Gray Areas: External Campuses’ Call for Sufficient Facilities and Equipment
by David Silencio and Rustom Rizo
Attaining quality education is out of reach even in a proper educational facility as Bulacan State University (BulSU) currently suffers from classroom, laboratory facilities, equipment shortage, and limited space for academic purposes.
In line with this, the state university and colleges’ (SUCs) budget cut adds to the factor that hinders the attainment of it.
SUCs in the Philippines suffered from budget cuts of more than P10 billion and about P1.8 million on the Free Tertiary Education Law under the 2023 proposed national budget.
Additionally, about P104 million was cut from the total budget of BulSU in the same year in accordance with data stated in the House Resolution №403 submitted by Makabayan Bloc in the first session of 19th Congress of the Philippines.
This delays the future development of classrooms and other facilities in the university. According to Ar. Ma. Saturnina Parungao, deputy director of Project Management Office (PMO) when asked about the pending projects in Malolos City’s Campus 2 which was started around 2013, she mentioned that it would be finished in time if funded regularly. However, she reiterated that otherwise, it would later be finished in four to five years — even longer.
“It takes time to build a five-storey building, ang pinakaano na do’n is kung if it will be funded regularly for three years, then maitatayo siya, magagamit siya after three years. Pero kung tayo ay kakapusin sa budget, maybe four to five years,” Parungao said.
In line with this issue, BulSUans from both main and external campuses suffer from different facility problems because of the delays and incorrect budget prioritization.
Classroom shortage
Albeit being founded in 2000, BulSU Meneses Campus in Bulakan town struggles to fit in students on a one-hectare property donated by a former local government official.
The satellite recently received land from the Cundangan couple. But for now, the grounds of Meneses Campus is still limited to the aforementioned over one-hectare land.
Classroom shortage is very evident in the campus, with only 15 academic and laboratory facilities combined according to Carlos Mabuti, campus’ computer technician.
According to Mabuti, there are four classrooms being renovated, with most of the construction almost done.
“Currently, ‘yung mga nire-renovate dito is ‘yung mga rooms na apat na piraso dito sa Alvarado Building ground floor and almost patapos na din siya. Inaantay na lang dumating ‘yung mga chairs and the other equipments na magagamit para sa teaching ng mga faculty and the students,” said Mabuti.
Meneses Campus has 3,122 students — as per campus dean Dr. Marita Parobrob — a problem for their limited classrooms and growing populace.
Lei Gatchalian, Meneses’ Local Student Council (LSC) governor, stated there are supposed to be nine classrooms which are intended to serve over 3,000 students, but instead during this past first semester, there were only six functional classrooms.
“Tatlong libo [ang] estudyante, paano magkakasya sa isang building na dapat siyam ‘yung room na nagagamit. Pero ang nangyari, nabawasan pa ng tatlo kasi mas in-improve pa siya [‘yung classroom], so naging six na lang. And then ‘di pa kasama do’n ‘yung mga computer labs namin,” Gatchalian said.
In her perspective, this does not hinder the classroom teaching that is needed to be conducted — but it is still a challenge for their campus.
“Nitong first semester na nagtapos, ginawa ‘yung tatlong rooms namin sa baba, kaya mas naging challenging siya for us — kung papaano gagawin o mangyayari ‘yung mga teachings sa iba’t ibang sections o departments na mayroon kami. Pero nakita naman naming kaya i-execute ‘yung mga klase kahit na under-construction ‘yung tatlo naming classrooms nitong nakaraan, and magagamit na naman siya nitong second classroom,” Gatchalian explained.
Parobrob, when asked about her perspective on the level of learning that the students are currently receiving despite Meneses’ current state, said that it is quite okay. She also added that, “Mas magiging mabuti, mas magiging maayos kung sakali at ito ay madadagdagan pa ang mga classroom.”
Unwanted disputes
According to Mark*, an Information Technology student of Meneses Campus — there were instances that they have experienced schedule disputes when they manually reserve rooms in their campus.
“Matagal na nangyayari ito sa amin, kahit na nagpa-reserve na sila [his section] ng room [manually] e kadalasan naaagawan [pa rin] ng room. May mga nagsasabi nga na balewala lang ‘yung pagre-reserve ng room kung maaagawan ka pa din,” Mark shared.
