By Ric V Obedencio
Bohol Chronicle
Failure to consult with the faculty staff on the planned transfer of main campus of the Central Visayas State College of Agriculture, Forestry and Technology (CVSCAFT) to Tagbilaran City from Bilar town has raised tension among the stakeholders.
The said transfer could be an offshoot of the plan to convert CVSCAFT into Bohol Island State University or BISU in a bill pending in Congress.
"There is tension inside," Avelina D. Escudero, president of CVSCAFT Bilar Faculty Association, told education committee meeting last week presided over by Board Member Ester Corazon J. Galbreath of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Escudero minced no words of saying that the faculty are "feeling we have no dignity."
"Maglisud gyud mi pagsu'd ni Sir," apparently referring to Dr. Elpidio Magante, school president.
As this developed, the association passed Resolution No. 2 opposing the main campus transfer. The Resolution signed by Avelino and association secretary Manolito C. Macalolot, asked Galbreath for retention of Bilar as the main campus.
The Resolution approved during the meeting of the faculty on July 16, 2009 indicated that 45 were present out of 83 members. It said that "there was no proper information dissemination done" on the said transfer of the main campus to the city.
The faculty cited advantages why the main campus should be retained in Bilar. They said in the Resolution that Bilar is "strategically located in the center of the island of Bohol" with a large area, suitable for "all forms of expansion" when it becomes a university.
"The exemplary performance of the Research and Development staff and faculty of the CVSCAFT Bilar main campus contributed points for the State College to be raised to level III status," aside from other important studies contributory to what is now the CVSCAFT Bilar, the Resolution said.
The Bilar campus has produced "placers in the 2006 Licensure Exam for Agriculture (No. 8 ), forestry (No. 8 ) in 2006 and 2009 and also ranked 2nd next to UPLB in overall performance, agricultural engineering (No. 5) a teacher education consistently with a passing high percentage than the national passing rate."
Meanwhile, the proposed bill, creating the BISU, is now in the final touches in Congress even allegedly without the benefit of a public hearing. "There should have been public hearing on the bill," said Board Member Aster Piollo, who is a lawyer by profession.
When the plan for BISU was hatched, the provincial board appeared being hoodwinked because it was made to believe by the CVSCAFT administration that an endorsement from the provincial government or SP "is necessary."
Education committee headed by Galbreath lamented that just because they did not give favorable endorsement in a form of an SP Resolution for BISU, the CVSCAFT administration is cooking it in the "backdoor" with the support of the three congressmen.
It will be recalled that the same situation (no official recommendation from SP) occurred when the CVSCAFT was conceptualized until it is realized.
The province stands to lose because all its real properties, including the multi-million-peso property in the former BSAT, appeared to be sequestered without the benefit of consultation with provincial government.
Until now, some properties are not yet transferred to the name of the CVSCAFT after the approval of the law or RA No. 8659, creating the CVSCAFT, and signed by then President Fidel Ramos because if the province does it might as well lose or diminish its status as first class province. (RVO)
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