THE FEDERATION of Associations of Private Schools Administrators reiterated its call for the creation of a separate bureau for private schools to attend to the concerns of private education institutions.

The group lamented that the government is focused heavily on public schools.

“At times, the position of the Department of Education on some issues conflict with the needs of the private schools and it is the parents that bring this to our attention, which breeds further complication. We are not against DepEd because we are two sides of the same pole pointing to the same vision,” FAPSA president Eleazardo Kasilag said in a statement sent to The POST.

Kasilag lamented that private schools enjoy a little autonomy.

“Say, if DepEd says ‘white’, we can bargain for ‘beige’ or ‘dirty white’. If DepEd says ‘black’, we entreat for ‘gray’ or ‘dark blue’. But the problem sets in if it is the students and the parents who shall pinpoint the disparity to us, misunderstanding sets in. FAPSA was flabbergasted over issues we encountered. Parents are confused which rule should prevail over the ‘No Permit No Exam policy’. Parents are surprised on the erratic scheduling of Learner Reference Number of their kids. The students complained over the lack of guidelines on accepting them in the public schools with big accounts,” he explained.

“In fairness, DepEd is the biggest department in the country with almost a million employees and 25 million students to serve. We understand that. FAPSA understands the needs of the private schools vary from public schools,” Kasilag added.

He said that the migration of teachers and students to the public schools had created a problem for private schools.

“The Alternative Learning System becomes an official exit of students free from accounts — for it needs no documents to transfer. Sadly, ALS is the flagship program of [Education] Secretary Leonor Briones but it bleeds us dry,” he said.

“The government is not helping us. It has gone beyond DepEd. We are at a loss as to whom to turn to,” Kasilag added.

“It seems the government is bent more on preparing for private school demise than preventing it. We need the creation of the Bureau of Private School to help us resuscitate private schools, especially this time when we are on the brink of cessation. There were 865 private schools that closed this school year. And during this pandemic, the darker scenario is still upon us this school year 2021-2022,” he said.