He added based on his experience on using one of the Computer Laboratory of their campus, some of their rooms are congested, and there is some equipment that is stocked in the same room.
“At ang mga ibang room e halos masikip dahil sa ibang gamit na nakatambak tulad ng mga computers na sira at mga other peripherals na wala nang mapaglagyan ay kung minsan nasa ilalim ng table n’yo or nasa tabi mo,” Mark stated.
He also told Pacesetter that the only problem this scenario gives them are sudden class cancellations, which disadvantages students far from the university and those going to school early.
“Ang hindrance lang para sa ‘min ay sa pagkakaroon ng maagang schedule at biglang mawawalan ng classroom na kung minsan ay nauuwi sa biglaang pagkansela ng pasok — which [is] unfair para sa mga pumasok nang maaga at sa mga estudyanteng galing pa sa malalayong lugar.”
Display of shortage
Jen*, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (BSCpE) from Meneses Campus, does not have any problems in terms of classroom shortage.
However, in terms of equipment, some of his classmates do not have their own computer nor laptop and it causes them to struggle with their course. There are laptops that the university lends them, but it is quite limited.
“As CpE student, medyo hirap lang din kami. Kasi most of us ‘ala naman laptop, and limited lang din ‘yung puwede ipahiram na laptop ng school. Kaya minsan nag-aantayan pa sa gamit ng laptop ‘pag may acts,” he said.
In contrast to this, Mysta*, although he has used computers provided by the campus, it is nothing like those laptops being lent to CpE students.
“Nakakagamit ako ng mga computers [although] not the laptops na same as the one lent to the CpE. Though understandable naman na we mostly work on low level languages, we still want responsive equipment that can handle more demanding tasks,” said Mysta.
According to Brian, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (BSP) from College of Social Science and Philosophy (CSSP) in the Main Campus, most of the time, when they need to perform dissection activities, the specimens were provided by them, but at the very least, the microscopes such as compound and light microscopes were provided by the university.
However, Brian mentioned that when light microscopes were needed, “Pupunta pa kami ng [Federizo Hall] sa room ng isang professor para lang maka-access kami, para lang ma-access namin nang malinaw ‘yung specimen.”
During long hours of vacancy, the student lounge stands as a resting place for students. However, Mark said the only safe haven they have is the hallway of their building and some need to go outside the school grounds just to rest, which is such a hassle on his end.
“Kadalasan naka-stay lang kami sa hallway, ‘yung iba naman e nasa labas like mga karinderya. Hassle talaga lalo na kung matatapat kayo sa tanghaling tapat. May pino-provide naman na isang malaking e-fan pero kadalasan ding naaagaw ng ibang students, kung minsan naman nagkakasiksikan na sa hallway kapag maraming naghihintay dahil sa vacant at mga papasok pa lang,” he said.
Lacking facilities for specific activities
Gatchalian said when asked about her point of view on the needs of the students, she said that an Activity Center (AC) is what they need the most.
She said that they already have an Activity Center in their campus, but the issue is — it’s not functional because it was neglected for years because of the pandemic and it is not safe for students to use.
According to her, this issue has already been lobbied by their campus dean to BulSU President Dr. Teody San Andres.
“Naisangguni na daw niya ito kay Pres. [Teody], at titingnan kung ano pa ‘yung babaguhin [on the Activity Center]. Kasi siyempre, nabaha siya, nag-pandemic, so hindi siya naalagaan. Hindi talaga siya safe sa mga estudyante, and ‘di talaga niya gustong i-risk ‘yung health ng bawat isang estudyante na pupunta sa AC dahil kailangan lang ng maluwag na espasyo.”
In accordance with this, the temporary remedy was to heightened the campus grounds — so that they have something to use during P.E. classes.
As disheartening as it may sound, Kai*, a BSP student from CSSP shared in an interview with Pacesetter that when they were second year students, they performed dissections on the tables at Federizo Hall–which is also the place where some students eat their lunch.
“So, ‘yun na nga. No’ng second year kami, may Gen Zoo kami no’n. Siyempre may dissection ‘yun. Do’n lang kami nag-dissect sa Federizo Hall sa may table kung saan kumakain ‘yung mga tao kapag lunch. Parang ang unhygienic lang din, kasi nga sa labas lang kami nagla-lab do’n,” Kai stated.
