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Higher education institutions in regions of the Philippines hit by typhoon Haiyun are planning to reopen by January 15, 2014, or as soon as possible after that, according to the Philippines Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The “super typhoon”, called Yolanda in the Philippines, slammed the Visayas region of the Philippines on November 8, 2013. The CHED ordered public and private institutions to cease operations on November 13, once the extent of the damage was known. The CHED’s own regional office in Tacloban was damaged.
Over 400 higher education institutions, with a total of more than 600,000 students, are located in the affected areas. At least 40 institutions were damaged. A November 23 article in Rappler.com reports the CHED-sourced information known thus far about specific institutions. The CHED is expected to post an official list of affected institutions on its Web site shortly.
Among the most severely affected universities are Aklan State University, Capiz State University, of which nine campuses sustained major damage, the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College, Leyte Normal University and the Palompon Institute of Technology.
The CHED is encouraging other institutions to assist students whose studies have been interrupted, by waiving tuition and other fees for affected students, accepting them as transfers without official transcripts until their home institutions are operational again, and offering help with food, water and temporary housing, either with families willing to take them in or in university student residences.