Guv to ink agreement with Tesda

Sunday, February 12, 2012

STO. TOMAS -- Governor Lilia Pineda is set to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and the Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University (DHVTSU) on the operation of the soon-to-open Sto. Tomas campus.

Fourth District Board Member Nestor Tolentino said the signing may happen anytime in February, upon concurrence of Tesda and the DVHTSU board.

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Tolentino added that the operation of the campus will bring renewed development to Sto. Tomas and will bring more educational opportunities to indigents.

Tolentino said under the proposed agreement, DHVTSU will have "beneficial use of the premises" of the campus in Barangay Moras dela Paz for 25 years.

Under the said agreement, the Provincial Government of Pampanga will include a P3-million continuing appropriation for the campus.

Tolentino added that Tesda is also tasked to give initial scholarship financial assistance to marginalized but deserving students, preferably from municipalities within and nearby the 4th district of Pampanga amounting to P25 million.

"DHVTSU will also offer courses under the Ladderized Education Program (LEP) and short-term courses duly registered under Tesda's Unified TVET Program Registration and Accreditation Systems (UTPRAS)," Tolentino said.

Tolentino stressed that with the campus in place, students here will have better access to education as the satellite campus is accessible to ordinary motorists and commuters.

He added that the satellite campus is part of the continuing expansion of DHVTSU.

The campus is the second of its kind after the DHVTSU-Mexico campus opened in the late 1990s, and re-launched by third district Representative Aurelio Gonzales.

Gonzales is credited as the "Father of DHVTSU" after the passage of Republic Act 9832 that converted the former state college to the first and only state university in Pampanga.

The lawmaker has allotted scholarship items for the said campus that contributed to the student population of the campus.

Currently, another satellite campus is being planned in Barangay Pio in Porac town where local officials have already identified a suitable location for the campus.