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National College of Science & Technology
January 2008
10 years of bringing the youth closer to their dreams…
Humble beginnings
he National College of Science & Technology (NCST) was born in the university
belt of the province of Cavite, the historic and fast growing municipality of
Dasmariñas. Cavite, due to its strategic location in the CALABARZON Region,
hosts numerous technology-based industries and companies operating in
different technoparks that will be the end-user of the NCST graduates.
A brain child of then 23-year-old visionary entrepreneur Emerson B. Atanacio,
NCST has slowly yet steadily carved its niche in the fast growing and very
competitive educational arena in the province and the entire region.
NCST started with an initial enrollment of five hundred fifty (550) students,
majority of whom were from Dasmariñas and neighboring towns. Most of the
students came from the financially challenged bracket of society who were
nevertheless determined to conquer poverty through education. NCST’s mission
of providing accessible quality education for all was a blessing for these
youths. While the school’s tuition fee was very affordable, the school
provided expensive and state of the art facilities which other private schools
offered. The students of NCST were trained and educated in a one four-storey
building along Aguinaldo Highway in Dasmariñas, Cavite. During its initial
months of operation, the academic and non-academic team of NCST was composed
of only twenty-two (22) personnel who offered their services on a voluntary
basis, thereby proving that together with the pillars of the school, the
institution has also imbibed among its people the value of commitment and
service.
Present times
With many curricular offerings duly registered with both the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA), NCST’s student population has grown to more than five
thousand (5,000) under the conventional curricular offerings. Majority of the
students come from Dasmariñas and neighboring provinces in Southern Tagalog.
As the school remains faithful to its mission of providing industry responsive
graduates, in 2005, it ventured into its “first institutionally developed”
course offering which is the Certificate in Manufacturing Technology and the
Diploma in Production Technology. Both curricular programs are under the Dual
Training System and duly registered with TESDA. Through this training
modality, the students are being trained in two avenues of learning – the
school and the industry. With an initial enrollment of only 10 students in
November 2005, the DTS department has now reached more than 2,000 students as
of September 2007.
The college also underwent infrastructure development. NCST’s main campus now
has two buildings, both four-storeys, with forty-two (42) fully
air-conditioned classrooms and fifteen (15) laboratories. In order to give
students adequate and relevant training in their respective fields of study, a
special laboratory for each course is provided which includes a network of
four hundred (400) computer systems five (5) servers that guarantee a 1:1
student/computer ratio with full internet access. NCST focuses on information
technology programs using JAVA, ORACLE, .NET as integral part of its
curriculum.
Industry-Based Education Champion
The college believes that the “Learning while Earning Education System” is the
most mutually beneficial strategy of education. It provides an industry-based
curriculum, which balances the theoretical foundation at school and actual
practical skills development in the industry, with a strong emphasis on the
set of values and work ethics using the TESDA - Dual Training System modality.
As the students receive their training allowance from the company during the
training, they use a portion of their allowance to pay for their tuition fee,
making it a self-help program. The industry partners get incentives by
participating in this program as well as making the industry-academe
partnership work in improving their productivity. This makes this program
sustainable and mutually beneficial to the school, the industry, students, the
parents and all the concerned stakeholders. NCST’s partnership with the
manufacturing companies in developing a tailor fit curriculum to train
students with the skills required by industry is, indeed, bridging the wide
gap between the education system and employment.
The NCST gives full emphasis on the field of Manufacturing and Production
Technology as it comprises the biggest number of workforce who are considered
to be the economic drivers of the country. The NCST’s “Study Now, Pay Later
Program,” which is also referred to as a “Self Help Program,” enabled students
to be self-reliant as the system makes education accessible to everyone.
With its considerable resources, NCST is continuously engaged in the research
and development of new curricular offerings as well as enhancement of existing
curricular programs. The NCST Institute of Industrial Research and Training (NCST-IIRT)
which has been operational since July 2007 houses the Dual Training System
program. The NCST-IIRT is located approximately a kilometer away south of the
main campus. The spacious NCST-IIRT has eight (8) lecture rooms, two (2)
automotive-electricity laboratories, two (2) computer laboratories and two (2)
Manufacturing Skills Proficiency laboratories where industry-based production
training is being taught using industry-equipped laboratory facilities. In
order to meet the standards set by its industry partners, the area likewise
has a three-bed industrial clinic and a state of the art admission and
administrative office.
With the positive response of its initial Japanese industry partner in the
implementation of the Dual Training System, new doors of opportunities opened
thereby paving the way for the birth of the NCST IIRT CEPZA which will
formally commence its operation on January 2008. This new institute of
learning will harness the knowledge, skills, values and environmental
responsiveness of trainees who will be trained in partnership with a
European-based client and an American company engaged in a business in the
field of electronics and semiconductor.
In terms of its manpower resource, the NCST has one hundred seventy-seven
(177) faculty members who are graduates of prestigious educational
institutions in the country, majority of
whom are professional educators. Eighty percent (80%) of that number are full
time instructors and the remaining twenty percent (20%) are part-time
instructors. Most of the faculty members have completed their graduate and
post graduate studies while the others are continuously working towards their
Masters and Doctoral degrees.
On the other hand, the faculty members of the NCST-IIRT come from different
disciplines ranging from Engineering, Industrial Education, Information and
Communication Technology, Languages, Liberal Arts and Business Administration.
In order to ensure that industry standards and competencies are carefully met
and taught to the trainees, faculty members who are assigned to teach
industry-based subjects underwent intensive industry immersion and training
after which they were certified by the partner industry as their duly licensed
and accredited trainers. In terms of Japanese Language competence, the
NCST-IIRT has one faculty member who is a sankyu (level 3) passer while the
rest of the Japanese language teachers are currently working for their yonkyu
(level 4) examination.
In order to provide dynamic growth towards competitiveness to its students,
NCST provides On-the-Job Training programs which emphasize the field of
expertise required for each course. Students are immersed in the actual work
environment in their respective field of discipline either through local
partners in the province or in Metro Manila. Other selected trainees who are
able to meet international competencies and standards are deployed in the
United States and Singapore for their International On-the-Job Training.
Graduates of NCST are assisted by the In-plant Training Department through its
close linkage with different industries in the province and in the greater
Metro Manila area. Through this office, students are being assisted in their
pre-employment activities through different seminars and programs which
include: Personality Development, Job Interview Guidelines, Basic Labor
Education and Job Hunting Seminars. The department likewise conducts Job Fairs
for graduating students and alumna. The job fair is held twice a year – every
October and every March of each academic year. There is an average of fifty
(50) companies per day coming from different sectors and industries
participating in the job fair which normally lasts from three (3) to four (4)
days. Companies with international affiliations likewise participate during
this event.
With the school’s very high population coupled with its mission and vision of
producing quality and competitive graduates, the training it has been
providing its students has not been limited to knowledge and practical skills
training. Rather, NCST makes sure that its students are also trained to be
linguistically competent in three languages, namely, Filipino, English and
Nihonggo.
The vastly populated Hotel and Restaurant Management Department and the Dual
Training System Department train its students to be competent in communicating
(speaking, listening, reading and writing) with the basics of the Japanese
language (Hiragana and Katakana) as well as appreciate Japanese Culture and
Traditions.
Through the generosity of the Japan Foundation Manila, NCST has been a
recipient of valuable donations of Japanese learning materials. The materials
donated by JF Manila enabled the teachers and the students to continuously
enrich themselves in their understanding and appreciation of the Japanese
language and culture.
Source: Manila Bulletin Online
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