ABSTRACT
This research paper aimed to assess the impact of the community extension program of the Graduate School of Saint Joseph Institute of Technology on the pupil - beneficiaries of Bit – os Elementary School, Butuan City. The qualitative approach was used in the study that involved 19 pupils - beneficiaries of Barangay Bit-os. An interview guide was designed to determine the responses of the recipients who believed that the extension program has helped them financially and has contributed on augmenting the income of their parents. The recipients perceived the necessity of improving the community extension program of the Graduate School. Monitoring and evaluation must be planned, organized and systematically be implemented in order to have a great impact to the clientele and to the community.
INTRODUCTION
Community extension program is one of the tri – focal functions of educational institutions (instruction, research and extension) where they have to be interwoven harmoniously to make learning more meaningful. Colleges and universities have been mandated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to extend educational and civic services to the community. In relation to this, Republic Act 9163, otherwise known as the “National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001” was promulgated to highlight the commitment of HEIs to provide, promote and sustain community service. This is similar to the United States’ community service-learning programs under the US National and Community Service Act of 1990 (Markus, Howard, & King, 1993 as cited by Llenares & Deocaris, 2018)) that initiated the Commission on Higher Education to re – direct the community extension programs of HEIs under CHED Memorandum Order 32, series of 2016 that became the response to the call of the community to address social issues.
Moreover, the Commission on Higher Education initiated efforts to re-direct extension programs under the CHED Memorandum Order 52, series of 2016. The policy provides guidelines on HEI community extension programs for the “provision of space to discover practical, evidence- and science-based answers that can address real-world social, economic, and environmental challenges of partner citizens and communities. According to Llenares and Deocaris (2018), as producers of knowledge or hubs of innovations, the new extension policy posits that HEIs are in a strategic position to work in partnership with communities, business, and industry in facilitating the transfer of knowledge or technology on specific developmental areas. University and college extensions or the extensions of the universities and colleges are considered as an educational innovation done outside the university or college. The innovations may focus on literary, agricultural and social topics.
Furthermore, partnerships between HEIs and the community should be mutually beneficial. Research and technology - transfer activities by the academe should have the potential to improve curriculum and pedagogy. For students, extension programs help to instill the value of citizenship in a manner that traditional classroom teaching is unable to provide. Such engagements can also add new ideas and insights to the intellectual process and give broader meaning to the work and world of academics (Soska & Butterfield, 2013). Community stakeholders at the same time gain more understanding of relevant issues and are empowered to make decisions to alleviate the present conditions in the community.
Based on CHED Memorandum Order 52, series of 2016, community extension programs are designed to address community issues in order to enhance the capacity of the faculty and students by extending its expertise to the partner community. Issues in the community cannot be solely addressed by the local government officials nor by the residents, and the academe as one of the main actors in the society can possibly effect change by empowering the people in the community. Thus, the Graduate School of Saint Joseph Institute of Technology as an academic institution, is socially responsible in bringing its expertise to the community.
The Graduate School of SJIT has been extending community extension work for quite a time and it is about time to assess the kind of extension activities done in the adopted community. When schools and community organizations work together to support learning, everyone benefits. Partnerships strengthen, support, and even transform individual partners which will likely result in improved program quality, more efficient use of resources, and better alignment of goals and curricula (Harvard Family Research Project, 2010).
In relation to this, a memorandum of agreement was entered into between the Graduate School of Saint Joseph Institute of Technology which was represented by the Dean and Bito-s Elementary School represented by its principal based on Republic Act 8525, otherwise known as an ACT ESTABLISHING THE "ADOPT – A – SCHOOL PROGRAM" and providing Incentives Therefore and for Other Purposes, to encourage private companies to assist in the delivery of better quality education to public schools in the country, particularly in the poverty stricken provinces. The Graduate School of SJIT responded to the call of the Department of Education to serve as a major partner in the nation’s development and in the improvement of the public education system through the provision of adopt – a – school program. The DepEd believes that one way of achieving an enhanced learning environment and addressing the shortage of resources in the public schools is through the provision of adopt -a-school program hence, the partnership between the Graduate School and Bit-os Elementary School. This paper determined the impact of the program to ensure its proper implementation on the pupil beneficiaries.
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