New state school worries students

THE FIGHT against rising tuition and the perennial lack of subsidy to state colleges and universities are the main rallying cries of students in their protests, like this group that held a rally in the Commission on Higher Education office in Quezon City. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MONKAYO, Compostela Valley—Thirty-two-year-old Gladdys Noreen Tabios is looking forward to getting her education degree from an affiliate of Bukidnon State University (BSU) in the next two years. But she is worried this might not happen at all following the order of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to shut down BSU’s external campuses (ECs) located outside northern Mindanao.

The passage of a law creating a state college in Compostela Valley isn’t helping allay her fears, either.

“I might be forced to enroll elsewhere where there’s a BSU campus. I don’t want my two years’ worth of education to go to waste,” said the second year student, who is also a mother to an 8-year-old boy.

Officials and proponents of the Compostela Valley State College (CVSC) system are racing against time, holding dialogues, consultations and information drives as the deadline for the phasing out of BSU-ECs nears.

Last year, the CHEd, in an en banc resolution, ordered the shutdown of six BSU-ECs in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley provinces for noncompliance with various requirements, such as appropriate classrooms, full-time personnel, laboratories and sufficient library facilities, among others.

“The only area [BSU-ECs] was able to comply with is in course offering and curriculum requirements,” said Dr. Jesus Antonio Derije, CHEd-appointed program director for CVSC.

No worries?

Derije said parents and students from affected BSU-ECs in the towns of Monkayo, Montevista, Compostela, New Bataan and Maragusan should not worry, as CVSC is ready to operate this June.

The closure order, per CHEd en banc Resolution No. 507-201, also cited the BSU-ECs’ violation of CHEd Memorandum No. 2007-209 that prohibits the establishment of extension centers outside the regional jurisdiction of the main higher education institution (HEI).

One of Mindanao’s oldest state tertiary institutions, BSU has its main campus in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon province, in northern Mindanao.

Derije said the closure order came after a series of evaluation meetings by CHEd officials over whether or not the schools have complied with the requirements.

“It was found that for over 38 years, extension centers, such as in Monkayo, still did not have their own classrooms and other facilities. BSU-Monkayo Learning Center (MLC) still uses the rooms of the Department of Education,” Derije said, adding that high school teachers serve as part-time professors in the extension campuses for lack of teaching staffers.

Compostela Valley first district Rep. Ma. Carmen Zamora said all of the five extension centers were found in towns in her district. The sixth extension center in the Davao region due for closure is in Sto. Tomas town, Davao del Norte.

Peculiar

She said that for almost four decades, the unique setup was peculiar in the Compostela Valley education system.

“High school students will clean fast before leaving every afternoon, preparing classrooms for the older occupants, the BSU students,” she said.

The establishment of a state college that “we can call our own has been a cherished dream of many of our leaders,” according to Zamora, who authored Republic Act No. 10598 establishing CVSC, which President Aquino signed into law last June.

ONE OF THE former buildings of the University of Southeastern Philippines in Compostela town, Compostela Valley, which will be used as the main campus of the newly created Compostela Valley State College. DARLENE RETERBA/CONTRIBUTOR

Supporters of CVSC said the BSU main campus had not been able to help improve the external centers in spite of the millions of pesos in funds it was getting from the national government every school year.

“BSU has been subsidized by the national government and it’s just unfortunate that such assistance isn’t felt by those in external centers, like here in Monkayo,” Zamora said during a consultation meeting with parents, students, faculty members and other stakeholders here recently.

Zamora also noted that Compostela Valley was the only province in the country that didn’t have its own state college. She said CVSC was created to provide quality and affordable tertiary education in her province.

Dad’s idea

She said the idea of establishing a state college was broached during the tenure of her father, former congressman and now Vice Gov. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora, when local government units like Compostela also put up their locally funded colleges, competing directly with BSU.

“The new state college is assured of getting funds from the national government as well as P7 million from my former pork allocation, which is now being coursed through the CHEd, so that quality instruction and improved school facilities will be given to our students,” she said.

Derije said the new campus was set to open by June, with several buildings already built in Compostela.

“We’re looking at an initial enrollment of 3,000, with first year students occupying the new facilities in Compostela,” he said.

Derije said CVSC would strictly adhere to the standards set by the higher education commission in the hope of getting “Level 2 accreditation” in the next three years.

These include, according to Derije, the hiring of faculty members with master’s degrees, among others. Since their establishment in the 1970s, the bulk of BSU-ECs’ teaching force came from public school teachers, majority of them teaching college on a part-time basis.

During a consultation meeting here, many parents and students also expressed apprehension that they would be adversely affected by the new state college, with CVSC offering different curricula and new subjects, putting to waste the years that students spent trying to earn a degree.

“Our subjects being taken in BSU-MLC might not be credited anymore once this CVSC operates. We’ll be wasting our two years in college with that,” said education sophomore Tabios.

Railroaded

Others also expressed disappointment over what they said was the railroading of CVSC.

“We were not consulted,” lamented Jejomar Casipong, a 20-year-old education senior.

“It was fast-tracked and it seemed that there was no due process,” added Casipong, also the student council president.

Casipong and other students urged education authorities to reconsider their decision and allow a transition period before merging BSU-MLC with the new CVSC.

Derije said students had nothing to worry about, as no one would be displaced by the impending phaseout.

He said CVSC would still continue using the same curricula and courses the external centers were offering at present.

New campuses will also be established, with the cooperation of local government units (LGUs), such as in Maragusan where the LGU has pledged to build classrooms for the new state college.

Derije said the CHEd was also in talks with Monkayo Mayor Joselito Brillantes for a possible merger of the would-be CVSC and the existing LGU-run community college, with the facilities of the latter to be used by CVSC.

With the new setup, CVSC will also assume the assets and liabilities of BSU-ECs. The main campus in Compostela is to accept freshmen while those in higher years may opt to enroll in CVSC branches in their respective municipalities.

Zamora said she avoided using the word “closure” so as not to cause anxiety among parents and students. “Actually, it’s just like a merger or absorption. It has been a hard-fought battle by those who worked for the founding of BSU in Compostela Valley nearly 40 years ago.”

Unpaid tuition

She said BSU had been a huge contributor to the development of quality human resources in the province, producing thousands of professionals.

Students worry that the new state college will mean new expenses that they can’t afford.

Casipong, the student leader, said many students still owed tuition to BSU’s learning centers.

“Many even still have unpaid obligations after graduation,” he said.

Derije said the new state college “won’t be making students’ lives hard” and even promised a more flexible term for the students to settle their unpaid tuition.

Scholarships being enjoyed by students enrolled with BSU will still be honored in CVSC.

He said the new college would also be more affordable at P200 per unit compared to BSU’s P220.

Editha Jao, BSU-MLC administrator, said the center had stopped accepting freshmen when reports about the impending closure surfaced a year ago.

“We support the idea of having our own state college but it’s still the students and parents who will decide,” said Jao, also the Monkayo National High School principal.

Derije said the series of consultations in the affected municipalities did not mean CVSC officials were desperate to lure enrollees.

“We’re just giving them an alternative. We just want to help them. If they insist on sticking with BSU, it’s now their risk. We can still function and operate, even if many of those who are affected in the phaseout will not enroll in CVSC,” Derije stressed.