Bill seeking to upgrade Catanduanes school filed by Catanduanes lawmaker
VIRAC, Catanduanes — Rep. Joseph Santiago here said he has has sought the help of his colleagues in Congress to ensure the swift approval of House Bill 1284 which seeks to upgrade the Catanduanes State Colleges (CSC) into a state university.
If the measure is approved into law, the CSC would be Bicol’s third state University, Santiago said.
Santiago said the CSC — with eight colleges, over 10,400 students and nearly 400 academic and non-teaching personnel — now has all the attributes of a full-grown state university.
Based in the capital of this island-province, the CSC would emerge as the country’s 42nd state university once Santiago’s bill is enacted into law.
At present, Bicol has two state universities and six state colleges. The CSC is the second largest state institution of higher learning in the region after the Bicol University, which has five campuses in Albay.
The CSC is even bigger than the region’s other state university, the Partido State University which has four campuses in Camarines Sur.
Santiago described the CSC as one of the country’s most progressive institutions of higher learning.
The proportions of CSC graduates passing the various professional licensure tests are higher than the national average passing percentages, Santiago said, adding that the state college has also produced some of the country’s finest civil engineers.
Santiago expressed confidence that access to affordable university education and to a broader selection of undergraduate as well as post-graduate academic programs would empower young Catandueños.
Under Santiago’s proposal, once transformed into a full-fledged university, the CSC would enjoy the general powers of a corporation under the law. The school would have its own governing board of regents and academic council.
The new university would primarily provide advanced instruction in trade, commerce, fishery, agriculture, arts and sciences, industrial technology, nursing, midwifery, education, engineering, public administration, information technology and other relevant fields of study.
The university would also undertake research and extension services, and provide progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.
The CSC used to be the Virac Agricultural and Trade School until it was upgraded into a state college by Congress in 1971.
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