I met my old boss yesterday just to talk a few things about the state of e-learning here in the Philippines since I’m exploring it as a possible study to do over the next year. While in my old office, I was made aware of this new learning system provider. I was quite puzzled when they told me the website address – www.happyd.edu.ph.

Now that puzzled me because, as far as I know, that edu.ph is only made available to educational institutions and training centers authorized by the state.

Okay, let’s take a look at the FAQ of ph.net regarding .edu.ph:

Who can register an EDU.PH domain?

Only bona-fide educational and training institutions operating in the Philippines can register under the EDU.PH domain. Tertiary institutions have to be recognized by the CHED. Primary and secondary institutions have to be recognized by the Department of Education. State educational institutions have to be recognized by the state. Training institutions have to be recognized by TESDA. Any authorized representative of an educational institution can cause the registration of a domain in behalf of the institution.

A quick survey of the site indicates nothing about their nature as either an educational institution or a training center. Actually the site was horrible (crummy Flash navigation, non-standards-compliant). And I can’t quite get putting up a website with a heck of a lot “Under Construction” sections. And to think these people claim authority over IT learning.

So unless they’ve changed the rules for domain registration or if the government recognizes H&D as an authorized training institution or school, this shouldn’t be possible. Any comments?