The Cagayan State University (CSU) has approved a program that would recognize and professionalize practicing local officials to earn a college degree.

Prof. Archimedes Articulo, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at CSU Carig campus, said that CSU Vice President Fr. Ranhilio C. Aquino had given him the green light to credit local government officials who are in the public service, but failed to get a college degree “because of pressure of work and other personal reasons.”

He said this program is called Cagayan State University Alternative Delivery System for Tertiary Education for Elected Local Government Officials (CSU-ADeSTE).

To benefit from this program are barangay councilors, barangay chairmen, municipal or city councilors, vice mayors, mayors, provincial board members, vice governors and governors, Articulo said.

In the approved proposal he submitted to Vice President Aquino, Dean Articulo claimed that past studies that looked into the profile of local government unit (LGU) officials would show that many of them never went to college, but have completed secondary education and that many of those who graduated from high school do not qualify for the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency Accreditation Program (ETEEAP).

The dean, who also serves as head of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of CSU, clarified that the new system is different from ETEEAP.

“ETEEAP is rigid. It requires the presentation of several documents. But in CSU-ADeSTE, applicants will just have to prove that they are local officials with at least one completed term of office and at least 22 years of age with no criminal record for them to be admitted immediately to the program,” the dean said.

Under the CSU-ADeSTE, applicants should submit their authenticated birth certificate, certificate of election, most recent academic record, certificates of trainings and workshops, accomplished application form and other documents showing their capability in the field.

They, too, should pass the oral examination to be administered by the college.

Qualified students will meet with their professors (to be named by the dean later) for at least twice a month on Saturdays and Sundays.

Enrollees will be provided with modules and other instructional materials to support their learning.

After satisfactorily completing three semesters and all other academic requirements, ADeSTE students will be conferred the degree of Bachelor of Arts major in Political Science (ABPS).

In a related development, Dean Articulo informed the CIO that his college and the College of Public Administration (CPA) headed by Dean Lilia Tamayao had partnered for the smooth implementation of the new program.

In a text message, the dean said that ADeSTE “is now undergoing revision for it to be transformed into an Institute for Local Governance under the CAS and CPA.”