CHED orders 6 schools closed

By MART SAMBALUD
Davao Today

DAVAO City – Six Bukidnon State University (BSU) external campuses were ordered closed after they were found remiss of the basic requirement to operate an educational institution, a Commission on Higher Education Department official said on Tuesday.

Engr. Luis D. Perez, Education Supervisor II of CHED in Region 12, said the external campuses of the BSU were located in Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte provinces.

He identified them as the university’s External Study Centers in the towns of Monkayo, Montevista, Compostela, New Bataan, Maragusan and Sto. Tomas.

CHED en banc Resolution No. 507-201  approved the “immediate closure of the non-compliant External Study Centers of the said State university in the municipalities of Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte, in accordance with the pertinent laws, rules and regulations of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)”.

The resolution was signed by four commissioners and CHED’S Patricia Licuanan.

Perez said that the basis of the closure order was “being non-compliant of the six identified external study centers to the CHED’s basic standard requirements”. He said they lacked appropriate classrooms, full time personnel, laboratories, insufficient library holdings, school facilities, among others.

“As per instruction of CHED Central office, we conducted an inspection and monitoring to all the six identified BSU external study centers last April 2013 and we submitted our findings to the CHED Central office through the Office of the Program Standards (OPS),” he added.

The Office of the Program Standard made their report “based in our submitted inspection and monitoring report and they came up with the recommendations for the CHED En banc to issue an immediate closure order”.

The resolution further directed Dr. Zenaida Gersana, director IV of CHED-Regional Office 10 “to ensure the immediate implementation of the closure order and to ensure the compliance of BSU to such order.

Dr. Raul Alvarez of CHED-Region 11 was likewise directed “to facilitate the transfer of the students of the extension campuses that are due to be closed to compliant and duly recognized higher education institutions (HEIs) in the area”.

Perez said, however, that students from the Compostela Valley campuses would not pose a big problem saying they would be absorbed by the proposed Compostela State College.

He said the manner of closure would be still decided by the two CHED directors “as to what would be the manner of closure” over the fate also of the more than 5,000 students. (Mart D. Sambalud/davaotoday.com)