Ascending further to UE's future
Posted By Carlo at
9:01 AM on Saturday, September 22, 2007 |
My BlogsiteDAWN/ Features
Special Anniversary Report
Ascending further to UE’s futureBy: Carlo Andrew S. Ayson
Ask all the living eyes on the University’s four corners and almost everyone already know how the country’s premiere school have grown from just being that structure located at the smack of Recto to the country’s messiah of education.
Tackling the flight that has been inculcated to the hearts and minds of every UEan is not so impasse; however, the prevision on what will become to Lualhati some years after is of paramount importance.
Sixty years ago, the Grand Old Man Fransisco Dalupan saw the need to help rebuild this staggering country by erecting a messiah of learning and founded an institute of Accountancy. After a couple of years, PCCBA was granted University status and was named University of the East. Since then, University of the East has established itself being the leading institution for higher education, especially in the area of business management, especially in accounting.
A nice look-back to the Management’s major plans to resuscitate the University’s old glory will perhaps answer the question of where the University has headed.
The twelve-year strategic plan conducted and presented March last 2004 provides the skeptical but positive approach on the most recent developments and improvements needed in the University.
Such plans for improvements are focused on three predominant aspects. First, making UE the top private science and technology university; second, the ambitious yet possible plan to counter the effects of the school’s decreasing enrolment; and lastly, accreditation, which was the what the University has focused on last year. Others concern infrastructure renovations and additional modern facilities.
So what are those that are already realized?
Launched summer last year, the Wi-Fi (Wirelesss Fidelity) equipped UE Technobus is one of the University’s marketing strategy to battle its dwindling enrolment rate and to promote UE achievements and products to the far-flung provinces. According to Dr. Jesus Tanchangco, who is Executive Director for Marketing, the promotion of the University as “best and most wired” University will help boost the enrolment in the University.
UE has already proven being the country’s most-wired University’s. Countless recognition by experts in science and technology undoubtedly makes UE the leading school in terms of modern knowledge. Last year, UE was named “most wired” by Computerworld Magazine, ranking it fifteenth out of overall 100 corporations and companies. At present, the University is tagged by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as a ‘center of information technology”
Several programs and courses that were submitted to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and Technical Education and Skills Authority (TESDA) are already granted to operate and are now offered in the University as additional courses.
A major component of the twelve-year plan to make the Caloocan Campus the center of industrial science, technology and management is already encompassing as Caloocan Campus has started offering new courses. The setting of programs such as Bachelor of Sciecne in Tourism Management (BSTM) marks a point to increase the looming problem of enrolment decline in the Extension at the same time set the mark of competition with mainstream universities. In fact, the enrolment to the College where the Department belongs has significantly increased by an appalling 244.9 percent
In the Main campus, the Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) helped amass the enrolment rate, helping the freshmen enrolment ascend to 36 percent.
Autonomy: That is the primary goal why the administration aggressively pursues Accreditation. The current Administration revealed that Autonomy Level is the goal of the University because having such will give the university the power of deregulation for its academe and administration in the coming years.
“Accreditation is all-encompassing,” the former CHEd chairman revealed. The future of the university indeed lies a great part on the accreditation of its programs, which would determine the quality of its faculty, facilities thus even its graduates. At present, the Administration is currently sketching its own preparations on the upcoming visits by two accrediting committees: the Philippine Accrediting Association of School, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA)
The Administration has started to give the University a run for infrastructure innovations. The renovations of the High School and the Engineering buildings in Caloocan and the addendum of the Extension campus’ Elementary Department are already on-going.
The new Tan Yan Kee University Park erected in the newly acquired lot along Recto Avenue is ready being exposed even before the University’s Foundation Anniversary. An estimated ten million peso is allotted for the Lucio Tan-suggested Park.
Those are what UE has achieved after its diamond Jubilee – An institution emancipating from financial intricacies and a university reviving its own glory days. But certainly there are still more to do and still more to achieve – goals that for the meanwhile, are just part of University’s “blueprint to renaissance.”
Graduate courses in the College of Dentistry, such as the P.O.P.E. or the Prostodontics, Orthodontics, Periodontics, Endodontics and new Engineering courses like Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Computer Engineering will soon open in the main campus.
Another plan to “rebirth” UE by the Administration is to actually change or revise the syllabi in the two campuses. The Management realizes that the present curriculum are no longer coping with the modern times as compared to other universities’ programs and may slowly deteriorate the system of education offered in the university.
The plans of UE campuses outside Luzon—the one in Mindanao to focus on Agricultural Science and Technology and the Visayan campus to be the center of Maritime Science and Management, are still not pushed through because of the Accreditation hype. In line with the Accreditation, the University is still eyeing a Makati campus, which would only materialize once the University is granted a Level III status.
