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THE
ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EAGA:
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THE
ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EAGA:
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| Ÿ | Economic: Physical Integration and Direct Global Links | |
| Ÿ | Social: Education and Human Resource Development | |
| Ÿ | Peace and Development |
The over-arching goals in all these development efforts are global competitiveness, internal and external integration, sustainable development, and people-centered development. The government triggered the economic integration of the island through inter-regional infrastructure projects. Roads are being built all over Mindanao; telecommunications facilities are being put in and modernized, including cellular phones and Internet connections; the first inter-Mindanao airline has just been established and several international airports have been built or are now being built. The BIMP-EAGA initiative will allow Mindanao to go into direct global trade and have direct economic links with its neighbors with which it has had long historical, cultural, economic, and trade ties. The recent signing of the peace agreement between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Philippine government and the consequent establishment of the Zone of Peace and Development is the culmination of a long process of consultation and consensus-building regarding the process and direction of peace and development of Mindanao, and Palawan. With the cessation of the long-standing conflict, we are very hopeful that the development of Mindanao and Palawan can now proceed very rapidly and, for this, we have to thank our immediate neighbors who are also members of the BIMP-EAGA tetrad who assisted in the process. THE RESOURCE BASE OF MINDANAO AND PALAWAN Mindanao is the second largest island in the Philippines with a land area of 102,043 square kilometers, which is 34 percent of the country’s total. As of 1994, it is home to approximately 16 million Filipinos, approximately 25 percent of the total population of the country. Largely undeveloped, the Mindanao economy rests heavily on its agricultural, fishery, and forest resources sustained by the island’s fertile soil, favorable climate, and abundant water resources. It is estimated that it contributes 36 percent of the country’s total agricultural production. It supplies 67 percent, 62 percent, and 23 percent of the country’s corn, coconut and palay (rice) needs, respectively. The country’s export of banana, natural rubber, and pineapple mainly comes from the island. Producing pomelo, mangosteen, and durian, it is also suitable for growing cotton, abaca, ramie, and other fibers. Teeming with a variety of fish species, 33 percent of all fish caught in the Philippines come from Mindanao. Also, it shares 42 percent of the total fish volume from aquaculture. Rich in metallic minerals, its gold and nickel deposits are 48 percent and 64 percent of the national reserves, respectively. Other mineral deposits including aluminous laterite, lead, zinc, manganese, mercury, and molybdenum account for 86 percent of the country’s total. Its 37.5 million metric tons of coal is 18 percent of the national reserves. The potential of Mindanao having significant oil reserves is high. Energy for hydroelectric and geothermal power generation is abundant. Thus, power for home and industry needs is cheaply available. Palawan, with an area of 14,746-sq. km. is rich in natural gas and oil resources. It has vast potential for eco-tourism because of its unique flora and fauna and its fascinating natural physiography, including an underground river which flows for miles through a cave before it finally reaches the sea. Being the country’s western frontier, it is of strategic importance to the Philippines. But the most important resource of Mindanao and Palawan is their people - young, dynamic, culturally diverse, and known throughout the islands for their colorful history and tradition. HIGHER EDUCATION IN MINDANAO AND PALAWAN One major resource of Mindanao and Palawan which it can share with its neighbors in BIMP-EAGA is its well-established education system, particularly its higher education system. Mindanao and Palawan have 331 colleges/universities, which offer as many as 244-degree programmes in various fields. Of these higher education institutions (HEIs), 67 are in the public sector while 264 are in the private sector. These HEIs are scattered all over Mindanao and Palawan, including the smallest islands provinces. The programmes offered are mostly at the undergraduate level. However, as will be explained later, we are now embarking on a project to strengthen some of their graduate programmes. Mindanao has five state universities and several privately owned ones. The state universities are Mindanao State University (MSU), Western Mindanao State University, Central Mindanao University, University of Southeastern Philippines, and University of Southern Mindanao, and the University of the Philippines Mindanao. Palawan, on the other hand, has only one -- Palawan State University. MSU is the biggest among the state universities, with seven campuses strategically spread across the different regions of Mindanao: MSU Marawi in Marawi City; MSU Iligan Institute of Technology in Iligan City; MSU General Santos in General Santos City; MSU Tawi-Tawi College of Oceanography in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi; MSU Naawan in Naawan, Misamis Oriental, and MSU Maguindanao in Dinaig, Maguindanao. The big privately-owned universities are Notre Dame University in Cotabato City; Notre Dame of Marbel University in Marbel, South Cotabato; Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City; Misamis University in Ozamis City; and Ateneo de Davao University, University of Mindanao and University of Immaculate Conception, all in Davao City. These universities have strengths in different fields and for purposes of collaboration with other BIMP-EAGA universities, these will have to be identified. THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION In 1994, after a five-year review of the educational system, the government of the Philippines decided to create the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) which will have supervision over all higher education institutions in the country, whether public or private. CHED has since formulated the Long-Term Higher Education Development Plan (1996-2005). This blueprint embodies policies, strategies, and programmes that are aimed at addressing sector-wide concerns on quality and excellence, access and equity, relevance and responsiveness, and efficiency and effectiveness. Consistent with the Long-Term Higher Education Development Plan and
the strategies for the development of Mindanao, and cognizant of the need to boost its
capacity to respond to the demands of the regional cross-border cooperation, the CHED has
formulated a five-point agenda for Mindanao with the aim of actualizing the empowerment
and global competitiveness of Mindanaoans. The five items in the agenda are as follows: |
| 1) | The Commission shall encourage higher
education institutions, both public and private, to focus on such disciplines that provide
the competency/expertise needs of the Mindanaoans to enable them to contribute to the
success of BIMP-EAGA. |
| The areas of cooperation identified in the BIMP-EAGA are air and sea
transport, tourism and fisheries. These areas will open opportunities for experts in
disciplines such as marine sciences, fisheries (from production to postharvest
technologies), engineering and technology (with focus on sea and air transport), and
support or service disciplines such as management and business administration, information
management and technology, tourism and computer sciences, among others. As mentioned in
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) study on BIMP-EAGA, teacher education, particularly
science and mathematics education continues to be a major concern in the region.
