JEDDAH, 19 March 2008 — A Filipino school in Jeddah has said it will return 100 percent of the tuition paid by its graduating high school students who pass the entrance examinations of any of the Philippines’ three top universities.
The refund is part of a package of incentives being offered by the Philippine Sunrise International School (PSIS) to encourage its students to aim for excellence, said school principal Ofelia A. Laguardia.
“The monetary incentives are for students who pass the college entrance examinations of the University of the Philippines, the De La Salle University, and Ateneo De Manila University,” she said.
La Guardia said the incentive was approved by the school’s Board of Directors at the start of schoolyear 2007-2008 and its first recipient is Edward Marcelo, who passed the tough UP College Entrance Examination. Marcelo will receive the award during the school’s graduation tomorrow.
Apart from getting a refund on tuition fees for the whole year, he will also get back the expenses he incurred during the review as well as the examination fees.
The school is also providing tuition discounts for honor pupils and students and has its Educational Assistance Program for children of parents who are in need.
Owned by a group of Filipinos who have organized themselves into the Overseas Family Cooperative (OFC), PSIS boasts of being one of the best of more than 20 schools teaching the Philippine educational curriculum in the Kingdom.
To further uplift the academic standard of the school for the next schoolyear, new students are required to take the Standardized Aptitude Test upon enrollment. Students who fail the test will not be accepted, said the school board chaired by Dawood Enggay.
To carry out its “Balanced Educational Approach” as formulated by La Guardia and in cooperation with Reynaldo A. Dumaguina, director for academics, the school has hired more English, math, science and computer teachers from the Philippines. Laguardia said recruitment for qualified teachers continues.
PSIS also boasts of being the first Philippine international school to adopt the e-Learning system. Last March 13, the school hosted the first e-Learning Educational Symposium in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Mobily and Zagzoog for Home Appliances, with Vice Consul Lorenzo Rhys Jungco as keynote speaker.
E-learning facilitator Eli P. Sarmiento said the system allows students and teachers alike access to the School Resource Database. Parents will soon be given a unique access on the School Data Center so that they can monitor the performance of their child/children over the Internet.
Sarmiento said parents’ access is limited to viewing or printing only the records of their respective children.
Since last year, students and teachers were provided with e-mail addresses using the domain of the school (www.psis-jeddah.com).
With the implementation of PSIS SMS (School Management System) this School Year 2008-2009 beginning June, parents will be given a unique access on the SMS (School Data Center) so that they can monitor the performance of their child/children over the Internet.
Sarmiento said parent’s access is limited to viewing or printing only the records of their respective children.
In addition to School Data Center, PSIS Online Class (Module) is available on the Internet round the clock at www.psis-jeddah.com un der Online Class.
“This Module is designed for the students who wish to enhance their skills in various subjects,” said Sarmiento.
