Is Baguio the educational center of the north? Maybe. Lately though, it seems like it’s developing a reputation as the place where Koreans can get a quickie diploma. Last November, for instance, the Koreatimes reported this:
Twenty-three incumbent and former military officers and officer cadets were caught for having used fake university diplomas during their application for officer training, a lawmaker said Friday.
According to Rep, Song Young-sun of the Grand National Party, the Ministry of Defense recently withdrew its appointment of 13 incumbent and two former officers for allegedly fabricating diplomas from A.T. College in Baguio, the Philippines, to submit to the ministry for verification of their academic record.
Then today, the Joongan Daily has this report:
Korean students of a college in the Philippines have filed criminal complaints of fraud against the already jailed Korean Protestant minister who established the school, Seoul police said yesterday.
The minister, Lee Sang-yeol, 63, is serving a two and a half year jail sentence in Daejeon for issuing bogus college diplomas in a separate case.
Lee is still the chairman of the board of the school, called Kalos M.A. College. It is based in Baguio, a mountain city in the Philippines.
Here are some allegations raised by the students against their school:
* The officials of the college said that I could graduate from the four-year college within two years as long as I paid tuition every three months. Then they failed me so they could get more money from me,¡± said one of the students, who refused to be named.
* The college operates a special course in which students can earn a college diploma by taking 16-week class and paying about 20 million won ($21,115).
* For two weeks, I learned only English grammar and speaking for six to seven hours per day,¡± said another student who refused to be named.
* One professor gave lectures for an entire day without any specific subject.
* College officials said if we write down what we want to major in, they would just give us the degree even though we didn’t have to take a class in the major.
Shockingly (or should we say not unexpectedly), our government accredited this questionable school.
Maybe the more appropriate title for Baguio is “C.M. Recto of the north”?
I am not pointing fingers but when I was still in Baguio, I heard from several Korean students studying in the University of Baguio that it was easy to pass the exams especially if you give some bribe (cash or goods like books from Korea) to your teachers. They told me it was one of the reasons why many students opted to enroll in UB. Oh, well…
recto-baguio? long ago pa yan. i had a classmate who said, Masters Diplomas could be availed of from one school in Baguio by just enrolling without attending classes/submitting orig papers. Basta pay up okey ka na. This was when the government “preferred” MA holders for promotion purposes/realligning positions etc. kaya maraming week-end students (kuno)sa masters from outside Baguio that time. Pasensya na mga Koreano at ngayon napublicize that modus operandi…Kimchi-kimchi lang for degree wah wah wah wah
Hi lord,
Ay kasjay gayam idiay UB? Yaiiks. thanks.
Hi Anonymous,
Sabagay, oo nga. I heard of that before. Nakalusot talaga ganito sa Pinas pero hindi uubra sa Korea. Thanks.
ay bad! apay gamin met ngay nga namati da nga makagraduate da after 2 years uray dapat nga 4-yr course kuma ti ipalpas da? hhmmmnnn… han met ah nagpanunut jay tao. oh well!
bribery in schools??? heard that even from where i studied… have heard of one school too that offers MS degree and certificate even if “no-show” the student. pati daw ung sa defense, pwedeng no-show din. the bad thing though is that some schools didn’t recognize the MS degree out from that school and recommended the degree holders to obtain one from a reputable school…huh…
@lordinManila:
If you are a local or old timer, YAN ANG REPUTASYON NG UB.