Exactly three months after the historic signing of memorandum of agreement between the city government of Alaminos and the Pangasinan State University (PSU) on the establishment of the 9th PSU campus here, a ground breaking event was held yesterday in Barangay Bolaney to finally jumpstart this landmark project.
Mayor Hernani A. Braganza, Director Eulando Lontoc of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Dr. Lydia Buduhan, VP for Planning and Administration of PSU, Dr. Oscar C. Tadeo, Alaminos City Division chief and other city officials led the ceremony which started with the laying of the time capsule.
PSU-Alaminos City Campus is situated on a 4.5 hectare land owned by the city government which is just a seven minute ride south of the city.
The project, which has a total cost of P10 M, will be built and financed by the city government as provided for under the MOA inked by the city and PSU.
The said edifice is a two-storey building of modern architecture and it will rise right at the back of the Hundred Islands Medical Services Complex (HIMSC) and beside the Bayanihan Center for Rural Development Building.
Role of PSU
"The establishment of PSU’s campus in the city is supportive to the “Alaminos Vision 2015” to realize a peaceful city, well educated, healthy and God-centered citizenry," said Engr. Roel Anonuevo, head of the city planning and development office, in his project overview.
He said the project is also in line with the Braganza administration’s Ten Point Agenda particularly the basic service agenda which include education and health and social services.
One of the major thrusts under the education services is the Bright Child Program which covers the expanded city scholarship program, expanded feeding cum livelihood program, and expansion of day care centers, wireless internet connectivity project, and sports development program.
And most of these current laudable programs of the city were an offshoot of the first Education Summit held in 2005.
During the said conference and All Leaders Forum in 2007, it was found that the city’s education sector is beset with so many issues and concern.
These include high drop out rates in high school, prevalence of malnutrition among school children and the lack of affordable and quality tertiary education in the city.
The city even held a distinction of being one of the cities in Region I with the highest malnutrition rate in 2005.
Today, Alaminos is the only city that feeds its 19, 000 school children three times a week under its expanded feeding program.
Also, Alaminos and Dagupan are the only cities in region 1 which public high schools are connected to the internet.
All of the seven high schools in the city have already been wired to the internet. While, the 37 elementary schools are expected to be hooked-up to the internet next year.
Anonuevo noted that with PSU in Alaminos, public education sector will be further strengthened not only in the city but also in the first district of the province.
“With our continuous support and collaborative efforts, we can help shape a better future for our youth.”
Total, quality person
According to Dir. Lontoc, the aim of establishing a branch or sister school is to provide quality public tertiary education.
"PSU knows very well that in this world where exponential adaptive change is called for, where what is new today is absolute tomorrow, we must place an absolute premium on training mind and heart above all," he said.
Lontoc, who represented CHED Chairman Emmanuel Angeles in the said occasion, congratulated the PSU administration for forging partnership with the Alaminos government.
“Indeed, this is the most opportune time of giving the true spirit of sharing that is Christmas,” he stressed.
He also lauded the visionary and hardworking Mayor Braganza for his initiative to bring the campus to his city and feeding future knowledge to his hundreds of scholars.
He noted that PSU’s vision and mission of building and edifice like this one, is not only to provide public education, but of providing a place for wisdom, for peace and prosperity.
“Let us all help build total, quality persons,” he said even as he assured the city government of its full support to the project.
“Gone are the days when leaders say, do it and we are behind you, at the Commission, we always walk in front of flock,” he continued.
He lamented though that in public education administration, the nations is really behind.
He said Americans who can develop five or maybe ten year projections with a good measure of confidence but they cannot do this without the use of the required technology based education.
On the other hand, the Japanese can foresee with great precision what may now be the future of technology based education among their students in a more predictable manner.
“The reason is very clear," he said. 'They invest in the mind and heart of their youth with vigor.”
“Let us then walk together because in the present situation now obtaining, we can help the students build their future, remember, there is such thing as computed aided planning and decision making."
Campus of the future
Lontoc said nine is a lucky number and believed that PSU-Alaminos, being the 9th and the newest campus in the province, will bring good fortune to the city and better future for its graduates.
PSU-Alaminos is expected to thrive and that employees and leaders must understand the requirements and expectations of the students, and the educational community.
The campus should also treat all students with unique educational and intellectual strengths and deficits.
“Each is encouraged to discover what they are capable of… and then to pursue it,” said the director.
Lontoc imagines PSU-Alaminos as a campus of the future as an augmented-reality environment where real and digital worlds meet to stimulate collaborative learning, where mobile devices, interactive learning spaces, and social networking communities are seamlessly integrated.
“(But) how to bridge the gap between expectation and their individual productivity with optimum performance is the task ahead of us?”
He reminded everyone of the relative value of people and technology even as he stressed that “what count most in this world is that no matter how we grow, we should never abandon that young people we will always call a child, his mind, and his heart.”
