He practices what he preaches, and this includes having a feel and intimate knowledge of what the corporate market is all about.
More importantly, Dr. Chito Salazar, president and chief executive of Makati-based PHINMA Education, set his sights on “serving the underserved.” Put another way, he is looking at equitable distribution of learners’ access to quality education.
When PHINMA Education set out on its corporate journey in 2004 with the acquisition of Araullo University in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, the company was eyeing students from low-income families as its major clients.
A value added to that vision is personalized approach—the desire to have an intimate interaction with the students and their families.
“We require staff at all levels, right through to the executive level, to visit the homes of our students so that they can really see what the market is like. This provides us with direct knowledge of the market and that allows us to design our learning systems specifically for our students’ circumstances,” Salazar said.
At this point, PHINMA Education has nine schools in the country including Araullo University. The others PHINMA Cagayan de Oro College, PHINMA University of Pangasinan, PHINMA University of Iloilo, Southwestern University PHINMA, PHINMA St. Jude College Manila, PHINMA Republican College, PHINMA Rizal College of Laguna, and PHINMA Union College of Laguna.
It also manages Horizon Karawang in West Java, Indonesia through Horizon Education.
During his watch at STI College, Salazar came to realize the inequality of learning in the country. For learners in the provinces, the schools were mostly remote, and tuitions were beyond their reach, especially for tertiary education.
“Until recently, higher education was not traditionally provided to low-income families unless they went to a state university,” he said.
Salazar acknowledges though that providing affordable and high-quality higher education to lower-income students and running a profitable business at the same time is easier said than done.
Nevertheless, Salazar said they were able to make modest profits.
“Our model is unique in that we are assessed on the same metrics that other businesses are assessed on and apply business principles and discipline to providing education services. This includes looking at ways to trim costs, improve efficiency and productivity, and provide better services,” he said.
“This, in combination with the reputation and trust the brand PHINMA has within the business community, has allowed us to grow, which in turn enables us to find willing investors,” he said.
Salazar cited PHINMA Education’s successful partnerships with key stakeholders. “Our ultimate goal of providing quality education is for students to make their lives better by getting good jobs and placements. Education to employment is actually an ecosystem, so we’ve engaged with partners who have similar interests,” he said.
He cited as example PHINMA’s tie-up with Mount Grace Hospitals. According to him, they collaborated on providing better training for the nurses “so they’re better prepared to work in their hospital system.”
“Our partners know what the employers are looking for, which we integrate into our curricula. For example, one of the things we’re trying to do right now is to integrate German language learning because nurses are in demand in Germany,” he said.
Salazar has a Bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering from the Ateneo de Manila University, a Masters in International Political Economy and Development from Fordham University in New York and a Doctorate in International Relations, major in International Development and Development Management from the School of International Service at The American University in Washington D.C.