e have them all over the Cordillera. The question is, “Are they producing enough high quality graduates who would make a difference in community or even nation building?”
To assure that SUCs will come up with better graduates, there are three problems that should be solved. One is their budgets. These should be increased considerably. I remember one senator on TV a few years back that UP had a budget of about P70,000.00 per student while other SUCs only had about P25,000.00 per student. Such a big difference.
Does that difference translate to the same difference in the quality of graduates? Probably. We used to have a lot of masscom interns from all sorts of colleges and universities and there is generally a big difference in their abilities on account of the P70,000.00 per student advantage.
Another issue to be addressed which is THE MOST IMPORTANT is how to shield SUCs from politics or from politicians. While politicians cannot meddle in the affairs of UP whose students and officials and faculty think it is their duty to be the watchdogs of government and politicians, other SUCs are totally in a different situation. As they are now, politicians, especially the local ones are dipping their sticky fingers in SUCs’ internal affairs. These politicians usually have the main say on who should be appointed officers, professors, and even ordinary employees. How about competence and other relevant qualifications? These usually don’t matter or are merely secondary. The most important thing is the backing of the local political kingpin. If you have this, chances are you already have the position you are eyeing in the bag.
As long as politicians are meddling in the affairs of SUCs, they will be producing graduates whose qualities leave a lot to be desired. Or that the taxpayers’ resources are just being wasted in such institutions.
Last but not the least, the performance of SUCs should be constantly monitored through the quality of their graduates and their effects on the socioeconomic and political development of their respective locations. An objective system to undertake this should be developed.
Those that will be found to be underperforming over a number of years must be closely investigated and, if warranted, should be closed to avoid the further misuse of the people’s money. **