REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7664 - AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND AUTHORIZING THE
APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS THEREFORE
Section 1. Establishment. — There is hereby established in
the Municipality of Baler, Province of Aurora, a state college to be
known as the Aurora State College of Technology, the same being
organized as a corporation under that name.
Sec. 2. Purposes. — The State College shall
primarily provide technical and professional training in the sciences,
arts, teacher education, agriculture, engineering and technology as
well as short-term vocational courses. It shall likewise promote
research, advanced studies and academic leadership in the stated areas
of specialization.
Sec. 3. Powers of the State College. — The State
College shall have the general powers set forth in Section Thirty six
(Sec. 36) of Batas Pambansa Bilang 68 (B.P. Blg. 68), as amended, and
the exercise of its corporate powers shall be exercised exclusively by
a board of trustees.
Sec. 4. Board of Trustees. — The governing body of
the State College shall be vested in a board of trustees to be known as
the Board of Trustees of the Aurora State College of Technology.
It shall be composed of ten (10) members, consisting of:
a) the Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports as
ex Officio Chairman of the Board;
b) the President of the State College as
Vice-Chairman;
c) the Chairman or a member of the Committee on
Education in the Senate;
d) the Chairman or a member of the Committee on
Education in the House of Representatives;
e) the President of the Alumni Association;
f) the President of the Faculty Association;
g) the Chairman of the Supreme Student Council;
h) the President of the Employees Association as ex
officio member and
i) two (2) prominent citizens from the local
community who have distinguished themselves in their profession or
field of specialization. Such prominent citizens shall be
appointed by the Board of Trustees upon recommendation of the President
of the State College. Of the first two (2) appointed, the Board
of Trustees shall designate one to serve for three (3) years and the
other for six (6) years.
The members of the Board of Trustees shall be citizens and residents of
the Philippines. Except for the President of the State College,
the President of the Faculty Association and the President of the
Employee Association, no person in the employ of the State College or
of other educational institutions in any capacity whatsoever shall be
eligible for membership in the Board of Trustees.
The members shall serve without compensation, but they shall be
reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in their attendance of
meetings of the Board or in connection with their official business
authorized by resolution of the Board.
The Board of Trustees shall hold its regular meeting every two (2)
months and may hold as many special meetings as may be necessary.
One-half of the members holding office at the time of the meeting is
called shall constitute a quorum. In the absence of the Chairman,
the President of the State College shall act as Presiding Officer
during the Board meetings.
Sec. 5. Powers of the Board of Trustees. — The
Board of Trustees shall have the following powers:
a) to receive and appropriate, to the ends specified
by law, such sums as may be provided by law for the support of the
State College;
b) to provide for the establishment of an institute
of General Education Studies, a School of Agriculture and Aquatic
Sciences, a School of Forestry and Environmental Science, a School of
Engineering and Technology, a School of Education, a School of
Business, a School of Veterinary Medicine, an Indigenous Arts and
Crafts Institute, and other schools and departments as the Board of
Trustees may deem necessary;
c) to confer degrees upon successful candidates for
graduation from the State College;
d) to authorize the President of the State College to
award certificates for completion of non-degree programs;
e) to prescribe for the governance of the State
College such rules and regulations not contrary to law as may be
necessary to carry out the purposes of the State College;
f) to receive in trust legacies, gifts, donations for
real and personal property of all kinds, and to administer the same for
the benefit of the State College or of a school, institute or
department thereof, or for aid to any student or students in accordance
with directions and instructions of the donor or, in default thereof,
in such manner as the Board of Trustees may in its discretion
determine;
g) to appoint the president, vice-presidents, deans,
directors, the secretary of the State College, the registrar, the heads
of the departments, professors, instructors, lecturers and other
officials and employees of the State College, to affix their annual
compensation subject to pertinent compensation laws, to prescribe their
hours of service, duties and other conditions as it may deem proper; to
grant them, in its discretion, leave of absence in accordance with
rules that it may promulgate and, to remove them for cause after proper
notice and hearing pursuant to Civil Service laws governing
disciplinary action;
g) to approve the curricula and rules of discipline
drawn up by the College Academic Council as hereinafter provided;
i) 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. Such fees and charges, including government subsidies and
other income generated by the State College, shall constitute special
trust funds and shall be deposited in any authorized bank, and any and
all interest that shall accrue therefrom shall form part of the same
funds for the use of the State College. Any provision of existing
laws to the contrary notwithstanding, incomes generated by the State
College may, at the discretion of the Board of Trustees, 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, building and other
infrastructures; and for expenses necessary for the attainment of its
purposes under this Act.
i) to provide fellowships for qualified faculty
members and scholarships, grants-in-aid and part-time job opportunities
to deserving students, especially the underprivileged;
k) to establish chairs in the schools mentioned in
paragraph (b) of this Section and to sustain their endowment, as well
as to provided for other faculty awards as the programs of action may
make necessary; and
l) to establish branches or extensions within the
Province of Aurora where there are no existing educational institutions
offering similar programs or courses.
