When tycoons invest in schools

The 61-year old Philippine School of Business Administration (PSBA) will soon join the ranks of other private schools in the country that are controlled or managed by local business tycoons.

STI Education Systems Holdings, Inc., a listed company owned by businessman Eusebio Tanco, who has extensive interests in leisure, securities, ports and education businesses, had announced recently that it would take over PSBA’s operations. That would make PSBA, which has two campuses, a part of the STI chain of schools in Metro Manila and the provinces that at present has approximately 120,000 enrolled students.

For many years, investment in education has drawn the interest of some of the country’s business moguls. They do so by acquiring majority stock ownership or buying out the original owners. After taking over, they infuse additional funds to improve the schools’ teaching staff and facilities.

In 2002, Manila Bulletin publisher and business tycoon Emilio Yap took control of Centro Escolar University, a school founded in 1907 and known for its dentistry courses but now also offers other academic degrees.

Then there’s University of the East, which is famous for its excellent accounting program, that is owned by business magnate Lucio Tan of Philippine Airlines and Philippine National Bank, among big ticket companies, fame.

National University, the first private nonsectarian and coeducational school in the country, is under the wings of the family of the late Henry Sy Sr. which owns the country’s largest bank in terms of assets and a nationwide string of shopping malls, to name a few.

Mapua University, a well-known engineering and technical school, and Malayan Colleges in Laguna and Mindanao are owned by the family of the late businessman Alfonso Yuchengco through a holding company.

Finally, the Phinma Group of Companies, headed by Ramon del Rosario Jr. owns or manages, among others, Saint Jude College in Manila, Araullo University in Cabanatuan City and University of Pangasinan.

Judging from the exemplary performance of their graduates in various government licensure examinations, where on many occasions they got the better of their counterpart in Metro Manila’s iconic schools, it is apparent the tycoons’ investments had contributed to the improvement of the quality of education and teaching facilities of those schools.

That has been made possible by the deep pockets of the schools’ patrons whose spending capacity is matched by their level of generosity (which is often high) and commitment to their academic objectives.

Unlike in public schools, they don’t have to go to Congress every year to get their operational budget approved.

And if the owners happen to be sports minded, the schools’ sports program gets a big boost and their teams are able to suitably complete in collegiate sports competitions.

For business moguls whose companies also have education-oriented foundations, giving scholarships to deserving students (which results in “savings” because there would be no cash-outs) enables them to make those grants available to more students.

In the process, this also gives them first crack or the pick of the litter of graduates who have the potential to excel in their chosen profession.

Since education is not a lucrative business in light of the government’s strict regulations on the increase in tuition and other school fees, not to mention the limited paying capacity of enrollees, it is evident the tycoons are (or were) motivated by considerations other than earning profits when they took control of those schools.

No doubt, had they invested the millions of pesos they spent to gain control of their schools and later to upgrade their staff and facilities in other business activities, the return on their investments would have been substantial.

In form and effect, their action may be described as a classic example of corporate social responsibility. INQ

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