BOE cautions against entry of more foreign students

Amid brewing debates on the pros and cons of the impact of the influx of more foreign students into the Northern Marianas educational system, Board of Education Vice Chair Roman Benavente has proposed that educational entities as well as lawmakers convene for a dialogue to tackle face-to-face discussions on the issue.

The board, which earlier moved not to support the legislation, claims it is not opposed to the bill’s entirety.

However, Mr. Benavente has raised concerns on the initiative’s potential impact to the Public School System should it become a law. He cited that the mass entry of more foreign students could eventually add burden to the public education sector’s steadily increasing student population.

The BOE official said foreign students might use the privilege to enter the CNMI as a ticket to enter public schools where education is free.

“This kind of situation is happening right now already. We have many nationals from other countries that have entered PSS. And it’s common knowledge that PSS is barely surviving with the resources we have. This proposal may work well for college students and I hear that the Board of Regents is supporting it. But on BOE’s standpoint, we just can’t afford it,” he said.

PSS statistics reveal that 11 percent or some 980 of students in CNMI public schools are Filipinos while the remaining 19 percent include the Chamolinians, Chuukese, Pohnpeians, Marshallese, Yapese, Koreans, Caucasians, Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans. Other nationalities comprise 2 percent or equivalent to 197 students in the public school system.

Although Mr. Benavente also acknowledged the projected economic gain with the arrival of more foreign students through apartment rentals, he asserted the Northern Marianas does not have to freely open up its education system to draw in this kind of revenue.

“The move, in the long run, could prove to be uncontrollable,” he said.

The board member also voiced concerns on the legislation’s possible effect on safety and local infrastructure, similar to opinions raised by members of the Coalition of Private Schools.

“Right now, we’re even have water and power problems. And it’s common sense that the more people hook up to our resources, the more it will be exhausted. So the board is really being cautious on this proposal,” he explained.

But Mr. Benavente expressed desire to conduct deeper discussions on the matter with BOE, BOR, Legislature, and Coalition of Private School officials especially Eucon International School, who have stepped up its lobbying efforts to push for the legislation.

Eucon president Dr. Christian Wei is convinced the move to promote more foreign student enrollment will give boost to the local economy.

“We don’t want to throw out the proposal entirely. We should all sit down and explore more into this,” said Mr. Benavente.