PhilNesia SEA Teacher Batch 5
Minggu, 08 April 2018
History of Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU)
The Tarlac College of Agriculture was
established in 1944 as Camiling Boys/Girls High School. It started with 368
students, 13 faculty members and a school principal. But it stopped operation
in December 1944 and resumed after the Liberation as Tarlac High School,
Camiling Branch. The reopening of the school was a response to the clamor of
parents whose children stopped schooling during the war years and the
difficulty of traveling from Camiling to Tarlac.
On July 6, 1945 Municipal Resolution No. 34
created the Camiling Vocational Agriculture School (CVAS) replacing Tarlac High
School, Camiling Branch. That it focused on vocational agriculture was
considered a means to hasten the economic recovery of the town from the ravages
of the war. CVAS had 534 students and 13 faculty. From 1945 to 1948, the school
offered two curricula – the general academic to enable the former students to
graduate and the agriculture curriculum for the first year and second year. On
September 26, 1946, the school was renamed Camiling Rural High School (CRHS).
In 1948, the general curriculum was phased out.
Early in 1952, the Director of Public Schools
served notices that the school should be relocated to a permanent site and
increase the declining enrollment. Otherwise it might be closed or transferred
to another town. The most conducive for an agricultural school’s expansion was
found in Malacampa, a barangay seven kilometers away from the town proper. In
June 1953, the school with 155 students and eight faculty moved to the new site.
Classrooms and offices were made of bamboos and nipa in the “middle of a
wilderness.” Funds from FOA-PHILCUSA later came and permanent buildings
replaced the bamboo structures.
Expansion and development was accelerated
when CRHS was converted to Tarlac National Agricultural School (TNAS) in 1957,
under a Superintendent. It became a policy to make all projects profitable –
piggery, poultry, goat and vegetables. Linkaging for research started from pork
barrel funds. In 1961, the two-year technical agriculture post secondary course
was opened and in 1963, the Health Center was built out of funds from the
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes. By that time, TNAS already had a school hymn
and a student publication, “The Carabao.”
In 1965, TNAS and Tarlac School of Arts and
Trades (TSAT) were merged to become the Tarlac College of Technology.
TNAS became TCT-College of Agriculture (TCT-CA) while TSAT became the Tarlac
College of Technology – College of Arts and Trades (TCT-CAT) by virtue of RA
4337. As TCT-CA, it offered three degree programs: Bachelor of Science in
Elementary Education major in Elementary Agriculture or Home Economics (BSEEd);
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSA) major in Crop Science/Animal Science;
and Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering (BSAEng’g). Government
programs related to agriculture, especially after the declaration of Martial
Law in 1972 gave a boost to the enrollment in these courses. Graduates found
immediate employment here and abroad. From all indications the school could
well become autonomous.
Thus, on December 18, 1974 by virtue of PD
609 issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Tarlac College of Agriculture
became one of the state colleges in the country. The first College President
was Mr. Jose L. Milla. During President Milla’s stewardship, the campus area
was increased to 60 hectares; a forestry laboratory in Titi Calao, Mayantoc was
acquired through PD 1506; Fishery was added to the existing production projects
and joint researches with IRRI were undertaken. Enrollment further increased
and the number of faculty and non-teaching.
The second College President was Robustiano
J. Estrada. Upon his assumption, the ten-year development program and the TCA
Code were prepared. There was a major reorganization in the administrative set
up of the College. Two Vice-Presidents were designated: the Vice-President for
Administrative and Business Affairs took care of the non-academic staff and
functions; and the Vice- President for Academic Affairs was in charge of the
academic programs now based in different Institutes under a Dean. There was an
exodus of faculty to take graduate studies because of the promotion scheme of
state universities and colleges that gave highest point to educational
attainment.
Infrastructure development was also
accelerated by Estrada. Academic buildings rose to accommodate enrollment that
reached thousands and which increased every year. Twenty-one faculty cottages,
the Girl’s Dorm and Boy’s Dorm, a guest house, six-door staff apartment, a
research and development building, a multi-purpose building, the Administration
cum library and the chapel were all constructed. The old structures were
repaired and PAG-ASA established an Agro-Metrological Station. These gave a new
look to the campus. By then the campus has expanded to 70 hectares, including a
4-hectare athletic oval. Research and Extension also expanded and the TCA
became a byword among households in the service area. The production projects
also increased, notably rice, vegetables, piggery, poultry, goat, cattle,
nursery, fruit trees, seedlings and canteen service. Feliciano S. Rosete became
the 3rd President of TCA when Estrada’s term expired in 1989. During the first
five years of Rosete’s term, other infrastructures came about. The landmark was
the Farmers’ Training Center built from the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF)
of the then Senator Alberto G. Romulo. It was also during Pres. Rosete’s term
that scholarships from private individuals and NGOs started pouring in, and
more curricular programs were offered. Extension and Research accomplishments
also multiplied.
In 2001, Philip B. Ibarra became the 4th
President of TCA. His administration is noted for sustaining the gains and
glories of the past while working out for more. TCA then was notable for
revolutionizing its curricular offerings, computerization of enrolment and
administrative system, aggressive accessing of financial and material
resources, development of new leaders, and strengthening existing partnerships
with local and international organizations. All these initiatives has Pushed
TCA to be the Best Institution through Transparent and Caring Administration.
On January 14, 2010, Max P. Guillermo, assumed the presidency of this College.
He pursues a new strategic planning initiative: TCA at 2015 that outlines the
formulated institutional plans, based on strategic programmatic strengths to be
supported by a comprehensive development plan to make TCA an energized
incubator of new ideas and center of innovation.
The second term of the president unfolds more
aggressive realization of the goals of the College to pursue opportunities thru
external relations such as sending OJT students abroad, faculty exchange,
research paper presentations and forging partnerships with universities in Asia
and the world over. More outputs and completion of programs, projects and activities
will be generated through the collective efforts of the administration, faculty
and staff as well as the students and partner agencies. The incessant
establishment of linkages with various sectors intensifies TCA’s presence to be
more visible. TCA will brace more challenges of the ASEAN 2015 and
globalization at a greater sphere
After
years of persistent hard work and months of anxious waiting, finally, the
Tarlac College of Agriculture (TCA), home of agriculture-based scientific
technology in Tarlac, is now Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU). Signed on
May 10, 2016 by His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III, Republic Act No. 10800
formally converted TCA to TAU, making the institution as the first state
college in the country to be converted into a university through the Merit
Evaluation System of the Commission on Higher Education (CMO No.46,S. 2012);
another first for the institution.
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