First it was medical tourism, now it's education tourism.

The Commission on Higher Education is pushing to make the Philippines an alternative educational destination for its neighboring countries, a move which is being supported by Malacañang.

The CHED program seeks "to position the Philippines as an alternative education destination to China or Russia where most Korean students normally go" and complement the government's tourist promotion program. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in statement from Malacañang yesterday that Manila is an "attractive alternative" destination for Korean students because of three main factors: the short distance between Seoul and Manila, the affordability of Philippine education, and the Filipinos' fluency in English.

An estimated 100,000 South Korean students are enrolled in various private and state-run colleges and universities in the country.

Soon, even Chinese and Indian students are expected to arrive, said Bunye, who is also the presidential spokesperson, the press statement said. The Philippine government and China's Ministry of Education have signed recently an agreement "allowing Chinese students who could not be accommodated in China's universities to study in the Philippines."

Bunye said that Chinese students find it very attractive to study in the Philippines because they would be paying only half the price - $1,000 per semester in the Philippines compared to $2,000 per semester in China.

Aside from Koreans, about 1,600 students from India are expected to enroll in Philippine colleges and universities this September. "First, it was medical tourism. Now, another emerging trend is educational tourism," Bunye said in his statement.*

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