He said “the organization where you belong and I belong, must at all times, adhere that it must be love of God and people.”
“Let us unite and build this youth for good, reinforced this young mind until he grow, stretch his challenge and lay down that road for humanity to thrive,” he stressed further.
“This is our vision, this must be our mission in life. Let us all invest in the youth, but above all, let us invest in mind and let us join together in building a strong heart for peace and love of God.”
A1 graduates
Once PSU-Alaminos is fully operational two to three years from now, it will expect best graduates coming from the city’s public and private high schools, said Dr. Tadeo.
The OIC-city schools division superintendent is banking on the past and recent achievements of the city’s students in the regional and national of various scholastic and non-academic.
DepEd Alaminos is currently one of the best divisions in the region 1 with its students as consistent qualifiers and winners in Palarong Pambansa, National Secondary Press Conference, Science Fairs and Student Technologists and Entrepreneurs of the Philippines (STEP).
“We will be turning over A1 quality graduates,” said Alaminos City Division chief adding that PSU-Alaminos is another welcome development in the city.
“We thank and congratulate Mayor Braganza for his noble initiative for the youth of Alaminos and in the western Pangasinan even as we promised to continue to supports his worthy programs for the city’s youth and education sector.”
For her part, Dr. Buduhan likewise expressed excitement over the establishment of its newest campus in this home of the world famous Hundred Islands National Park.
“We are very happy with our forging of partnership with the city government,” she said. "We thank Mayor Braganza for his concern for our youth and commitment to quality education."
“We in the PSU will do our best to prepare our students to face the challenges of tomorrow, attend the needs of the community and help the city attain socio-economic development.”
Complementing other colleges
Despite pressures from different colleges in the city, the Braganza administration pushed for the realization on the collective vision of most Alaminians-to have a state university in the city.
Braganza, who’s family runs one of the oldest learning institutions in western Pangasinan, said there are now so many but are privately owned colleges in the city.
“They (schools) were not happy on our initiative, he added. In fact they wanted to protest why we wanted to bring PSU here basically because of the competition.”
“But as I keep on saying in the past, our personal interest takes a back seat when it comes to the general interest and welfare of the people of Alaminos.”
The mayor the campus that will be established in Alaminos, is an institution, a university that is multi-discipline.
PSU Alaminos Campus will be offering courses that are not provided by other existing colleges and special technical school in the city.
Among the proposed courses to be offered by the state university include Education, Business Management, Fisheries, Hotel and Restaurant Management, Agriculture and Medical Course.
“So, in effect, there is no competition here," he said. "This is not a matter of a government headed by your mayor putting up a new school to compete and make other institutions miserable."
“In fact, he said, we want to complement the efforts of the private sectors that pioneered in providing quality education to our students.”
“But (at the same time) what they couldn’t provide, it’s our obligation as your leaders to give it to our people."
Dream come true
Braganza thanked PSU for deciding to bring their services to the city.
Alaminos is the only city in the province with no private or state university and so is very honored and privileged to finally host one next year.
“We are planning to do this during my first term of office in 2004," said the mayor. "We’ve made a mistake. We thought it needs a bill from Congress for the establishment of a PSU-Alaminos City Campus here.”
Apparently, he explained, what is only needed is an authority from the city council for him to enter into a MOA and that from the PSU board of trustees for university president, Dr. Victoriano Estira, to put up the campus in the city.
“And today, that dream is now a reality,” he stressed.
“This is just one of our collective aspirations as a people which we promised to realize and with the full support of the Sanggguniang Panlungsod headed by Vice Mayor Teofilo Humilde Jr. and my co-workers in the city government, we made that dream come true,” added the mayor.
“It is really pleasant and I’m very happy and proud to hear being the so called father of the city of Alaminos, of the city’s surge in education.”
“I’m also glad to hear the report of Dr. Tadeo on the high performance gains of our division and of the many accomplishments of our students. So, my congratulations to the DepEd officials who had made it to reality.”
“We are great as a people before and we can be even greater more so if reforms are put in place.”
Braganza said the project alone will mean affordable and quality tertiary education to more than 9, 000 college students in the first district of the province.
“This project is not a band aid solution to our problems," he added. "Rather, supports the short, medium and long-term development goals of the city."
“It will also a big saving on the part of the parents if the desired courses of their children can be provided by PSU.”
He said that with PSU-Alaminos, parents will no longer be selective as to who among their children will be sent to college.
“Instead, every youth could continue their studies up to college and earn their diploma which will be their passport in landing on decent jobs to achieve their dreams in life and also be of big help to their family.”
“With PSU, we in the city government will continue to help provide quality education for the youth to produce not only bright children but also elite young achievers and at the same time provide better opportunities for the people,” said Braganza.
“We have done it for 5 years, he added. We hope to do it again in the next three (3) years." (CIO)