Constructing a global education hub: the unlikely case of Manila

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the creation of an unlikely education hub in Manila, Philippines, where local institutions have seen a growing number of international students from Korea, India, and the Middle East. These students seek qualifications in professions where Filipino migrants are highly represented, either to gain an advantage within their home countries or as a steppingstone towards jobs elsewhere. Drawing from current debates on ‘global cities’, this paper discusses how different actors promote Manila as an ideal destination for students by using the country’s unique position within the global market for migrant labor and its American colonial history. Here, Filipino school owners and state officials market Philippine universities as the best venue to train for jobs found anywhere in the world. Such strategies target less privileged students unable to access more prestigious universities. creating new forms of knowledge mobility in an increasingly segmented higher education market.

KEYWORDS:

• Education hub
• migration
• labor export
• international students
• Philippines

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 While the Philippines’ migration management system emerged in the 1970s, Filipinos have been leaving to seek overseas opportunities since the Spanish colonial period. Rodriguez’s (2010) book provides a more comprehensive outline of the country’s migration history.

2 Isidro and Ramos (1973) provide a more detailed history of the Philippine higher education system.

3 This project included two years of fieldwork in Manila, where I interviewed educators and students from two programs associated with overseas jobs: Nursing and Hotel and Restaurant Management. Findings from this project have been reported in other publications (see Ortiga, 2018).

4 State officials came from the following departments: The Philippine Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, and the Department of Education.