According to her, it is quite a task when they are dissecting because the stench of the specimen reeks of. Leaves also fall down which affects their specimen.
“Ang hirap mag-ano n’on [dissect], e, nangangamoy sa buong labas e — ‘yung ginagawa namin. May mga nalalaglag pang dahon no’n, e ‘di naapektuhan ‘yung specimen namin. Ang hirap din,” she stated.
It is really unhygienic and it also poses a threat, not just to the specimens they were dissecting — but also to those around them and for those who are going to use the tables for basic agendas like reviewing lectures, or just simply resting.
It is also the same scenario when in terms with the laboratory for Brian. They were also designated at the tables of Federizo Hall, and sometimes at normal classrooms at Mendoza Hall.
“Nagla-lab kami, ‘di sa lab ng mga Fed or mga Educ or what, dito lang kami sa room namin [CSSP]. So nililinis namin siya after. Pero, ‘yung isa namang location is sa Fed. ‘Yung upuan diyan sa ano, sa labas sa mga may puno,” he stated.
It is quite a bummer for them for not being able to experience decent laboratory room for their activities in their respective subjects according to Brian.
“Siyempre, minsan lang maging estudyante and marami ka pang puwedeng ma-explore, marami kang puwedeng maranasan. Sayang, ‘di siya naranasan sa ganoong level. So medyo nakakalungkot kasi hindi katulad nu’ng ibang students, naranasan nila siguro priorities din sila. Which is kumbaga priority din kami, ‘yun lang naman concern ko. ‘Di naman ako nagtanim ng sama ng loob, nalungkot lang kasi sayang. ‘Di lang na-satisfied pero okay lang naman din,” he stated.
Brian wished to the current administration that, “As much as pina-prioritize din nila ‘yung mga ganoong course [science-related courses], i-prioritize din kami. Kasi, malaking factor din kami sa society kapag naka-graduate kami. So ngayon pa lang, as students suportahan n’yo na kami by means of diyan sa mga facilities na maa-access namin.”
Echoing students’ clamor
In an interview with Pacesetter, BulSU Student Government President Arianna de Jesus expressed their continuous efforts in seeking updates from the administration regarding the progress of campus facility construction, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing the construction of infrastructures that can be completed expeditiously, ensuring swift access for students.
“Hanggang ngayon po ay pilit po nating niraratsada na unahin din muna ‘yung mga mabilis gawin na infrastructure para mas maagang ma-access ng mga estudyante gaya nga po ng mga laboratories,” De Jesus stated.
“Hindi po natin hinahayaan na ma-led astray ‘yung prioritization or realignment para sa mga infrastructure natin. Kaya araw-araw po tayo nagpapa-follow up sa administration, sa PMO, saka sa Board of Regents na nawa, ‘yung mga inaaprubahan nila, natin, or namin, na mga construction ay aligned for the needs of the students or the faculty,” she continued.
De Jesus also points to the understaffing and delayed budget allocation for the university’s Facility Management Office (FMO) as contributing factors to the sluggish pace of infrastructure construction within the campus.
“Ang bagal ng FMO natin. Ito naman ay hindi nagkukulang ang FMO. Ito ay dahil understaffed tayo sa FMO. Kasi para makapag-push sila, they also need the budget, e ang budget alam naman nating hindi agad siya napu-pull out sa BulSU,” she explained.
The SG President envisions leaving behind, at the very least, a proposal for additional spaces for students in every campus once her term concludes. She emphasized the understanding that such a process does not always yield immediate results.
“We should expect na hindi siya one year tapos na lahat, kasi gaya nga ng sinasabi ko, meron din po tayong ibang facilities na kailangan tugunan ng administration, na kailangan maayos kasi for the benefit rin po ng students,” she ended.
Attaining the highest peak of quality education would only be within the reach of BulSUans when all of these pressing issues would be resolved in the near future.
It could easily be settled by the proper budget prioritization of the current BulSU administration and by the Philippine government if they would continuously help in stabilizing the funding of SUCs, which would help in expelling the hindrance in attaining quality education.
*Not their real names
Mark David Silencio is a freshman staff writer of Pacesetter. He is a first-year information technology student from the College of Information and Communications Technology.
Rustom Rizo is a junior staff writer of Pacesetter for A.Y. 2023–2024. He is a third-year electrical technology student from the College of Industrial Technology.
