New laws to improve education in 4 state universities – Villanueva

Majority Leader Joel Villanueva | PHOTO: Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — The recent signing of laws aimed at strengthening the Charter and expanding course offerings in four state universities  will improve quality education for its learners, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said on Tuesday.

These four measures that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed recently are as follows:

• Republic Act (RA) 11980 or the Revised Bulacan State University (BulSU) Charter
• RA 11978 or the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-South La Union Campus-College of Medicine
• RA 11977 or the Establishment of the Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU) Floridablanca Campus
• RA 11979 that converts the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Parañaque City into a regular campus

“We are optimistic that with the revised charter of the state universities, we can improve outcomes and advance educational opportunities for our learners,” Villanueva said in a statement.

Under Republic Act (RA) 11980 or the Revised BulSU Charter, the university will expand its curricular offerings by further advancing graduate and undergraduate courses within its area of specialization, such as accountancy, engineering and technology, and arts and sciences, among others.

BulSU is also set to “encourage the specialization of its constituent units” and is allowed to open new branches or extension campuses and enter into joint ventures with businesses and industries “for the development of economic assets.”

Furthermore, RA 11978 will allow for the establishment of a school of medicine in DMMMSU-South La Union Campus which will consist of basic science and clinical courses “to develop a corps of professional physicians” and reinforce the country’s healthcare system while responding to the human resource development needs in La Union and Ilocos region.

Meanwhile, PSAU-Floridablanca Campus is allowed under RA 11977 to offer short-term, technical-vocational, undergraduate, and graduate courses within its area of specialization, similar to the mandate of RA 11979 for PUP-Parañaque which was also converted to a regular campus under the law.

Villanueva concluded that through these newly enacted laws, they hope to prepare the learners and graduates of the participating universities for lifelong learning and secure employment while also “[uplifting] the quality of education in the country and [bringing] it in line with global standards.”  (Barbara Gutierrez, INQUIRER.net intern)