Think about it
PSU steals thunder from private universities
By Jun Velasco
A casual chat with sixty-ish Vic Estira, Pangasinan State University president, just gave us a surprise of our life.
From its 9,000 student population a couple of years back, the primary government institution of learning has just staged a whopping l8,000 students enrolled in its sprawling branches in the province.
Not only that. At a glimpse, we stumbled into this record: national board placers (6th in the recent architecture board; 10th in April 2010 LET exams for education, and 6th in the board for dietitians).
We find it amazing that a public educational institution has cruised its climb to the top under Dr. Estira who only became PSU president on June 20, 2007.
Unassuming befitting his educational background, a math specialist, Vic, a native of La Union combined a sense of discipline and innate pride in his achievements that led to his successful management of the university.
PSU’s feat — enrollment upsurge and dramatic expansion of the physical infrastructure — strikes one with wonder in this difficult times because most of its private counterparts are suffering from drastically declining enrollment. The university just opened up its Alaminos City, and two new schools — college of law and college of medicine — are about to open their doors to the public a few days from now.
We understand that its newly opened OJT program has sent 90 graduates in Singapore who are most likely to land good paying jobs there.
What’s Estira’s secret in maneuvering this government university to the path of unprecedented growth in record time? He was discoursing on his emphasis on quality teaching and requiring his deans and faculty to set up goals on a regular basis, until it has become habit. We believe it’s his own coinage of his initials — VCE that stands for vision, commitment and engagement — that pushed him to untried frontiers. Under him, the university scored l00 percent passing in engineering and architecture; 79 percent (“but the highest in the region”) in nursing, 90 percent in education but still on top of the heap.
A colleague (AT) who enrolled his daughter at the Urdaneta branch matter- of – factly remarked that while PSU charges low tuition fees, you get satisfied by its faculty’s teaching efficiency. When we pushed the subject further, he says “all my kids were all graduates of PSU, and you could see how they have grown intellectually and developed as young leaders in the community.”
He adds that his children are proud of their school. He said, “this PSU today is a far cry from that of yesterday. It doesn’t charge high tuition, neither too low, but just okay. What matters is my kids who thought studying in a public school lacks glamour has acquired a high respect for a university that has genuinely educated them.”
Which brings us to Rizal’s creed on education as a doorway to a fruitful life. We find its echo in philosopher Francis Bacon’s description of an educated man as a “full man.” Such is the new man the 2lst century’s defines as the man of the hour.
Vic, who is a cut from the pedantic intellectual, takes pride in what he has done for the new PSU, “it is the university of the global present.”
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The Metro-Dagupan Bankers Club will hold its bowling tournament at the CSI World of Fun and Amusement Center on Aug. 25-27, beginning at 6:30 pm. This was announced by club pres Rommel M. Agacita, China Bank Dagupan branch manager. Tournament chairman is Chito Gulang. The tournament is open to all employees of member banks in the club.
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