Why the College was established?

 BACKGROUND, RATIONALE AND PURPOSE

Background

One of the pertinent provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which assert that the state “shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to qualify education at all levels…” It is also reiterated in Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the “Local Government Code of 1991” empowered Local Government Units (LGUs) to open and operate Local Colleges and Universities (LCUs) through an ordinance to make education accessible to all.  Nonetheless, assessments made on existing LCUs created in the late 1990’s suggest prudence for LGUs that intends to create LCUs as many of them are no longer in good standing and less competitive in global higher education, and therefore, must seek to faithfully follow various requirements being set and submit to the guidance and supervision of national government.

The Commission of Higher Education (CHED) provides the minimum standards and guidelines for compliance by LGU-run schools in accordance with the declared state policies on higher education, as well as the policies, standards and thrusts of CHED under R.A. 7722 (The Higher Education Act of 1994).  Thus, before the Local University and College (LUC) is created, a sort of study and development plan be undertaken to enable the proponent LGU to meet the minimum standard and prevent the provision of academic programs of mediocre standards made by some erring LCUs in the country, among other concerns.

While a number of higher (tertiary) education courses are provided by private and SUCs operating in the province, some courses are not currently available and/or can not satisfy current demands of students, which compel parents/students to seek schooling in institutions outside the province. This is one of the reasons for the establishment of a provincial college and proposed the offering allied medical courses (FS submitted to CHED-9), agriculture (already approved and running) and science courses (FS Submitted to CHED-9).

Presently, the Josefina H. Cerilles State College (JHCSC-Pagadian Campus) has four (4) authorized courses offered, namely: a) Bachelor of Science in Nursing [BSN]; b) Bachelor of Science in Information Technology [BSIT]; c) Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Restaurant and Resort Management [BSHRM]; and d) Bachelor of Laws [LLB].  Graduate programs in Education and Public Administration are also available.  The School also offered the Certificate Program for Cultural Education in Western Mindanao, the first state college to do so.  Formerly under the control and supervision of the CHED Chairman, a Board of Trustees now runs the only State College in the province. 

Rationale

The Philippine Government, in a statement made by no less than Malacañang on 23 November 2005, acknowledged concern on the serious problem presented upon the country’s health services due to the exodus of Filipino doctors and other medical practitioners to look for high-paying jobs abroad.

While the Philippines is known as one of the world’s biggest suppliers of health care professionals, its health system is driven to a state of near collapse as best and well-trained medical practitioners leave the country to look for greener pastures overseas.

Early 2009, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) already expressed concern over the unrestrained departure of Filipino medical professionals looking for higher paying jobs in foreign countries.  As estimated by PHAP, about 1,000 private hospitals particularly in the rural areas were reportedly closed or facing closure due to lack of medical personnel.

Based on current trend, UP College of Public Health Professor Dr. Marilyn Lorenzo construed that presently there is certainly a dearth in skilled medical and healthcare professionals in the country.  However, Dr. Lorenzo opined that putting the blame on the exodus of competent workers in the health sector may be too simplistic as the age-old case of health human resource misdistribution remains relevant.  She identified the following causal factors for the ‘misallocation’ of health workers: the lack of a functioning system rationalizing recruitment, retention, training and development, and placement of health professionals.

With such a supra-environment haunting the country, a number of LGUs were quick to fill the void by creating and operating local colleges and universities (LCUs) in order to address problems that are not only limited to health education but to the other sectors as well.  The agriculture-fisheries sector, being the country’s major economic backbone, also suffers from dearth of professionals and practitioners that resulted to low productivity and innovativeness in the area of agro-fishery entrepreneurship.  There’s an observed mismatch between the academic fields sought by students and the actual skills of workforce needed by the Philippine economy as many universities and colleges still offer and/or draw in students in non-agri/fishery courses.  Needless to say, this situation partly contributed to food security and related problems in the country.

While state universities and colleges (SUCs) are also reaching out to serve far-flung municipalities through the establishment of External Service Units (ESUs), inherent resource limitations of the national government continue to cause problems vis-à-vis a growing tertiary level school-age population.  

The Western Mindanao State University-External Service Units (WMSU-ESUs) operating in the different LGUs are proposed to be integrated to JHCSC and expected to cause the reduction of the participation rate in tertiary level. The sustainability of the JHCSC- extensions also threaten by the change of political leadership. Hence, the Provincial Government prioritized the establishment of a Provincial College with program courses that address the employment needs.

On that note, the Provincial Government under the helm of Governor Antonio H. Cerilles invokes the use of delegated powers following certain provisions of R.A. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991) that gives wide autonomy to LGUs in the management of their own affairs, including the establishment of local schools.  Initially, courses in health sciences are proposed to be offered particularly Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology (BSMT), Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (BSPharmacy) and Bachelor of Science in Biology (BSBio), all preparatory academic degrees leading to medical courses.  Veterinary sciences courses are also  such as Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (already approved and functional), and Bachelor of Science in Veterinary leading to a degree in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM). 

The component LGU’s in the province are encouraged to enhance their scholarship program and has to be strengthened so that the LGUs can sponsor/send as many intelligent and deserving students in the locality as possible to the  provincial college.

Purpose

The Provincial Government had consulted CHED before establishing the local college.  This ensures proper process regarding the operation and CHED’s supervisory role of LCUs.  Section 2 of CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 32, series of 2006 states that “before enactment of an LGU establishing a higher education institution, they shall consult and coordinate with CHED Regional Office having jurisdiction of the place where the institution is intended to be established to ensure full compliance with the requirements.”

As stipulated in the said CMO No. 33, the requirements include the conduct of a feasibility study (FS) that: ⁽¹⁾ justifies the need for establishing the proposed local college; ⁽²⁾ specifies human resource requirements; ⁽³⁾ target clients/beneficiaries; ⁽⁴⁾ availability of qualified administrators, faculty and non-teaching personnel; and ⁽⁵⁾ the financial capacity of the LGU to establish and sustain the operation of the proposed local college.  A certification issued by the PLGU Treasurer that funds are available for such purpose is then part of the documentary requisites.

Moreover, CHED also requires the applicant-LGU to present a Project Development Plan (PDP) to show that: ⁽¹⁾ the LGU allocated a school site with appropriate size and location pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Building Code of the Philippines; ⁽²⁾ blueprint of architectural design for its buildings and other physical facilities; and ⁽³⁾ provisions for acquisition of instructional materials and equipment that comply with relevant CMOs pertinent to the academic program/s to be offered.

Furthermore, a Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP)-approved Five-Year Institutional Development  Plan (IDP) that integrates and consolidates technical details as contained in the FS and the PDP is finally required by CHED in order to present the following: ⁽¹⁾ the annual budgetary allocation covering five (5) academic school years, detailing as to annual budgetary requirements for personal services (PS), maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), and capital outlays (CO); ⁽²⁾ the organizational structure and composition of the Governing Board; and ⁽³⁾ the plantilla of positions as provided for in the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU) Unified Merit System duly approved by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Hence, this 5-year PDP for the establishment and operation of the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial College was already presented and reviewed with CHED-IX.

...AND WAS APPROVED TO OPERATE STARTING School Year 2013-2014.