Luigi files bill seeking conversion of public school into state college

CEBU, Philippines -  Sixth district Rep. Luis Gabriel Quisumbing has recently filed a bill in Congress which seeks to convert the Consolacion Public College into a state college.

Through House Bill 5201, the conversion of the public college into a state college will ensure its fiscal autonomy, enhance its academic standards and provide accessible and affordable but quality education to poor but deserving students.

Quisimbing said the bill also seeks to secure adequate funding for the institution.

The bill's explanatory note stresses the high cost of acquiring an education nowadays, earning a degree seems to be impossible for the many poverty-stricken residents of Consolacion and its neighboring places.

Aside from that, acquiring an education would also mean facing the high cost transportation, personal sustenance, and other necessary expenses.

And in an effort to address these problems, the local government then established the Consolacion Public College with the objective to provide an accessible and affordable tertiary, vocational, and technical education to its constituents.

With the establishment of the school, economic activity is expected to flourish in the area and provide residents the opportunity to acquire skills and education necessary for them to obtain a stable job in the future.

"It is the state's mandate to establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of society.

With the conversion of the Consolacion Public College into a State College, the author seeks to secure adequate support and appropriate funds from the rational budget to ensure that the institution has the necessary facilities, personnel, and instructional materials which are at par with other tertiary learning institutions," Quisumbing's bill states.

The school at present has 800 students after it opened in June 2010 and through the efforts of Mayor Theresa Alegado, school president Dr. Lolita Rodriguez , and Dr. Marsipina Aguizanda, the vice president for administration, the school acquired an authority to operate from CHED last October 29,2010.