With the proposals and plans of the current management and other administrative offices, a clear, steady and solid path is laden in front of Lualhati and her children even after her Diamond Year. In contrast to those remaining problems either left by the past management or just introduced during this year’s management, it is the fact that UE had proven to be the epitome of stability and strength that will make it one of the best educational institutions in the country.
Slow but sure. This is the right description of how UE manages to deal with the fiscal crisis brought about by past challenging years. Yes, we may not have fully recovered from atrocities, but judging from way things are going, there is no direction the East is going, either slowly or steadfastly, but upward, and on top.
Change
Posted By Carlo at
11:56 AM on Friday, September 21, 2007 |
My BlogsiteThe most certain thing in life is uncertainty. Yes, the adage doesn’t need much elaboration for it actually speaks by itself. Comparable to a all the things created naturally or artificially, life, is without any amount permanent.
Everything changes! From telenovelas to fashion to your latest UAAP bet, those change. Say, before, you’re just someone coming from suburbs of your own well-to-to family in the town of nowhere, now you’re already in the snatching capital of the country. Or like, when before you bore yourself to death playing some deadly Resident Evil in your ever-reliable Playstation 1, now it’s DOTA that you’re hooked on. See? We really can’t stop the world’s viscous cycle.
Anall-out WAR to Basilan
Posted By Carlo at
5:33 PM on Monday, September 17, 2007 |
My BlogsiteDAWN/Features – Issue 10
Killing lives, saving motherland
An ALL out WAR to Basilan
Carlo Andrew S. Ayson
The offensive war against the prime bandits of this time and age, the Abu Sayyaf began almost naturally upon the kidnapping of the Italian missionary priest Father Giancarlo Bossi last June. The kidnapping roused the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Marines out of their training session and went blow-by-blow to Basilan and to other parts of Mindanao to trace possible hideouts.
However, the operation wouldn’t be that special, since the rage by the Arroyo government against the outlaws of the south already took place almost the same time as Arroyo got her seat as president, but with certain issues looming around by both the opposing parties, we cannot help but give this space because really, there is an ALL OUT WAR that is happening.
Determined to win the battleIf the death toll of Philippines soldiers and marines in the past months is a measure of which side is winning in this unending hostility, then the government is left losing its streak.
Just a look on how far the “marines versus terrorists” has gone in terms of number of men killed by the opposing enemy. Media networks inform the whole world almost everyday the ground-breaking number of people from the military being murdered in just one single day. In this clash the greatest number of death toll in a day happened when 25 men of army were slaughtered in a matter of 24 hours last August 29. That is just for a single day military struggle. Most recent number implies almost hundreds already being battled out by the counter-enemies; it’s not impossible that the number will still multiply.
Despite this, the Arroyo regime still pushes operations in Sulu, Basilan and Zamboanga peninsula, determined and ready to attack. The Army already employs almost 5000 troops on Jolo alone and thousands more on Basilan.
Senators like Rodolfo Biazon, who was a former AFP Chief iterated for the operation to take place despite calls for its stop. The call, according to the Committee of National Defense and Security head, implies that the sacrifice are deemed meaningless if ever they will be authorized to go “back to their barracks”. Even the President of the Land herself promises the defeat of the alleged terrorist and finally “win the peace,” ironically through guns and armed attacks.
The “Unseen” hiders On the other side, Abu Sayaff and Jemaah Islamiah are without inch of giving up in spite of some news that they are already outnumbered by the Armed Forces. With the assertions of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) backing them up, the Philippines’ most wanted rebels continue to play blow-by-blow with the authorities.
Kadaffi Janjalani and Abu Sulayman’s capture and death last year were perceived as an early bird’s win against the wanted group. Moreover, the continuing killing of many of the insurgent’s leaders means victory to the administration. But that’s not enough reason to rejoice, for there are still left uncaptured, such as “Dulmatim”, who was still hiding since 2003 has a massive 15 million dollar pot on his head. The ongoing operation by the military as well suggests that celebration by Arroyo administration is not yet guaranteed.
Another bullet the rebels have against the Armed Forces is the sensationalized reports by media and the government’s alleged “misinformation” to the people, telling the whole nation “false” statistics of the number being killed on the side of the Sayyaf. An instance happened when the Armed forces claimed 42 death tolls from the Sayyaf, when in truth only 4 had been admittedly recovered from the enemy.
U.S.A. to the RescueThe land of the red apples has been an ultimate “shoulder-to-cry-on” help to its closest ally, the Philippines. Uncle Sam’s aid began more or less a decade ago when the Visiting Forces Agreement was enforced to rescue the dying military populace of the land from being beaten by the Philippines’ most wanted safety-wreckers. The agreement however also provides exemptions.
Despite the mere fact that VFA’s provisions stipulates U.S. Forces’ prohibition to engage in combat in our country, the “help” that they are allegedly giving away has shown from hidden ashes when a foreign journalist pictured an army truck carrying U.S. Forces in a convoy of our very own military.
