WITH the signing of House Bill 5641 into law yesterday, Cebuano lawmakers and the school administrator of a new state university promised new innovations without increasing tuition.

President Gloria Arroyo, who was in Cebu yesterday, again signed two laws, one of which was House Bill 5641, which converted the Cebu State College of Science and
Technology (CSCST) into Cebu Technological University (CTU), a state university.

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With the conversion, Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district) said this would mean more innovations in the education system.

Del Mar, who is one of the authors of the bill, said that as a state university, CTU will be entitled to have a bigger budget from the National Government.

With a bigger budget, the university will now have larger facilities for its students and will have the capability to fund research on its specializations, added del Mar.

Del Mar added that aside from the main campus of CTU in Cebu City, 10 satellite campuses in different towns and cities in Cebu will also improve their services as
mandated in its charter.

The CTU satellite campuses include the College of Fisheries in Moalboal; the Agro-Industrial and Forestry College in Argao; the Polytechnic College in Tuburan; the College of Fisheries in Daanban-tayan; the Fishery and Industrial College in San Francisco, Camotes; the College of Industrial Technology in Danao City; the College of Fisheries Technology in Carmen; the Abellana College of Arts and Trades in Mandaue City; the College of Agriculture in Barili and the Experimental Station in Sibonga.

Dr. Bonifacio Villa-nueva, CTU president, told reporters yesterday that with the signing of HB 5641, they will be able to introduce innovative programs into their curriculum.

Villanueva revealed that by next school year, the university will offer new college courses, like mechatronics and graphic arts and design.

Mechatronics is a combination of different fields, such as mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, computer engineering, control engineering, and systems design engineering, to create useful products.

One product of mechatronics is robotics, which according to Villanueva, may become possible for CTU’s future students.

Villanueva added that for their mechatronics course, donations from Japan-based electronics company Hitachi have been coming in, particularly equipment for their laboratories.

But despite the innovations in their curriculum, Villanueva assured that tuition will not be increased.

Villanueva said they have the lowest tuition in Cebu City, with every student paying only P150 per unit.

The bill for the conversion of CSCST was first filed by Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) on Sept. 5, 1997 or during the 10th Congress.

But due to delays, Gullas refiled it the following year. It was transmitted to the Senate, but still was not approved.

When Del Mar filed the bill in the 14th Congress, Gullas served as a co-author.