Trouble in the TRAC

The Tawi-Tawi Region-Agricultural College (TRAC) has a long history of leadership issues. Its quality of education has also been problematic.

- POPOY DE VERA

For decades, the institution struggled with instability and weak governance. It is an SUC Level 1 institution, the lowest classification for state universities and colleges.

This is the reason why I decided to take over as chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of all public universities in the BASULTA region in 2022. I wanted to help the Sulu State College and Basilan State College become full-fledged state universities. I also wanted to contribute to improving the quality of education in TRAC.

The realities on the ground shocked me. Faculty members were teaching agriculture subjects even if they did not pass the PRC Agriculture Licensure Examination (ALE). Not surprisingly, the TRAC passing rate for the ALE over the past years has been very low.

The recruitment and promotion of faculty were also suspect. Many professors became permanent without vertically aligned academic credentials or lacked research publications.

As a result, all of its degree programs had no Certificate of Program Compliance (COPC). The deadline of COPC compliance under the PRC-CHED Joint Circular No. 1 has passed, and the students may be unable to take their licensure examinations.

But things were starting to turn around. For the first time, TRAC had a president who retired honorably and with a clean slate — a rare milestone in its institutional history. The BOT initiated a serious review of the appointment of new faculty members in compliance with CHED and civil service rules. The UPLB College of Agriculture included TRAC in its PHASE II ALE Review project and will explore a capacity-building project for the TRAC faculty.