BAGUIO CITY – Rep. Nicasio M. Aliping, Jr. is seeking the creation of the Cordillera State Institute of Technical Education (CSITE) to improve the delivery of technical and vocational instruction in the region in line with the Philippine Qualification Framework, and the ASEAN Mutual Reform Agreements.
Rep. Aliping is making this a reality when he filed House Bill 6213 during the third regular session of the 16th Congress.
“The creation of the CSITE will address the need for a higher quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training programs that will sharpen relevance and competitiveness for the development of technically competent, innovative and creative Filipino workforce in the Cordillera,” Rep. Aliping explained.
He added that synergy among the technical vocation institutions will be achieved, efficiency in operations will be enhanced, the range of academic course offerings will be broadened, a single administrative support system will be provided, and institutional performance will be heightened with the creation of CSITE.
The plan is for the existing Baguio City School of Arts and Trades (BCSAT) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) technological institutions (TTIs) to be merged into what will be called the CSITE.
The TTIs are located in the six provinces of the Cordillera, called Provincial Training Centers, as well as in Baguio City, called the Regional Training Center.
The CSITE will be governed by a Board of Trustees to be comprised of the Director-General of the TESDA as chairman, the executive director of CSITE as vice chairman, and as members the chairperson of the committee on labor, employment and human resources development of the Senate, the chairperson of the House committee on higher and technical education, the regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority, the regional director of the Department of Science and Technology, the administrator of the Philippine Export Zone Authority in Baguio, the chairman of the Cordillera regional chamber of commerce, two representatives from duly recognized industry organizations, and a representative from the labor sector.
Its daily operation will be managed by the executive director and three deputy directors with the present Vocational School Administrator of the BCSAT serving as the first executive director of CSITE.
The TESDA Provincial Training Centers will be converted into Campus sites which will be run by campus directors.
“The CSITE will provide an institution-based scholarship program and other programs in coordination with TESDA, local government units in CAR, national agencies and sponsoring private organizations and industries for scholarships to assist poor but deserving students who qualify for admission into CSITE,” Aliping stressed.
The amount needed to run CSITE will be charged against existing appropriations of the BCSAT and the provincial training centers and the amount necessary for the continued operations of CSITE will be included in the General Appropriations Act to be enacted by Congress.
Aliping added, “The immediate passage of this bill creating the CSITE is earnestly requested in order that the regional workforce can become internationally competent as soon as possible especially in light of the ASEAN integration.”/Carl C. Taawan