Sec. 6. a) The President. — The administration of
the State College shall be vested in the President. He shall be
appointed by the Board of Trustees for a term of six (6) years:
provided, that the President of the State College may be appointed
after his term shall have expired.
His salary shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees, subject to
pertinent compensation laws.
The powers and duties of the President, in addition to those
specifically provided for in this Act, shall be those usually
pertaining to the Office of the President of a State College or
university.
In case of permanent vacancy in the Office of the President by reason
of death, resignation, removal for cause or incapacity to perform the
functions and duties of the office, the Vice-President for Academic
Affairs shall act as President of the State College until a new
president shall have been appointed and qualified.
b) Vice President. — The President of the State
College shall be assisted by two (2) vice-presidents; one
vice-president for academic affairs and one vice-president for planning
and finance, who shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees upon the
recommendation of the President of the State College.
Sec. 7. Faculty; Appointment of Deans. — The body
of professors and instructors of each school shall constitute its
faculty and as head of each faculty, there shall be a dean to be
appointed by the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the
President of the State College.
In the appointment of professors or instructors, no religious opinion
or affiliation shall be made a matter of inquiry or examination:
provided, however, that no faculty member or employee in the State
College shall inculcate sectarian tenets in any of his/her teaching or
attempt, either directly or indirectly, under penalty of dismissal by
the Board of Trustees, to influence students and employees for or
against any particular church or religious sect.
Sec. 8. Secretary of the State College. — There
shall be a Secretary of the State College to be appointed by the Board
of Trustees upon the recommendation of the President of the State
College. He shall also serve as Secretary of the Board of
Trustees. It shall be his duty to keep the records of the State
College and the Board, and shall be compensated according to pertinent
compensation laws.
Sec. 9. College Academic Council. — There shall be
a College Academic Council consisting of the President of the State
College and all the members of the faculty holding the rank of
professor, associate professor, and assistant professor. The
Council alone shall have the power to prescribe the curriculum and
rules of discipline, subject to the approval of the Board of
Trustees. It shall also fix the requirements for admission as
well as graduation. The Council has the authority to recommend
the conferment of titles to deserving individuals. Through the
President of the State College or its duly authorized committee, the
Council shall have disciplinary power over the students of the State
College within the limits prescribed by the Rules of Discipline
approved by the Board of Trustees.
SECTION 10. Admission. — No student shall be denied
admission in the State College by reason of sex, ethnic consideration,
religious belief or political affiliation.
SECTION 11. Campus Site. — The State College shall
have an area of not less than one hundred hectares (100 has.) for its
exclusive use as campus site for its academic and instructional
programs, research and development activities and experimental and
laboratory facilities.
The Board of Trustees shall forthwith recommend a suitable site in
Baler, Aurora for this purpose. The Office of the President of
the Philippines shall effect the immediate acquisition of the area by
way of proclamation or by instituting expropriation proceedings, if
necessary.
SECTION 12. Development Plan. — The Board of
Trustees, within six (6) months following its creation, shall complete
a seven-year development plan for the State College which shall serve
as the basis for its policy decisions, taking into consideration the
resources of the Casiguran School of Fisheries in Barangay Bianuan,
Municipality of Casiguran and the Maria Aurora National Agricultural
School in the Municipality of Maria Aurora, both in the Province of
Aurora.
SECTION 13. Integration of Other Schools. — Within a
period of three (3) years from the approval of this Act, the Board of
Trustees shall adopt and implement a plan, pursuant to Sec. 5(b)
hereof, for the integration of the Casiguran School of Fisheries and
the Maria Aurora National Agricultural School into the State College.
SECTION 14. Appropriations. — The amount of Five
million pesos (P5,000,000.00) shall be initially appropriated from the
savings of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and,
thereafter, the amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this
Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year
following its enactment into law.
SECTION 15. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take
effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official
Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.
Approved: December 30,
1993
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