Leading the so-called global war on terror, the United States tagged the New People’s Army and the Abu Sayyaf group as local terrorist organizations, groups that haven’t been beaten by the present administration or even the governments preceding it. Hence making the campaign U.S.A backed, against the local Al-Qa’ida ( a world-wide terrorist) linked Abu and Jemaah Islamiah. That only proves the land of poorly equipped “little brown Americans” will be left in aegis of its “kindest” colonizer, the United States of America, military wise.
A Question on HumanityHow about the hundreds of military populace who sacrificed lives to a strife already been on-going for ages and those thousands more who are compelled to fight for their country’s welfare? Will the primary gist of their work “to serve and protect” the people, community and country enough for them to surrender their lives?
Reports from the media of Marines’ being killed like “sitting ducks” created huge impact on the opposing side, who orders the operation’s recall. No less than the Catholic Church plus other “non-violent” organizations push the “peaceful ways” as the best way for negotiations. According to them, the government’s “eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth” response of to the killing is meaningless and hence immoral.
On the legal side, the deployment of “young” military officers in the combat zones is already being questioned. The Humanitarian Law, and the constitution provides forth regulations in times of war. The inherent power of the state, “Police Power” is the measure being argued by the Government, saying it is just the job of the state to protect itself if the public safety requires it.
Some had actually suggested that the government should provide more benefits to the families of those who have died because of the war. Some Congressmen early on pressed for more assistance for the families of the soldiers died in clash, such as scholarship grants and amounts enough to start a business. That is, aside from the medal of honors and recognitions being given as the Armed Forces’ consuelo de bobo.
Part of Homegrown CultureCeasefire! Or perhaps, ceasefire? The problem of civil warfare in the Philippines is not new in this time being, but it is as if the dilemma brought about by our homegrown bandits is still left unsettled. Remember the time when HUK (or HUKBALAHAP, Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon) was still for the people, freedom fighter and right warrior as oppressed citizens in the mid 40’s against the Japanese dictators. However the predominant vigilante of its time became the country’s “serial assassins”, hiding to provinces far from the metro to escape possible capture.
About more than a decade ago, the MILF and MNLF were the targets of military’s offense. But in 1996 the Muslim separatist Moro National Liberation front signed in a peace agreement during the Ramos regime. At present, the Misuari-led Moro Islamic Liberation Front involved itself in fragile peace talks in Manila. All these took place notwithstanding their alleged collaboration presently with the Abus’.
Lack of political will, poorly equipped military, shortage of budgetary allotment
(amid having second largest budget to Education), religious difference. Whatever reasons being pointed-out for this unending contention, it doesn’t matter. If we want to save the pearl of the orient from its predictably disastrous outcome, then we must not forget that there are still other inhabitants other than us who want to enjoy the nation we are still living in.
References:
Internet
Manila Bulletin
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
News references!
Mam Karen
Posted By Carlo at
12:45 PM on Sunday, September 16, 2007 |
My BlogsiteIf there is anyone whom I miss by the time that I am writing this, that would be my Mam Karen. Apart from having me desked for hours to edit and criticize my work, Mam Karen had thought me so much views, lessons that I consider to keep and to live mith.
My six-month stay in the DAWN will never be that fruitful if not for her. She has thought me that a feature story is not just a simple collection of “flowery words” and “insincere babbles.” I was astonished by the fact that my very imperfect canvass can be a publishable masterpiece through her article transforming capability and sleepless editing.
I remember my own story being published just after two weeks of my stay in the DAWN. And I still have down pat on all the stories done by me that were published. All would not have been approved if not of her editing skills and sly imagination.
Although indirectly, she had given me various “unprofessional” lessons that came like unsolicited advice and helped me a lot in my adventures with the DAWN. The principle of seniority in DAWN cannot be understood by a non-DAWNER, we know that, but the respect I have for my immediate head arrives to the fact that she is a perfect example of a person that is respected just because she’s humble and down-to-earth- attitudes you will not likely find to anyone who has achieved the same kind of status as hers, being a regular feature writer.
And despite all the hardships she had during her stay in the DAWN, she remains loyal, strong and unassuming.I believe, she will not be like any other.
***
Writing a feature story is for many times misinterpreted as the easiest task in the whole department of the DAWN. I could not agree more if being easy is easy in terms of looking out of a good, publishable feature story. But hell no, it’s not just that. I tell you. There is nothing such as easy in DAWN.
***
Let me borrow this space to say that for the second time, I have been lucky. Sophomore jinx proved to be ineffective for me. Right now I am wiser, more committed. I learn by heart that It is not mine, nor to the staff. So ladies and gentlemen, let’s bring back DAWN to whom it belongs - to the students.
Hello Hello
Posted By Carlo at
10:51 AM on |
My BlogsiteJust Editin' My Blogsite... :P
