SCHOOLGUIDE SEMINARS TO BE WATCHED BY 4 MILLION HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS NATIONWIDE

SCHOOLGUIDE AIMS TO BE THE MOST CIRCULATED MAGAZINE

(read article below)

THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION FAIR: HEIGHTENING AWARENESS OF ONE'S EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS

(read article below)

RESEARCH ON SINGAPOREAN AND AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION UNDERWAY FOR SCHOOLGUIDE’S INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS

(read article below)

Schoolguide Magazine finalizes the schedule of two seminars it will conduct in each high school in the Philippines. The two seminars, entitled "Choices" and "Paths", will be watched by around 4 million high school students from approximately nine thousand private and government high schools nationwide. The seminars will also serve as venues for students seeking essential information about Colleges, Universities, and tertiary courses or programs which are fully covered in Schoolguide and PATHS Magazine.

    Designed primarily to increase awareness of students on the merits of Philippine colleges and universities, the "Choices" seminar will tackle accreditation, board exam performance of higher education institutions, tuition, school facilities, and citations awarded by the Commission on Higher Education or CHED to outstanding schools. The other seminar, "Paths", is a discussion of 481 programs in college covering course description, skills required to study any of these courses, misconceptions about the programs, career paths, and which schools specialize in various fields of study.

      The seminars will be conducted by 15 groups for the "Choices" seminar and another 15 groups for the "Paths" seminar. Each seminar group is assigned to conduct either of the two seminars in three to four high schools per day.  The seminars will kick off in June 2008 and will wrap up in March 2009.                                            

   Due to the striking significance and overwhelming response of past seminar attendees, both "Choices" and "Paths" seminars are now being considered as regular annual events in high schools.

<see more seminar images in gallery of magazine circulation>

Regions and Philippine provinces where the

Choices and Paths seminars will be conducted and where

Schoolguide and PATHS Magazines will be distributed

(the tables below also show the number of high schools per province)

Province

# of high schools

Ilocos Norte :

Ilocos Sur :

La Union :

Pangasinan :

60

100

106

362

Batanes :

Cagayan :

Isabela :

Nueva Vizcaya :

Quirino :

   7

134

197

  55

  29

Abra :

Apayao :

Benguet :

Ifugao :

Kalinga :

Mt. Province :

46

22

101

34

43

51

Province

# of high schools

Province

Province

Aurora :

Bataan :

Bulacan :

36

44

246

Nueva Ecija :

Pampanga :

152

158

Tarlac :

Zambales :

101

81

City or

Municipality

City/Municipality

or Province

Valenzuela :

Caloocan :

Navotas :

Malabon :

Quezon City :

Marikina :

44

 80

 10

 22

 227

 26

Pasig :

San Juan :

Mandaluyong :

Makati :

Pateros :

Taguig :

39

 14

 17

 25

 7

 47

Manila :

Pasay :

Parañaque :

Las Piñas :

Muntinlupa :

Rizal :

  111

 25

 51

 43

 42

163

Batangas :

Cavite :

Laguna :

Quezon :

225

 245

 255

 237

Marinduque :

Occidental Mindoro :

Oriental Mindoro :

54

 59

 103

Palawan :

Romblon :

 138

 39

Albay :

Camarines Norte :

145

 69

Camarines Sur :

Catanduanes :

240

 39

Masbate :

Sorsogon :

104

 105

Aklan :

Antique :

Capiz :

Guimaras :

Iloilo :

Negros Occidental :

77

 59

 66

 19

 207

 300

Bohol :

Cebu :

Negros Oriental :

Siquijor :

170

 459

 140

 22

Biliran :

Leyte :

Southern Leyte :

Eastern Samar :

Northern Samar :

Samar :

17

 174

 63

 64

 71

 75

Zamboanga del Norte :

Zamboanga del Sur :

Zamboanga Sibugay :

Zamboanga City :

Bukidnon :

Camiguin :

Lanao del Norte :

Misamis Occidental :

Misamis Oriental :

120

121

63

54

114

12

83

 94

 140

Compostela Valley :

Davao del Norte :

Davao del Sur :

Davao Oriental :

Davao City :

North Cotabato :

Saranggani :

South Cotabato :

Sultan Kudarat :

55

82

59

54

114

148

 32

 120

 68

Agusan del Norte :

Agusan del Sur :

Surigao del Norte :

Surigao del Sur :

Surigao City :

Basilan :

Lanao del Sur :

Maguindanao :

Sulu :

Tawi-Tawi :

80

76

70

90

 21

 32

 86

 67

 30

 23

“Good luck!” was a resounding remark among researchers and marketers of Schoolguide Magazine as it develops information gathering techniques to determine which magazines, tabloids, and broadsheets are enjoying true nationwide visibility. Equally daunting is its implementation in the tricky terrain of the Philippines with its 7,107 islands (whew!), and the tasks involved to make Schoolguide the most circulated print material encompassing all 41,000 barangays in the archipelago.

