Phinma group to open first school campus in June 2015

The Phinma group plans to open in Metro Manila by June next year the first in a chain of campuses offering senior high school education with specialized academic programs under the K-to-12 framework.

Phinma Corp., which is investing P150 million in a new education venture through Career Academy Asia Corp. (CAA), has teamed up with two Singaporean schools on the academic program for arts and design as well as on hospitality, Phinma Education Network president Chito Salazar said in a phone interview.

CAA is set to operate senior high schools initially in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao focused on specialized programs such as hospitality, graphic design, multi-media and fashion design.

Salazar said Phinma was working with two Singaporean schools to offer a diploma program in hospitality and another in multimedia and graphic design.

“We’re now looking for a partner who can grant a diploma in animation and in performance arts,” Salazar said.

For multimedia and graphic design, the Phinma group has signed up Singapore’s First Media Design School (FMDS) and another Singaporean school, School D’ Hospitality (SDH), was tapped for the hospitality program. FMDS offers design, graphic design and fashion design courses and many other arts-related diploma programs while SDH offers professional and business knowledge and skills for the global hospitality industry.

In a disclosure last week, the group said the investment was “an apt addition to Phinma Corp.’s current portfolio of four schools as it expands the reach of the education business to other markets. CAA will offer students alternative senior high school courses under the K-to-12 program and will provide the company an additional revenues stream that will complement and increase income from its existing programs.”

In terms of student population, Salazar said CAA was not expected to enroll a large number but it would cater to the high-end market, going for a minimum annual tuition of P100,000 to P140,000.