REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7371 - AN
ACT CONVERTING THE AKLAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF
BANGA, PROVINCE OF AKLAN, INTO A STATE COLLEGE TO BE KNOWN AS THE AKLAN
STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE
Section 1. The Aklan Agricultural College located in the
Municipality of Banga, Province of Aklan, is hereby converted into a
state college to be known as the Aklan State College of Agriculture,
hereinafter referred to as the College.
Sec. 2. The College shall primarily offer higher
professional, technical and special instructions for special purposes
and promote leadership in agriculture and other fields as may be
relevant.
Sec. 3. The College shall offer undergraduate and
graduate courses in the field of agriculture and in other allied degree
courses as the Board of Trustees may deem necessary to carry out its
objectives. It shall also offer short-term technical or vocational
courses within its areas of specialization to meet the needs of the
nation.
Sec. 4. The College shall have the general powers
of a corporation set forth in the Corporation Law. The administration
of the College and the exercise of its corporate powers shall be vested
exclusively in the Board of Trustees and the President of the College
insofar as authorized by the Board.
Sec. 5. The governing body of the College shall be
the Board of Trustees, hereinafter referred to as the Board, which
shall be composed of the following: Secretary of Education, Culture and
Sports, Chairman; President of the College, Vice-Chairman;
Chairman of the Committee on Education of the Senate, member; Chairman
of the Committee on education of the House of Representatives, member;
Representative of the National Economic and Development Authority,
member; President of the Faculty Association of the College, member;
and President of the Supreme Student Council of the College, member.
In addition, the Board may elect as members the following when deemed
necessary: President of the Alumni Association of the College;
President of the Employees Association of the College; and Two
(2) prominent citizens who have distinguished themselves in their
professions or fields of specialization of the College chosen from
among those qualified in the Province of Aklan.
The presidents of the alumni association and of the employees
association as well as the two (2) prominent citizens elected by the
Board shall have the same powers, authority and privileges as the
regular members of the Board.
The Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports, the President of the
College, the Education Committee Chairmen of the Senate and the House
of Representatives, and representative of the National Economic and
Development Authority shall have ex officio terms of office, while the
presidents of the faculty association and of the supreme student
council and, when deemed necessary, the presidents of the alumni
association and of the employees association shall serve for one (1)
year and, when likewise necessary, the two (2) prominent citizens shall
serve for four (4) years and two (2) years, respectively.
Sec. 6. The Board shall promulgate and implement
policies in accordance with the declared State policies on education
and other pertinent provisions of the Philippine Constitution on
education, science and technology, arts, culture and sports.
Sec. 7. The Board shall have the following
specific powers and duties in addition to its general powers of
administration and the exercise of all the powers granted to the board
of directors of a corporation under existing laws:
(a) To enact rules and regulations not contrary to
law as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and functions of the
College;
(b) To receive and appropriate all sums as may be
provided for the support of the College in the manner it may, in its
discretion, determine to carry out the purposes and functions of the
College;
(c) To import duty-free essential commodities,
material and equipment for educational or technological programs as an
exception to existing laws, provided such commodities, materials and
equipment are not available locally;
(d) To receive in trust legacies, gifts and donations
of real and personal properties of all kinds and to administer and
dispose of the same when necessary for the benefit of the College and
subject to the limitations, directions and instructions of the donor,
if any. Such donations shall be exempt from all taxes and shall be
considered as deductible items from the income tax of the donor;
(e) To fix tuition fees and other necessary school
charges such as, but not limited to, matriculation fees, graduation
fees and laboratory fees, as the board may deem proper to impose.
Income generated by the College shall constitute special trust funds
and shall be deposited in any authorized government depository bank.
Any and all interests that shall accrue therefrom shall form part of
the same funds for the use of the College. Any provision of existing
laws to the contrary notwithstanding, income generated by the College
may, at the discretion of the Board, be disbursed for the professional
growth and development, health, welfare and other similar benefits of
the faculty members and personnel; for the acquisition, construction,
maintenance and repair of urgently needed instructional and auxiliary
facilities, equipment, buildings and other infrastructure and for
expenses necessary for the attainment of its purposes under this Act.
If for any reason the College shall not be able to pursue any project
for which funds have been appropriated for reasons beyond its control
and allocated under its approved program of expenditures, the Board may
authorize the use of said funds for any reasonable purpose which in its
discretion may be necessary and urgent for the attainment of the
objectives and goals of the College;
(f) To authorized the construction or repair of its
buildings, machineries, equipment and other facilities and the purchase
and acquisition of real and personal properties, including necessary
supplies, material and equipment. Purchases and other transactions
entered into by the College through the Board shall be exempt from all
taxes and duties;
(g) To confirm appointments of vice-presidents,
deans, director, heads of departments, faculty members and other
officials and employees of the College made by the President of the
College;
(h) To fix and adjust salaries of the faculty members
and administrative officials and employees;
(i) To approve the curricula, institutional programs
and rules of discipline drawn by the administrative and academic
councils as herein provided;
(j) To confer degrees upon successful candidates for
graduation, to award honorary degrees upon persons in recognition of
their outstanding contribution in the fields of education, public
service, arts, science and technology, or in any field of
specialization; and to authorize the award of certificates for
completion of nondegree and nontraditional courses;
(k) To established branches in the Province of Aklan,
if and when it becomes essential and necessary, where there is no
existing school offering similar programs or courses, to promote and
carry out equal access to educational opportunities as mandated by the
Constitution; and
(l) To establish chairs in the College and to provide
fellowships for qualified faculty members and scholarships to deserving
students.
