By Mark Louis F. Ferrolino
True to its mission to deliver education with utmost integrity, dedication, transparency and creativity, the STI Education Services Group has been redefining the landscape of the country’s education sector through its innovative learning system and career planning methodologies.
The decades-old institution that started as a computer training center on Aug. 21, 1983 with only two schools in Makati and Manila now has branches all over the country offering diverse programs in Information Technology, Business and Management, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Engineering, and Arts and Sciences.
In a regulatory filing released last July 14, STI Holdings, parent company of STI Education Services Group, reported a net income of P644 million and booked revenues of P2.93 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017. The growth of the company was attributed to the increase number of enrollees during the period.
In school year 2016 to 2017, the number of students across the institutions reached 103,727, a 22% higher than the 84,730 students in school year 2015 to 2016. Enrollees in the Senior High School (SHS) program offered by STI-branded schools as well as iACADEMY and STI West Negros University (STI WNU) boosted the numbers of enrollees. Combined SHS students in these schools reached 39,206.
On the other hand, enrollment for courses accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) is at 57,950, while students who took Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) courses ranged to 5,692.
STI Holdings President and Chief Executive Officer Monico V. Jacob said that the current enrollment mix in the schools will help ensure a consistent level of enrollments in the years to come.
“We see the successful implementation of our SHS as a feeder for our college program. We are looking forward to this because this means more and more Filipinos will get to experience the brand of quality education our schools offer,” Mr. Jacob was quoted as saying in a statement.
To make real-life education more accessible to the Filipino youth, STI has been expanding by putting up new campuses in key locations nationwide.
Several groundbreaking ceremonies were held by the company this year. In Lipa City, Batangas, a seven-storey building is set to rise, which can accommodate 6,000 students under the school’s various programs. In EDSA, Pasay City, an Academic Center will stand on a 3,911-square-meter property and is expected to accommodate up to 12,400 senior high school and college students. Meanwhile, the 10-storey and nine-storey buildings in Sta. Mesa, Manila and San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan can house up to 10,000 and 6,000 students, respectively.
The campuses will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including air-conditioned classrooms with flat screen TVs, industry-grade laboratories, simulation rooms, up-to-date libraries, and sports facilities, among others. All constructions are set to be completed by the school year 2018-2019.
In 2015, Mr. Jacob shared to BusinessWorld in an e-mail interview that the team continues to deliver the quality education under the leadership of STI Holdings Chairman of the Board Eusebio H. Tanco.
“Moreover, the team has been intact since the new shareholder took over the network,” he said. “The company surged forward. When Mr. Tanco, the new owner, took over, the network was overhauled. The management team implemented standards across the system.”
In a recent interview with BusinessWorld, Mr. Tanco said that when he took the leadership of one of the largest network of private schools in the country, he asked its board members whether STI is a franchising company or a school management. “The answer is we’re a school and we will stay as a school and not as franchising company,” he said.
Mr. Tanco also asked its board members who at the same time own or are part of an STI franchise to choose between the two to avoid conflict of interest.
After all the clarifications and deals, he visited STI sites and planned to make the campuses student-friendly by building proper facilities such as computer laboratory and basketball court, among others.
Another factor that contributed to STI’s robust performance is its efforts to fill the gap between the skills required by the industry and what a graduate has to offer. The institution has been introducing the Enrollment to Employment (E2E) System, a complete approach to human resource development where STI students get applicable education, job market skills, job preparedness, and job placement assistance.
This unique process ensures the curriculum being taught in all STI campuses is up-to-date and job market-oriented. E2E System also assures that the courses being offered by STI are well carried out by highly qualified faculty, and the facilities of the campus are able to meet students’ needs. The approach also prepares the students for employment and guarantees every graduate an employment support.
E2E System shows that STI’s responsibility to its graduates goes beyond quality education. For Mr. Tanco, it’s important for students to go to school and get a job after college, especially for students who have siblings so they could help their parents send them to college.