      “As we conduct seminars in all high schools in the Philippines, we saturate all 81 provinces; we might as well take advantage of this activity to go deeper into all 41,000 barangays,” said Tom Ocampo, Schoolguide’s managing director, as he viewed the situation in maximizing the circulation efforts of the people behind Schoolguide Magazine.

      The development of comprehensive and well-crafted forms and questionnaire, the production of authenticated documents and verifiable photos, and the strict implementation of procedures will back up this nationwide research and will be instrumental in eventually establishing Schoolguide as the magazine enjoying the most visibility in the Philippines.

<see circulation images in gallery of magazine circulation>

THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION FAIR: HEIGHTENING AWARENESS OF ONE'S EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS

The British Council, with the assistance of European educational support organizations such as NUFFIC, DAAD, and Campus France, engaged Philippine spectators to a noteworthy event at the Shangri-la Makati on February 22-24, 2008. Aptly titled “European Higher Education Fair” or EHEF, the three-day event is a milestone in educational exhibitions as it presented important issues and opportunities many Filipinos should know about as far as increasing awareness in elevating the standard of higher education in the Philippines through various academic pursuits.

        The first day of the event was dedicated to tackling educational issues through a series of symposia with key speakers discussing cooperation, student mobility, and links among Philippine higher education institutions and European colleges and universities, the benefits of having scholarship agreements between the local and foreign schools (The Erasmus Mundus Program), the accreditation of institutions or programs, distance education, course credits and equivalency, and the promotion of a healthy competition between colleges and universities.

        Opening messages were delivered by H.E Alistair MacDonald, Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines; H.E Gérard Chesnel, Representative of the Slovenian Presidency of the European Union; Mr. Romulo Neri, Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Topics on Educational Links, Cooperation, and Mobility were delivered by Mr. Benison Cu, De La Salle University-Manila; Ms. Nenalyn Defensor of the CHED; Ms. Karen Reiger, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna; Mr. Boris Iarochevitch, of the European Commission who also acted as the chairperson for the topic. Discussions on the Erasmus Mundus Program were handled by Prof. Robert Sala of the Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Spain; Ms. Jill Lopez, T/A Advisory Services, Philippines; Mr. José Gutierrez of the European Commission.

       The second and third days of the event were dedicated to the promotion of educational opportunities in various European countries. Exhibit booths were set up to attend to queries of event visitors composed mainly of educators, students, and professionals. Parallel seminars were conducted by either the representatives of the colleges and universities or by members of various organizations and embassies. The seminars were designed to promote not only the European schools, but also the striking characteristics and distinctive features of the countries that were represented.

      "This must be the biggest exhibit The British Council has done so far, and I should cite the enduring assistance extended by NUFFIC, DAAD, Campus France, and of course, the distinguished delegates," remarked William Gancia of the British Council who supervised the organization of the event.

       Representatives and delegates from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the local Colleges and Universities graced the event.

<see more images of the European Higher Education Fair>

The trends manifest the inevitability of global education and Schoolguide Magazine, in its quest to keep itself abreast with the continually evolving education landscape, formally embarks on compiling essential information that can benefit Filipinos seeking education abroad.

   Research on Australian and Singaporean education has led Schoolguide to some facts which many Filipinos may find surprising. For example, in Australia, students must complete 1 year of preparatory studies, 6 years of primary education, and 6 years of secondary study, two of which are dedicated to preparations for tertiary education. The Australian education system normally requires 13 years of studies before a student can proceed to a university.

   In Singapore, after having completed kindergarten, students must then complete 6 years of primary education (2 of which are spent to prepare students for secondary education), 4 years of secondary education with many streams that a student may choose from, depending on how they fare in the last 2 years of primary education, and 3 years of junior college before a student is considered ready for tertiary education. In summary, an average student in Singapore undergoes 14 years of basic education before he can pursue tertiary education.

     The widespread research efforts of Schoolguide Magazine is expected to result in the publication of numerous reference materials for each locality around the world, eliminating information restrictions imposed on territorial boundaries and facilitating a steadier flow of educational information among many nations.