BACOLOD City – A top official of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Western Visayas urged the city government to fast-track the passage of an ordinance revising the charter of the Bacolod City College (BCC).
CHED regional director Cesar Medina met with BCC administrator Ma. Johanna Ann Bayoneta last week to discuss such “important” requirement that the BCC must produce as it applies for an institutional recognition.
The proposed city ordinance will reestablish the organizational structure of BCC and create new positions.
It would also redefine the functions and composition of the college governing board and other offices and committees, pursuant to the mandate of the city-run college as a higher education institution.
These efforts are aimed at allowing BCC students to avail themselves of the government’s free tuition program under Republic Act (RA) 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
RA 10931 makes tuition and other school fees free in state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges, and state-run technical-vocational institutions.
It also establishes a tertiary education subsidy and student loan program and strengthens the unified student financial assistance system for tertiary education.
Medina said CHED will not give BCC its institutional recognition as a local college if the BCC charter remains unrevised.
He added that the BCC must be able to comply with the requirement by May before the CHED en banc meeting.
Councilor Renecito Novero, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on education, said he already filed the proposed ordinance on April 17. Novero conducted two public hearings prior to filing./PN
