School of second chances signs off

15 July 2022

I woke up on Tuesday, July 5, to some distressing news. Kalayaan College, the school my daughter goes, to, has announced that it is closing its operations due to financial difficulties. S would have been starting her senior year as an AB Psychology student next month. In fact, she is now undergoing on-the-job training at the human resources department of an IT firm in Taguig, supposedly in fulfillment of her course requirements.

To say we were stunned, or that we did not see this announcement coming, would be accurate. We saw the news on social media at the same time that the rest of the world did.

The “Important Advisory” dated July 4 was posted at 9:26 am July 5 on the KC Facebook page. Here it is in full:

“With heartfelt feelings and faced with no other options, the Board of Directors of Kalayaan College has decided to end the operations of Kalayaan College due to continuing financial losses brought about by the declining student population and exacerbated by challenges caused by the ongoing pandemic. This decision will become final after the ratification by the majority of stockholders. KC has informed the Commission on Higher Education of this decision and will abide by whatever requirements the regulatory body shall advise KC to comply with.

As KC winds down its operations, it shall do the following:

1. During the transition period, KC will offer a limited number of General Education (GE) and major courses that will enable senior-level students with a few remaining courses to complete their respective degree programs.

• Non-senior students who may wish to enroll in the limited course offerings are welcome to do so without any guaranty that they will be able to complete their degree programs.

• KC will require full payment of fees to ensure fast processing and release of academic records while such records are still with KC.

• All classes will be online and will be offered starting August 2022.

2. Allow senior students whose remaining courses are not going to be offered by KC to cross-register in other schools to enable them to complete their degree programs.

3. Immediately process the transfer credentials of students who will file with the Office of the Registrar an application for transfer to other schools, provided they have settled their financial obligations in full.

4. Continue to allow eligible students to access their respective GRADO accounts to view grades, register online, or find out about academic status.

5. Transfer the academic records of all students to the appropriate office that will be designated by CHED as the official repository of academic records.

Registration will start during the second week of August. Online classes will start on 15 August 2022. Students are advised to communicate with the Office of the Registrar regarding your concerns.

The Board apologizes for this short notice and extends its gratitude to all students and parents who put their trust in Kalayaan College.

We take this opportunity to thank our faculty and staff for their dedicated service.

With deepest regrets, KC shall be signing off after 22 years if providing quality education to the public.”

The letter was signed by the president, Ma. Oliva Z. Domingo.

**

Kalayaan College, KC, or “Kalay” (stress on the second syllable, as it is fondly called by students) hardly figures as first or second choice when high school graduates name the schools they want to attend. The aspirational ones are always the Big Four – UP, Ateneo, La Salle, and UST.

But Kalay has carved some sort of niche for itself as a fallback school. For any reason that any of the Big Four or any other schools do not work out, there is always Kalay to go to. In fact, S is not my first Kalay student. My other, older daughter B went to Kalayaan after two years as a philosophy major at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She enjoyed her years in AB Literature in Kalayaan and in fact stumbled into her life’s work when the school sent her to a climate change student forum in 2014. My son, J, was for a time a management student in Kalayaan after being at the UST Conservatory of Music. S herself spent a year and a half at Miriam College, taking BS Psychology, before transferring to Kalay for her AB.

Many of the children’s friends are also from this school, and often with the same story: Starting out at another, bigger school, running into difficulties of various natures, and then finding a home in the relaxed, liberal, unpretentious, inclusive, close-knit community of the Kalay campus.

This list of degrees offered was not long, but education quality was supposedly never an issue. The school’s main selling point, after all, was that it was established by a team of professors from the University of the Philippines, led by the late UP president Dr. Jose Abueva. Other founders include Dr. Thelma Kintanar (UP professor of English and Comparative Literature), Dr. Gonzalo Jurado (UP professor of Economics), Dr. Virginia Cariño ((UP professor of Biology), Dr. Emeteria Lee (UP Registrar and professor of English) and Dr. Ma. Oliva Domingo (UP professor of public administration).

“Welcome to Kalayaan College,” says its web site. “Kalayaan is a private, non-sectarian institution founded by U.P. professors committed to delivering U.P.-quality education.” The College seeks “to nurture in our students the needed values, knowledge, skills and commitment in a caring community of learners enjoying academic freedom and in touch with the larger community and the world.”

**

Still stunned by the announcement and at a loss on the next steps we have to take, I called the school earlier today, 10 days after the announcement was posted on social media. I spoke with Ms. Honey Ramos, an administrative officer, who said that Kalayaan would still be in business for the next two semesters but would no longer accept new students. Those two semesters would just be enough time for the graduating students to complete their requirements, regardless of where they would complete them (on campus, or via cross enrollment in other schools)

Registration will begin on August 10. She also advised us to personally go to the registrar’s office and speak with Ms. Guan Balmes to know exactly how my daughter, with all the classes she has taken and those she still needs, could proceed. Meanwhile, those in the lower levels would need to transfer to another school altogether – there is no sweetening that fact. They should also get in touch with Ms. Balmes.

Ms. Ramos said they, too, were taken aback by the announcement.

One only wishes students and parents were given earlier notice about the closure. The announcement was made at a time when other schools have already finished their own admission processes. There is no way around the financial troubles, and it is indeed a tragedy and a loss to those who love the school. Still, foresight and consideration would have softened the blow to the students – and those counting on them to finally finish their education.

The website, curiously, bears no trace of the announcement. A copy of the advisory and a step-by-step guide about what to do next would be helpful. Certainly, the sentence that still proclaims “We can’t wait for you to be part of our community...Apply now!” smacks of great disconnect, and for some, utter insensitivity.

Kalay holds fond memories for the students who have walked its halls, physically or virtually. We mourn that the school that has afforded a second chance for many students in the past 22 years should find itself with no recourse, no second chance of its own.

adellechua@gmail.com