Officer-in-charge President of the Tagbilaran City College (TCC) Leonides “Edi” Borja (second from right) receives the Gawad Parangal Trophy and Certificate of Recognition from United Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UNIFAST) Executive Director Ryan Estevez (first from left), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Dr. Prospero De Vera III (second from left) and CHED Regional Director Dr. Maximo Aljibe (extreme right) during the CHED’s 27th Founding Anniversary held in the Cebu Normal University on May 22, 2021. Photo by the City Media Bureau

After two years of operations, Tagbilaran City College (TCC) is now a duly recognized higher education institution, according to the City Media Bureau.

No less than the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Dr. Prospero De Vera III, United Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UNIFAST) Executive Director Ryan Estevez, and CHED-7 Regional Director Dr. Maximo Aljibe gave the award to TCC officer-in-charge President Leonides “Edi” Borja during the CHED’s 27th Founding Anniversary held at the Cebu Normal University (CNU) on May 22, 2021.

The TCC passed the two assessments conducted by the CHED: the institutional recognition assessment which checked the governance and management of TCC and the quality of program assessment which checked whether or not all the course programs of TCC were issued certification of program compliance.

This means free tuition and miscellaneous fees to all the qualified students of TCC under the provision of Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, signed by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte on August 3, 2017. 

At the start of TCC’s operation, the City Government of Tagbilaran subsidized all the expenses of the College as City Mayor John Geesnell Yap II prioritized the provision of quality education to the Tagbilaranons.

“As they say, education is a great equalizer. Thus, we want to provide educational prospects to all our deserving students. A college diploma can open avenues of opportunities which can significantly improve the quality of their lives. We congratulate the administration team, faculty, staff, and students of TCC for this milestone, indeed a job well-done,” Mayor Yap said.

For Academic Year 2020-2021, the RA 10931 has funded 186 Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) in Central Visayas with 290,663 enrollees and 31,471 graduates.

 About P112 million worth of scholarships were given by the CHED to tertiary education students in Central Visayas.

Moreover, more than P1 billion is allotted for HEIs in the Central Visayas for the first semester of 2021.

Aside from the TCC, other community colleges were also recognized including the Buenavista Community College; Carcar City College; Lapu-Lapu City College; Trinidad Municipal College; Talibon Polytechnic College; Talisay City College; Consolacion Community College; Cordova Public College; Sibunga Community College; Mandaue City College; Madridejos Community College, and Colegio de Getafe.