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Kalayaan College Bataan
December 2007

Making a difference in the lives of the youth…

Humble beginnings

Five years after it was founded in 2002 by a group of retired University of the Philippines professors and some prominent residents of Bataan, Kalayaan College in Abucay, Bataan has come a long way. With two batches of graduates produced in two semesters, led by a summa cum laude and a magna cum laude and several cum laudes in the different fields of specialization, Kalayaan College Bataan is truly living up to its mission of providing quality education to the youth of Bataan.

Kalayaan College Bataan (KCB) is a partnership of the KC Marikina and a group of prominent Bataenos led by then Governor Leonardo Roman. KC Marikina is led by Dr. Jose V. Abueva, former president of the University of the Philippines. Mayor Liberato B. Santiago, Jr. was invited to join the group and provided the site for the college. For five years now, KCB has been housed at the government center of Abucay in barangay Salian. For the same period up to the present, the good mayor has been the major financial and moral supporter of KC Bataan.

The vision of KC Bataan is to be the premier academic institution in Bataan offering quality higher education in certain fields comparable to the best colleges and universities in Metro Manila. It aims to reduce the brain drain of bright and capable youth and young professionals who are likely not to return to the province after studying in Metro Manila. The word “kalayaan” connotes freedom from the shackles of ignorance, intolerance and prejudice, to help create a better society with good governance.

The professors of KCB are mostly UP faculty and/or UP graduates based either in Metro Manila or Bataan, genuinely interested in the welfare of its students. Manila-based professors are ferried to and from Manila and Bataan in order to provide the KCB students with high caliber mentors.

The first year of operation of KC Bataan saw the entry of about 130 scholars of the provincial government which increased to 160 in the second year. With the change in administration in the provincial government in 2004, there was a sudden decline of student population in KCB coupled with financial problems due to nonpayment of local scholarships. There was a need to review the operations in the school and the courses offered in order to attract more paying students. The next two school years would prove to be the most challenging but fulfilling with the two batches of graduates produced despite all the odds.

Through all these difficulties, there was one person who did not and has not flinched in supporting the KCB through thick and thin. He encouraged the municipal mayors to sponsor students from their respective towns as students of KCB. He even increased his number of scholars from Abucay so that more students will benefit from the high quality of education being offered by KCB. Further, he absorbed all the losses suffered by the school by providing the needed financial support to continue its operation. Without this, KCB would have died a natural death a long time ago. This person is none other than the former three- term mayor of Abucay, the Hon. Liberato ‘Pambato’ Santiago, Jr.

Present times

Through the efforts of the honorable Mayor, together with the dedicated faculty and committed staff of KCB who believe in the wisdom of the good mayor, KCB is still alive and living up to its mission, and will now soon have its own campus and state of the art buildings in Capitangan, Abucay. Part of its long term plan is to have a high school department that will offer high quality secondary education to the youth of Bataan.

KCB has expanded its course offerings to include BS in Accountancy and ladderized programs of TESDA and CHED in Computer Programming and Computer Operation to BS Computer Science and BS in Business Administration. The other programs offered are BS in Elementary Education Major in Pre-School Education and Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English; BS in Business Administration Major in Financial Management; BS in Public Administration; and Associate in Computer Technology; all with the corresponding permits and recognition from CHED and TESDA. KCB also offers Certificate in Professional Education (CPE) during summer, for non teaching professionals who would like to earn professional subjects in education and/ or take the board exam for teachers. So far, KCB prides itself with a 100 % passing rate in the teachers’ board exam for all its CPE graduates.

With the continuous support of Mayor Pambato plus a dedicated and committed support staff and faculty members, Kalayaan College Bataan is surely there to stay in Abucay to make a difference in the lives of the youth of Bataan for a better tomorrow; truly a legacy to the people of not only Abucay but the whole province of Bataan.

Flagship courses

The flagship academic courses of Kalayaan College Bataan are Bachelor of Elementary Education Major in Pre- School which is very much in demand these days. The first batch of graduates of the College are already all employed in the different schools in the province. The Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English hopes to improve the English proficiency of high school students through the graduates in this course. Most of the KCB graduates who took the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) passed the said board exam this year.

Other equally important programs offered by the KCB are BS in Computer Programming, BS in Business Administration, BS in Public Administration, and since 2006, BS in Accountancy.

The School is likewise authorized by the TESDA and CHED to offer ladderized education program in Programming and PC Operation leading to BS Computer Programming and BS Business Administration.

Source: Manila Bulletin Online