Despite unaccredited courses: TCC students graduate

CEBU, Philippines - A total of 838 students of the Talisay City College yesterday marched on their graduation, amid a shaky situation in which some of them finished courses that have no accreditation from the Commission on Higher Education.

Of the total number of graduates, 42 of them finished Bachelor of Science in Hospital Management and 21 others in Master in Public Administration and Master of Arts in Education, all degree programs that CHED had declared to be without government accreditation and should not have been offered by the school.

The TCC board of trustees however confirmed the graduation of these students, according to Talisay City Mayor Johnny de los Reyes, chairman of the board himself.

The situation at this time allowed the students to graduate while CHED gave time for the school to comply with all the necessary requirements toward the accreditation of the courses in question, as agreed upon by de los Reyes.

Representative Gerald Anthony "Samsam" Gullas (1st district, Cebu), for his part, suggested to the BOT that a technical working group be created to oversee the TCC’s compliance with the requirements, needed for the accreditation of their courses.

“I suggested the BOT to meet with the officials of the CHED on what TCC needed to do to comply with all requirements for the benefit of our graduates," said Gullas, adding that the BOT decisions “must be pro-student."

Earlier, de los Reyes and Edgar Martinez, TCC caretaker and dean of colleges, blamed CHED for not informing the school about the unsanctioned courses.

CHED officials however told The FREEMAN that it was not true that the TCC administration was not aware that some of the courses it offered had no authorization from the commission.

Former CHED-7 regional director Amelia Biglete pointed out in her presentation before the board of trustees regarding the operation of local colleges and that TCC has been operating unsanctioned degree programs.

Biglete cited the minutes of the TCC-BOT meeting on December 10, 2013 at the Mayor's Conference Room, where she mentioned that the offered programs—Bachelor of Science in Hospital Management, Master in Public Administration, Master of Arts in Education and Doctor in Education—had no CHED accreditation.

TCC was only supposed to offer authorized programs: Bachelor of Elementary Education, Bachelor of Secondary Education, Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology and Diploma in Professional Education. Said Biglete.

“The programs offered should comply with CHED policies, standards and guidelines and CHED should monitor the operation and facilities," Biglete said during the meeting. She also told the BOT that when the requirements were ready, these should be submitted to CHED by January 2014. —/RAE (FREEMAN)