What is the problem with local colleges and universities?

My last article, "Are local colleges and universities unstable institutions?" appears to have lit a fuse among education leaders and generated an interesting list of needed reforms to make LCUs viable change agents for educational reform.

- POPOY DE VERA

UPLB Chancellor Dong Camacho, CHED director Lily Milla and former Mabalacat City College president Mich Ong pushed for the imposition of quality assurance standards. PanPacific University Prof. Engelbert Pasag called for a return to their community roots and proposed reforms to: 1) realign LCUs with their original mission; 2) ensure performance-based funding tied to community impact; 3) govern through an independent oversight board with multi-sectoral representation; 4) enforce carrying capacity limits; 5) make sure DILG and CHED exercise their mandates.

But before we start discussing the merits of these recommendations, let's pause and ask the question - why, when and how were LCUS created? And why did they become the institutions they are today? Historically, all public universities were established by national law, except for the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), which was created by national law (R.A. 4196) but funded by the city government.

The framers of the Local Government Code (RA 7160) in 1992 did not contemplate local governments establishing and running public universities. RA 7160 only empowered city, municipal and provincial legislative bodies to "establish and provide for the operation of vocational and technical schools and similar postsecondary institutions." But once given autonomy and with increased funding, most local governments started creating public universities through provincial, city and municipal ordinances.

So, from one LCU created by national law (PLM), there are now 173 LCUS (compared to the 114 SUCs) handling the education of more than 500,000 students in the country.