Entrepreneurship and other forms of self-employment will likely sprout from the core to
the peripheries of the growth areas which, in effect, will further open new opportunities
that will require additional higher education and training.
The implications of all these developments to higher education will
be tremendous. The institutions will have to determine for themselves the areas where they
will want to focus on depending on their demonstrated capacity to excel in particular
disciplines. For its part, CHED will provide assistance to institutions, which will
respond to these needs. It is currently developing a plan for higher education development
in Mindanao and Palawan geared to potentials for science and technology. |
| 2) | The Commission shall encourage responsive
and relevant curricular innovations. |
| We will support curricular revisions, which are genuinely responsive
in equipping our graduates with the expertise, and competencies required by the labor
market and will enable them to engage in productive endeavors such as entrepreneurship,
considering the vast opportunities arising from the BIMP-EAGA initiatives. |
| 3) | The Commission shall promote the
strengthening of graduate education and research. |
| Graduate education will play a much bigger and more responsible role
in enhancing Mindanao’s capacity to respond to the BIMP-EAGA challenges. Graduate
education has the potential to produce highly specialized and capable human resources to
man key positions in the areas of cooperation identified in the growth area. Graduate
research, on the other hand, is not limited to the development of the requisite expertise
but it can also open up frontiers for further economic development and cooperation.
Graduate education and research will lead to the honing of skills and competencies needed
to generate new knowledge for both instruction and application not only within the
confines of the academe but, more importantly, in the communities where the higher
education institutions are located. This expertise may also be shared with the other
BIMP-EAGA universities and other communities. For this purpose, the Commission has
allocated funds to develop selected graduate programmes in priority areas in Mindanao over
the next five years. |
| 4) | The Commission encourages complementation
between and among institutions, both public and private, in areas such as faculty
upgrading, facilities development, instruction, research and extension. |
| If there is one single challenge the Mindanao HEIs have to face, it
is how to quickly respond to the demands and requirements of BIMP-EAGA in terms of
providing education and training in relevant areas. The colleges and universities are
encouraged to cooperate in delivering quality programme offerings. These cooperative
ventures can be through complementation programmes in selected academic disciplines and in
any of the three functions of instruction, research, and extension. Through these
cooperative ventures, unnecessary competition between public and private HEIs is avoided. |
| 5) | The Commission shall make available
resources to ensure that this five-point agenda is carried out. Scholarship, fellowship,
and research grants shall be made available to students and faculty, and institutional
support shall be given to selected institutions and programmes. |
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The Commission is exerting all efforts to increase the budget allocated for the higher education programmes of Mindanao. As already mentioned, it is allocating resources from its own funds for this purpose. In addition to the policies and programmes which are specific to Mindanao, CHED has other policies which are of national application but have direct impact on the BIMP-EAGA initiative. The Philippines has liberalized its policies relative to the entry of foreign students. Except for students of medicine and dentistry, students are no longer required to get special permission to enter the country from the CHED. Admission to academic programmes is now purely a college/university decision. There are, however, some constraints such as accreditation of schools. CHED allows only those schools with accredited programmes to admit foreign students. (Please note that CHED gives recognition to programmes which meet minimum standards. Accredited programmes have to meet requirements which are above the minimum. However, accreditation is voluntary). CHED encourages colleges and universities to have twinning arrangements with colleges and universities in other countries. However, such twinning arrangements should be only with accredited colleges and universities. SUMMARY The Philippine government and all its agencies, including CHED, are fully supportive of the BIMP-EAGA initiative. CHED has put together an agenda to support the activities and programmes of colleges and universities in Mindanao and Palawan to enable them to respond positively to the demands of the growth area in terms of the necessary level and quality of education and training required in the agreed-upon areas of cooperation. To end, and to inspire us in our work, let me quote Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, in his Rizal and the Asian Renaissance: “Our labors have resulted in the creation of a region that is multicultural yet peaceful, stable yet vibrant ... For us in the region there should be no room for mutual suspicion. We subscribe to the idea that nations in the region ought to treat each other as members of an extended family ... Tolerance, understanding, and mutual respect will teach us to appreciate the mosaic of our multiculturality and to perceive it as a positive and integrating force. We must therefore continuously pursue inter-faith dialogue, intercultural engagement, and productive cooperation. These are the building blocks of a regional ecumenical community, al-madi-nah alfadhilah, a community with the ability to transcend racial, cultural, and confessional differences. The immense diversity of the region will not become a cause of dissension; rather it will be the life blood from which our ecumenical community draws its sustenance.”
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