Insurer, PWU ink agreement on educational loans

PARTNERSHIP. Asian Life chair Eusebio Tanco with PWU president Francisco Benitez

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Life Financial Assurance Corp. of the Tanco group and the Philippine Women’s University on Monday signed a partnership agreement to make available salary loans of P20,000 to P300,000 to teachers wishing to pursue a master’s degree in education.

The tie-up expands the capability of Philippine Life—formerly owned by the ATR KimEng group—to tap an automatic payment deduction system, which has been in place since 1990, with the Department of Education.

The newly launched Empowering and Developing Great Educators (EDGE) Distance Learning Program allows teachers to avail themselves of education loans if they will enroll in the graduate distance education program offered by PWU.

The salary loan tenor under EDGE is up to 36 months, with interest rate of between 7.5 percent and 9 percent per year.

Philippine Life plans to pilot-test the program in Butuan (Region XIII).

The EDGE program offers Masters of Arts in Education, whether thesis or non-thesis, major in Educational Management and Early Childhood Education/Pre-School Education. The cost of pursuing these degrees at PWU is estimated to cost about P14,000 per semester. The PWU follows a trimester program.

PWU’s distance learning program is delivered using a combination of self-study print modules, online sessions, face-to-face sessions in designated learning centers (at least twice per semester) and proctored examinations.

Teachers from 21 to 58 years old in 16 out of 17 regions in the Philippines can avail themselves of the salary loans.

Philippine Life has served 50,000 teachers with salary loans. Over the years, it has extended P7.4 billion in insurance and financial assistance to more than 40,000 clients.

Originally posted: 3:37 pm | Monday, October 1st, 2012