CHED allots P298 M for call center projects, 31 SUCs get P1 M each

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on its donation of call center project amounting to P298 million to six State universities.

CHED Chairman Emmanuel Angeles presided the signing of the MOA at the Higher Education Development Center Building.

The project, which will be implemented in two phases, will have facilities that will be used exclusively for training of future IT specialists and call center managers and agents in support of the BPO Industry.

The main site is located at a 2,000 sqm portion of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). Other satellite hubs are located at Technological University of the Philippines (TUP), Laguna State Polytechnic College, Tarlac State University, Pangasinan State University, and Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University.

As project beneficiaries, the six State universities are obligated to create their own management committee to oversee and supervise the project. They are expected to utilize the facilities to train future IT specialists particularly call center agents and managers.

The benchmarking of a standard curricula for the BPO sector will be crafted in collaboration with the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) and the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). They will submit annual reports on operation and finances to the oversight committee chaired by CHED, together with CICT, BPAP and DTI representatives, and will monitor and evaluate project facilities utilization and compliance by the six State universities with the terms and conditions of the donation.

Meanwhile, CHED granted P1 million each to 31 state universities and colleges (SUCs) which will fund provisions for more scholarships, faculty development and facilities upgrading.

As part of the full implementation the National Agriculture and Fisheries Education System (NAFES), the 31 SUCs, represented by the respective presidents, were  identified by CHED as National Universities and Colleges of Agriculture and Fisheries (NUCAF).

During his opening speech, Angeles congratulated the SUCs for being granted the cash endowment.

Angeles said that CHED will still monitor the performance of these SUCs in terms of the number of their graduates who will pass the licensure examinations administered by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC). –Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star)