Quirino State University

Quirino State University, formerly Quirino State College,^[1] is a public university in the province of Quirino, Philippines. Its main campus is located in Diffun, Quirino; other campuses are located in Maddela and Cabarroguis. Nestled in the hills of Diffun, Quirino State University (QSU) is an important center of higher learning in Quirino province which has been considered the last frontier of Northern Luzon.

General Mandate

The state college is mandated to provide higher technological, professional, and vocational instruction and training in science, agricultural and industrial fields, as well as short-term technical and vocational courses. The university promotes research, advanced studies, and progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.^[2] Its main campus is located in Diffun, Quirino.^[3]

History

The college started as the Northern Nueva Vizcaya National High School (NNVHS) in 1963, when Quirino was part of Nueva Vizcaya. In 1971, NNVHS was transformed into an agricultural school called the Northern Nueva Vizcaya National Agricultural School (NNVNAS). After Quirino was separated from Nueva Vizcaya, NNVNAS was eventually named Quirino National Agricultural School in 1976. In 1983, during the tenure of President Julian A. Alvarez, Quirino National Agricultural School gradually metamorphosed from an agricultural school to a state college to be named Quirino State College (QSC). Julian A. Alvarez Hall, located in the heart of the campus was built during President Alvarez's tenure and was named after him.

The university promotes academic, research and extension activities aimed at development in the countryside and targeted to students from Quirino and the adjacent municipalities of Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya. Edgar M. Ricamonte, the second president of QSC and an agriculturist from Central Luzon State University (CLSU), initiated several projects during his tenure such as overseeing the acquisition of land at the back portion of the college to provide more space for agricultural ventures. It was during Ricamonte's tenure that the first phase of the construction of an Animal Science Complex was completed.

In collaboration with Australian Government-funded agritech, a new Bachelor of Science degree was offered in Agricultural Technology. This program was focused on providing experiential learning to agriculture students. During this same period, more student instructional units (SIU’s) and income-generating projects (IGP’s) were established including projects for dairy buffalo, floriculture and nursery, banana tissue culture, a food processing center, and a community outreach center. In addition, a machine and industry building and a crop science building with classrooms and laboratories were constructed.

Dr. Reynaldo P. Villamayor, the current president, continues to establish development projects geared at improving QSC’s services to countryside youths, farmer clientele, and attached agencies.

Adapting to changing times

To help students financially, several scholarships are offered by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the local government, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Freemasons, as well as academic, cultural, and athletic scholarships from the college. The college provides monthly allowance to Student Assistants.

QSC also offers socio-cultural and sports programs. The basketball, softball and athletics teams are under the direction of Sabas B. Padua and Nelson Guray, both professors of QSC. These teams compete in the State Colleges Universities Athletic Association and the Luzon Association of Schools Universities and Colleges (LASUC). One student, Allan Galam, has won gold medals for track events and in the Milo Marathon. There are also dance troupes and a college combo that won second place in the Battle of the Bands during the 2005 International Year of the Rice Festival for their entry song, "Gintong Butil", composed by Surewin R. Libunao, a faculty member of QSC.

QSC faculty researchers regularly receive agricultural funding from the Cagayan Valley Agricultural Resources and Research and Development Consortium (CVARRD), a regional arm of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), Department of Science and Technology. These awards allow researchers to extend development projects to rural farmers and other clientele. QSC has relationships with different government organizations (GO’s) and non-government organizations (NGO’s) for projects designed to improve the living conditions of the people in the community. QSC has established a social laboratory with Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation as a convergence point for the services of the faculty and students of the QSC-TEI. The college also works with DOST-TAPI (Technology Application and Promotion Institute), DA-LGU (Department of Agriculture, local government unit) and DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) on food processing, entrepreneurship and agriculture for farmers, out-of-school youths and housewives.

Current funding at QSC

Facade, Cabarroguis Campus

QSC has grown in size from its beginnings. It has a highly-trained faculty and staff, research awards, income-generating research and development projects, and an information technology center which is the premier internet service provider in the province.

President Reynaldo P. Villamayor has secured funds for the college from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Central Office, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), International Crops Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India, the Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE), and Congressman Junie E. Cua of the lone district of Quirino.

The CHED, through Commissioner Saturnino S. Ocampo, has provided millions of pesos to QSC to finish its infrastructure and development projects, including the P10 million college gymnasium and the P1.8 million water impounding facility, both co-funded with Congressman Cua. Other projects funded by CHED include a R500,000 sound system, combo set, and audio-visual materials, and a R500,000 small ruminants project to create a breeding station for goat and sheep in the province. A total of 20 faculty members of QSC are pursuing higher education in different universities throughout the Philippines, all funded by CHED.

Congressman Cua of the lone district of Quirino provided R1 million for the re-paving and rehabilitation of QSC’s road networks in addition to co-funding the gymnasium and water impounding facility, and released another R4 million to complete the multi-million peso Animal Science Complex. The Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE) provided P 500,000 for the construction of a paved catwalk.

QSC has worked with the Solid Waste Management and Green Fuel Program of the government. In collaboration with the Environmental Management Board-Department of Environment and Natural Resources (EMB-DENR), the Municipal Local Government Unit (MLGU) of Diffun and the USAID, QSC has established a compost center that uses windrow composting to convert organic wastes of the municipality of Diffun into organic fertilizer. The fertilizer produced by the R 550,000 center is either utilized in crop production projects at the college or marketed to local farmers.

The QSC also received P1 million from ICRISAT in India for the propagation of Jathropa, a plant which was identified as a potential source of biodiesel. In collaboration with the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), QSC secured 30 hectares (74 acres) of idle land in the hilly portion of Maria Clara, Diffun, Quirino through transfer without cost from DENR. Thousands of Jathropa are growing in the area to be used for oil harvest.

References