for Educational Measurement (CEM), the biggest private educational testing agency in the country. FAPE had also been a major source of logistic and technical support for the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines

Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines

Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines , was established in 1977 and is authorized by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education to certify the quality levels of accredited programs at the tertiary level, for the purpose of granting progressive deregulation and other benefits....

 (FAAP), the country's official certifying agency for accreditation, until it was spun off in 1988 into a separate agency which at present is the recipient of a regular Department of Education

Department of Education (Philippines)

The Department of Education , is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the management and governing of the Philippine system of basic education. It is the chief formulator of Philippine educational policy and is responsible for the Philippine primary and secondary...

 (DepEd) subsidy.

Faculty Welfare and Retirement

FAPE was crucial in the establishment of PERAA; the support extended by FAPE to PERAA consisted of seed capital and stewardship during the early years of this organization. The total monetary support to PERAA, including the project development phase, amounted to Ps2.7 million. As of 1994, PERAA has an investment fund amounting to over Ps900 million, with over 50,000 members from over a thousand participating institutions.

Educational Testing

A year after its founding, FAPE undertook a comprehensive guidance and testing program upon the suggestion of the private education sector. After consultations with experts, one of whom was Dr. Richard Pearson, president of the College Entrance Examination Board of America, FAPE developed the first Filipino scholastic aptitude test.

In 1973, FAPE entered into a contract with the then-Department of Education and Culture (DEC) to design and implement the first National College Entrance Examination

National College Entrance Examination

The National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or commonly known as Gao Kao, is an academic examination held annually in the mainland of the People's Republic of China. This examination is a prerequisite for entrance into almost all higher education institutions at the undergraduate level...

 (NCEE). In 1975, it completely turned over the administration of the NCEE program to the DEC, but continued to undertake a testing program designed to complement the NCEE. Eventually, a package of tests was developed, namely: The Philippine Aptitude Classification Test (PACT), the Secondary Diagnostic Test (SDT), and the College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT).

FAPE's comprehensive career guidance and testing program eventually spun off into an independent agency known as the Center for Educational Measurement (CEM). FAPE provided the seed money for CEM and subsidized its operation during its early years.

CEM is currently the country's leading private testing agency with close to 300 active members all throughout the Philippines. it provides testing services to approximately 200,000 Filipino students each year.

CEM has provided a package of indigenous tests for Filipino students at the elementary, high school, and college levels, which is used for admission and placement, guidance, academic diagnosis, instruction, and scholarship. It has also formulated an aptitude test for nurses and teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

s, as well as the National Medical Admission Test

National Medical Admission Test (Philippines)

The National Medical Admission Test is a nationwide examination required for the entrance to any medical school in the Philippines....

 (NMAT), which it is currently administering.

Accreditation

Accreditation is a program of assistance which seeks to upgrade the quality of private education in all levels through a system of peer review based on standards of quality for faculty, instruction, management, and facilities. This function is being performed by three accrediting agencies, namely: the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities

Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities

The Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities is a private, voluntary, non-profit and non-stock corporation which was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines on December 2, 1957...

 (PAASCU), the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities' Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA), and the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities

Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities

The Association of Christian Schools, Colleges, and Universities was established in 1946. It recognizes and commits itself to the sacred task of providing quality Christian education and promoting among its members a sense of unity, understanding and fellowship for better service to the...

 Accrediting Association, Inc. (ACSCU-AAI).

FAPE was responsible for bringing together the various accrediting groups into an umbrella organization known as the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines

Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines

Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines , was established in 1977 and is authorized by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education to certify the quality levels of accredited programs at the tertiary level, for the purpose of granting progressive deregulation and other benefits....

 (FAAP). FAAP has been designated by the DECS as the country's official certifying agency for accreditation. To date, it has been responsible for the accreditation of over 255 schools and 231 collegiate programs.

FAPE has assisted the secretariat operations of FAAP and the three accrediting agencies under it. FAPE has also given grants to FAAP which have been used primarily for the development of accrediting standards and instruments for pre-elementary, elementary, and high school; for at least 18 collegiate programs including engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

, teacher education

Teacher education

Teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community....

, liberal arts

Liberal arts

The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...

, commerce

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

, agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

, nursing

Nursing

Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....

, hotel management, maritime education, medical technology

Medical technology

Medical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...

, and dentistry

Dentistry

Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

; and for graduate education.

Research and Publications

Applied educational research is an important component of the FAPE assistance program. Many of the research findings published in FAPE studies have served as the basis for the formulation of major policies and have often been cited in major publications both in the Philippines and in other countries. A case in point is the Philippine Atlas, a FAPE publication which won a citation in the Frankfurt Book Art International Fair in 1976.

Research expenditures related to policy formulation have accounted for a substantial portion of FAPE's total research disbursements. DECS policies such as those on tuition

Tuition

Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...

 fees, accreditation, educational service contracting, and government assistance to private education in accordance with Republic Act 6728, or the Subsidy Law, were also supported by research studies under the sponsorship of FAPE.

FAPE also has an established track record in research work regarding the relationship between the education sector and the world of work. The recognition of FAPE's track record in research studies of this nature is shown by the magnitude of financial support which was extended to FAPE by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning

UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning

The International Institute for Educational Planning is an arm of UNESCO created in 1963 in Paris, France.- Mission :IIEP's mission is to strengthen the capacity of countries...

 (IIEP). IIEP's involvement in this project culminated in the publication of two books on this topic, entitled ‘‘Higher Education and the Labour Market in the Philippines’’ published in 1981 and ‘‘Employment and Career Opportunities: The Philippine Experience’’ in 1987.

Educational finance is another area where FAPE has undertaken intensive research studies. FAPE’s initial undertaking in this field was the production of the Accounting Manual for Private Educational Institutions in 1970.

There have been other significant research reports published by FAPE. Among these are the Education Indicators which is a compilation of educational statistics covering the period 1898-1990 and the Directory of Specialists listing the country’s experts in various fields who could be tapped as resource persons in their areas of specialization.

Aside from these research studies, the scholarly papers presented during conferences, seminars, and workshops funded by FAPE are usually published in its quarterly journal, the FAPE Review. Aside from position papers and essay

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

s, the FAPE review contains seminar proceeding, policy pronouncements, and commissioned articles.

The other FAPE publication, the FAPE Bulletin, reports on the major assistance programs of the organization. On a multi-year basis, reports are also published which provide an analysis of FAPE’s assistance program through the years.

One of the significant reports produced by FAPE was the publication entitled ‘‘FAPE—The First Decade’’, written by Dr. Bonifacio S. Salamanca, who documented the achievements of FAPE from 1968 to 1978.

A coffee table book

Coffee table book

A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...

, entitled Building a Nation: Private Education in the Philippines is being produced by FAPE on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. This is the first full-length illustrated book which traces the history of private education in the Philippines—from the pre-Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 times to the Hispanic

Hispanic

Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 era, and on to the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

regime, the post-war period and the contemporary era—and expounds on the contributions of private education to national development.