Sec. 8. A quorum of the Board shall consist of a
majority of all members holding office at the time of the meeting:
provided, however, that among these present is the Secretary of
Education, Culture and Sports who shall be the Chairman of the Board,
or the President of the College who shall act as presiding officer in
the formers absence. The Board shall convene regularly once every two
(2) months. The Chairman of the Board may call a special meeting
whenever necessary.
The members of the Board shall not receive any salary but shall be
entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred
either in attendance at meetings of the Board or of other official
business authorized by a resolution of the Board subject to existing
laws on honoraria and allowances.
Sec. 9. The College shall be headed by a President
to be elected by the Board and shall hold office for a term of six (6)
years without reappointment unless he reaches the age of retirement or
earlier removed for cause or becomes incapacitated to discharge the
duties of the office.
In case of vacancy in the office of the President by reason of death,
resignation, incapacity of the President to perform the functions of
his office, or removal for cause, the Board shall have the authority to
designate an officer-in-charge of the College pending the appointment
of a successor. The new President shall hold office for the unexpired
term but in no case shall his term be more than six (6) years subject
to the provisions of the proceeding paragraph.
The powers and duties of the President of the College, in addition to
those specifically provided for in this Act, shall be those usually
pertaining to the office of the president of similar
colleges.
The salary of the President of the College shall be fixed by the Board
and shall be comparable to that being received by presidents of similar
educational institutions of like enrollment and standing.
SECTION 10. There shall be an Administrative Council
consisting of the President of the College, as Chairman, the
vice-president(s), deans, directors and other officials of equal rank
whose duty is to implement the policies governing the administration,
management and development planning of the College, as approved by the
Board.
SECTION 11. There shall be an Academic Council with
the President of the College, as Chairman and all the members of the
instructional staff with the rank of not lower than assistant
professor, as members. The Academic council shall have the power to
prescribe curricular offering subject to the approval of the Board. It
shall fix the requirements for admission to the College, as well as for
graduation and the conferring of degrees, subject to review and/or
approval by the Board through the President of the College. It shall
also have disciplinary powers over the students through the President
within the limits prescribed by the rules of discipline, as approved by
the Board.
SECTION 12. There shall be a Secretary of the College
who shall be appointed by the Board upon recommendation of the
President of the College. He shall be the Secretary of the Board and
shall keep such records of the College as may be determined by the
Board.
SECTION 13. The Treasurer of the Philippines shall be
the ex officio Treasurer of the College.
SECTION 14. The members of the faculty of the College
shall be exempt from any Civil Service examination or regulation as a
requisite for appointment. No religious opinion or affiliation shall be
a matter of inquiry in the appointment of faculty members of the
College: provided, however, that no member of the faculty shall teach
for or against any particular church or religions sect.
SECTION 15. No student shall be denied admission to
the College by reason of sex, nationality, religion, or political
affiliation.
SECTION 16. The College shall enjoy academic freedom.
SECTION 17. The incumbent president of the Aklan
Agricultural college is qualified under the rules and regulations of
the Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall be the
officer-in-charge of the college pending the appointment of the
President.
SECTION 18. On or before the fifteenth say of the
second month after the opening of regular classes each year, the Board
shall file with the Office of the President of the Philippines through
the Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports, and to both Houses of
Congress, a detail report on the progress, conditions and needs of the
College.
SECTION 19. All the assets, fixed and movable,
personnel and records of the Aklan Agricultural College, as well as its
liabilities or obligations, are hereby transferred to the College:
provided, however, that the positions, rights, and security of tenure
of personnel therein employed under existing laws prior to absorption
by the College are not impaired: provided, that the incumbents of the
positions shall remain in the same status until otherwise provided for
by the Board. All parcels of land belonging to the Government occupied
by the Aklan Agricultural College are hereby declared as the property
of the Aklan State College of Agriculture and shall be titled under
that name: provided, that should the College cease to exist or be
abolished or such parcels of land aforementioned be no longer needed by
the College, the same shall revert to the Province of Aklan.
Sec. 20. All accounts and expenses of the College
shall be audited by the Commissioner on Audit or its duly authorized
representative.
Sec. 21. The heads of bureaus and offices of the
National Government are hereby authorized to loan or transfer, upon
request of the President of the College, such apparatus, equipment or
supplies as may be needed by the College, and to detail employees for
duty therein when, in the judgment of the head of the bureau or office,
such apparatus, equipment, supplies or services of such employees can
be spared without serious detriment to the public service. Employees so
detailed shall perform such duties as required of them by the President
of the College, and the time so employed shall be counted as part of
their regular services.
Sec. 22. It shall be a continuing policy of the
College to accept the affiliation and/or integration within its
operation of any existing national school whose programs can contribute
largely and effectively to the attainment of its objectives: provided,
however, that, in case of integration, the Secretary of Education,
Culture and Sports is hereby authorized to determine and approve the
affiliation and/or integration of the specific existing national
school. in such case, all funds, properties, and other assets, as well
as obligations of the integrated school shall be transferred to the
College.
Sec. 23. In addition to the current appropriations
of the Aklan Agricultural College, the amount needed to carry out the
provisions of this Act is hereby authorized to be appropriated in the
General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law
and thereafter.
Sec. 24. All laws, presidential decrees, executive
orders, rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.
Sec. 25. This Act shall take upon its approval.
Approved: April 10, 1992
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