City Council steps in with measures to help scholars

The Cebu City Council yesterday passed resolutions aimed at helping scholars caught in the middle of a dispute between the city government and Asian College of Technology International Educational Foundation (ACTIEF).

One resolution requested the school to issue a Certificate of Graduation, in lieu of the Transcript of Official Records (TORs), to scholars who graduated last March.

Another called on the business sector and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to accept the certificates as an alternative to the transcript. This would allow ACTIEF graduates to find jobs or take licensure examinations.

READ: Scholars fail to get records from ACT

The third resolution requested Mayor Michael Rama not to force  scholars already enrolled in ACTIEF to transfer to another accredited school.

The fourth resolution asked Rama and ACTIEF officials to sit down again and find a win-win solution.

Councilor Alvin Dizon, chairman of the committee on education, gave a privilege speech during the council’s regular session yesterday in a bid to help ACT scholars and their parents.

The school, which was founded by Cebu City south district Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa, is withholding the transcripts of scholars who graduated last March because of Mayor Rama’s refusal to pay P135 million in tuition for the last two school years.

READ: Should Cebu city gov’t pay ACT for city scholarships?

The lack of transcripts has made it difficult for graduating scholars to find jobs or take licensure examinations administered by the PRC.

“It is now causing irreparable injury and prejudice to the parents-student scholars who graduated but could not seek employment appropriate to the courses they graduates,” he said.

“Two very vital interests are at stake here– the right to look for gainful employment and the right to education. Two interests which we in government must uphold and protect. Thus, there is a need to resolve this issue the soonest possible time in order not to worsen and prolong the agony of the scholars and their parents,” he added.

Dizon said  the city council already approved on May 13 a resolution authorizing the mayor to settle the city government’s obligations to the school.

Each scholar is entitled to P10,000 per semester  for tuition and P1,000 as an allowance from the city government.

The mayor has refused to pay the school  because Abellanosa was  found guilty of grave misconduct for conflict of interest and ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman.

Abellanosa was a city councilor when ACT was accredited with the city government’s scholarship program.

A petition for declaratory relief has been filed in court to determine whether the city government should pay ACTIEF or not. But while it’s pending, Rama said they’re already planning to put the money in escrow to show that the city does not intend to evade its responsibility.

Dizon said the school can issue the certificates in lieu of the TOR, which requires a graduate to settle all obligations first.

Dizon also said scholars enrolled in ACTIEF could not transfer to another school.

“It is my humble submission that transferring our existing scholars at ACTIEF to other schools will unduly injure them and their parents. Because of differences in the curricula of different schools, some subjects already finished by the scholars will be wasted while they will have to enroll in additional subjects thereby unnecessarily prolonging their course program and incurring more expenses,” Dizon said in his speech.

He also cited the implementing rules and regulations for the scholarship ordinance, which does not allow the scholars to change courses or transfer to different schools.