CEBU, Philippines- The House of Representatives has approved the bill establishing a state college in the Municipality of Cordova, Cebu which will be integrated with the current Cordova Public College.
The Committees on Appropriations, Higher and Technical Education, and Ways and Means chaired by Representatives Isidro Ungab, Roman Romulo and Romero Federico Quimbo, respectively, have jointly recommended the approval of House Bill no. 6022 which establishes the Cordova State College of Science and Technology.
Approved on September 1, HB no. 6022 is the substitution of HB no. 1546 seeking the conversion of the Cordova Public College into a state college filed by Cebu Sixth District Representative Gabriel Luis Quisumbing.
The bill aims to ensure its fiscal autonomy, enhance its academic standards and provide accessible and affordable but quality education to poor but deserving students, not only from the municipality, but adjoining areas like Lapu-Lapu City and the entire island of Mactan.
A third class municipality of around 60,000 residents, it is reportedly estimated that only 10 percent of the town’s yearly high school graduates pursue a college education while a small percentage find low-income employment with no security of tenure at the nearby export processing zones in Mactan as factory workers.
“Pursuing a college degree is almost impossible for many poverty-stricken residents of Cordova given the high cost of transportation, personal sustenance and other necessary expenses that go with the equally high cost of education especially in private universities and colleges in Cebu City or Mandaue City,” Quisumbing said.
In an effort to address the problem, the local government of Cordova established the public college with the objective of providing accessible and affordable tertiary, vocational and technical education to the youth of the municipality.
With the conversion into a state college, Quisumbing said he seeks to secure adequate support and appropriate funds from the national budget to ensure that the institution has the necessary facility, personnel and instructional materials which is at par with other tertiary learning institutions.
The College shall enjoy academic freedom and institutional autonomy, pursuant to paragraph 2, Section 5 of Article XIV of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.
It shall offer undergraduate and graduate studies in the fields of engineering, industrial technology, business, arts and sciences, and other degrees/courses within its areas of specialization and according to its capabilities, as the Board of Trustees may deem necessary to carry out its objectives, in order to meet the needs of the Province of Cebu and Central Visayas. The College may operate a reasonably-sized laboratory school, if it has a College of Education.
The administration of the College and the exercise of its corporate powers shall be vested exclusively in the Board of Trustees and the President of the College.
In order to effect a smooth transition to a state college, the bill provides that the incumbent head of the Cordova Public College, if qualified, shall act as the Officer-in-Charge, pending the appointment of the first President of the College. (FREEMAN)