KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/30 July) – Faculty members and students of an extension campus here of a state university want their school converted into a polytechnic college.
The move to make the University of Southern Mindanao Kidapawan City Campus (USM-KCC) in Barangay Sudapin here into an autonomous school has gained the support of Cotabato 2nd District Rep. Nancy Catamco as well as city and provincial officials.
In a petition, majority of the faculty and students asked Catamco to sponsor a bill in Congress converting their campus into the Kidapawan City State Polytechnic State College (KCSPC).
“The USM-KCC has all the potentials for growth and development as a separate chartered state college evidenced by its performance, strength of the faculty, land area of 14.9 hectares, ever increasing number of enrollees each school year, and the need of Kidapawan City to have a government college in the area,” said the petition.
According to Dr. Cely Puruganan, president of the USM-KCC College of Industry and Technology Personnel Association (USM-KCC CIT-PA), the conversion of the school would play a vital role in the industrialization of Kidapawan City.
The USM-KCC is on its 11th year as an annex of the USM. It used to be called the North Cotabato College of Arts and Trade (NCAT).
The faculty and students of the USM-KCC said they want fiscal autonomy from the main campus.
They complained of getting only a small share from tuition and other miscellaneous fees collected from the students.
Purugunan said that of the P20 million they collected in 2009, they only received P4 million for their maintenance and operating expenses and salaries and wages.
“There are no funds allotted for building repair, purchase of new equipment, and other needs of the school,” she said.
The faculty and students today presented to Catamco their proposal in a consultative-dialogue at the USM-KCC social hall.
“By that, we will have fiscal autonomy.
We will improve the school in terms of its structures, personnel, and academic performance,” said Puruganan.
“I believe in the wisdom of the teachers and the students.
Separation of the USM-KCC from the main campus is not the end of it. In fact, separation is just the beginning of ‘healing’ and eventually, progress,” said Catamco. (Malu Cadelina Manar/MindaNews)
