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Tracks for Students with Disabilities at the Aklan State University College of
Industrial Technology

Technical Report · January 2014

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 Tracks for Students with Disabilities
at the Aklan State University–College of Industrial Technology
Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines

by

Arvin Kim A. Arnilla, MATSPED

PhD Student
University of Perpetual Help System-DALTA
Las Piñas City

I. Introduction

Education is a universal right (Art. 26, UN, 1948). This right must be enjoyed by all people

regardless of “race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,

property, birth or other status.” The enjoyment of this right includes people with disabilities. As early as this

time, the UN was already gunning towards “inclusive educative.” But it was not until 1994 when the label

and its definition came to be heard during the World Conference on Special Needs Education in

Salamanca, Spain.

The United Nations, together with its subsidiaries, has been consistent in its desire to improve the

plight of persons with disabilities, particularly their access to education (“International Year for the Disabled

Persons” (1981) and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008).

International agreements on education started in 1990 when UNESCO declared and launched the

“Education For All” movement in Jomtien, Thailand. It was again affirmed during the World Education

Forum in 2000 in Senegal (CHED, TESDA, NCDA, 2009). The Philippines was an active participant in

these global events.

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 There are special schools catering to students with various disabilities from the pre-school to high

school levels. But there is a dearth of institutions offering post-secondary and higher education for this

segment of the population.

According to statistics, 1.23% of the Philippine population has disability. Of this figure, only 3%-5%

have access to education (NSO, 2000). However, it is not clear how many attended post-secondary and

higher education institutions.

Based on CHED data,

the number of students with disabilities is observed to be increasing, especially in tertiary/post-

secondary education, still very few persons with disabilities have the opportunity to go to college...
In the Philippines, the Department of Education reported that there are 156,270 children with
special needs who enrolled for School Year 2004-2005. The CHED on the other hand, reported
that a total of 352 PWDs nationwide have availed of the Private Education Student Financial
Assistance (PESFA) Scholarship Program for school year 2006-2007 to pursue tertiary education.

Two known institutions which opened its doors to hearing impaired college students are De La

Salle–College of Saint Benilde in Manila (Salazar-Clemeña, 2006) and John B. Lacson Foundation

Maritime University-Molo, Inc. in Iloilo City (Arnilla, 2013). DSL-CSB offers a baccalaureate degree in

Applied Deaf Studies with business entrepreneur and computer graphics tracks (www.benilde.edu.ph) while

JBLFMU-Molo accepts hearing-impaired students in its BS Information Technology (BSIT) program (Arnilla,

2013).

These private higher education institutions which provide education to hearing impaired students

are located in the urban areas.

Arnilla and Biray (2013) observed that

the “province of Aklan hosts an integrated special education center in the Municipality of Kalibo.
This institution provides complete basic education (pre-elementary, elementary, and secondary) to
learners with physical and developmental disabilities. Upon graduation, these students have
nowhere to go to receive higher education or vocational training unless their families decide to
send them to Manila or Iloilo for the purpose.”

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 In other words, post secondary and higher education become a privilege of the well-off.

This proposal is an answer to transition issues of students with disabilities graduating from special

secondary schools in Aklan who wish to continue a post-secondary education or higher education. The

institution that will provide the transition is Aklan State University (ASU).

At present, ASU has yet to consider and plan out for the admission of students with disabilities.

The university, being the lone publicly-supported higher education institution in the province, is capable of

providing the educational opportunities for students with disabilities.

From the legal standpoint, the university is directed to admit students with disabilities.

RA 9442 (Sec. 17) provides,

If viable and needed, the State University or State College in each region or province shall be
responsible for (a) the development of material appliances and technical aids for person with
disability; (b) the development of training materials for vocational rehabilitation and special
education instructions; (c) the research on special problems, particularly of the visually-impaired,
hearing-impaired, speech-impaired, and orthopedically-impaired students, mentally retarded, and
multi-handicapped and others, and the elimination of social barriers and discrimination against
person with disability; and (d) inclusion of the Special Education for Disabled (SPED) course in the
curriculum.

The same provision also promises to provide the university with necessary special facilities for

visually-impaired, hearing-impaired, speech-impaired, and orthopedically-impaired students. It will also

allocate the necessary funds in support of the above.

As early as 2000, the Commission on Higher Education issued CHED Memorandum Order (CMO)

No. 23, Series of 2000 (“Quality Education for Learners with Special Needs”). The Commission urges

higher educational institutions to: 1) Admit learners with special needs; 2) Inclusion of SPED programs for

teacher training institutions; and 3) Facilities and equipments be modified to ensure quality education is

made accessible to learner with special needs.

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 It was only in 2013 that the “Guidelines in the Admission of Students with Disabilities in Post-

Secondary and Higher Education Institutions” was issued by the Commission in coordination with the

Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the National Council in Disability Affairs

(NCDA).

The said “Guidelines” spelled out the procedures in admission, description of specific disabilities,

auxiliary support, student support services, physical plant, curricular modifications and teacher training and

support providers. This document is a very good blueprint for any post-secondary or higher education

institutions which will attempt to initiate the admission of students with disabilities.

II. Discussion

The Aklan State University has five campuses located in five municipalities within the

province of Aklan. These are the Banga Campus (Main), Ibajay Campus, New Washington Campus,

Kalibo Campus and the Makato Campus. Each of these campuses has its own mandate.

Kalibo Campus is home to the College of Industrial Technology (CIT). Being located in

capital town Kalibo, it is deemed suited to admit students with disabilities in its programs. Among the

many reasons are the following:

First, ASU –CIT, situated at Andagao, Kalibo, Aklan, is strategic in terms of location. Kalibo

is the administrative and business center of the province of Aklan. Students can have easy access to

social services. The campus sits on a flat terrain of 80,783.18 square meters.

Second, the mandate of ASU-CIT is to offer courses in the fields of industrial technology,

engineering, architecture, and hotel and restaurant technology.

Third, the campus is distinct than the rest because it has been offering night classes for

several years.

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 ASU-CIT offers Bachelor in Secondary Education major in Technology and Livelihood Education

which is aligned with the College of Teacher Education. It offers Bachelor of Science in Hotel & Restaurant

Technology (BSHRT), Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BSA), Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

(BSCE), and Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT), and Bachelor of Science in Industrial

Technology (BSIT) with majors in Automotive, Home Economics, Industrial Arts, Drafting Technology,

Cosmetology, Garments & Textile Technology, Food Technology, Electrical Technology, Civil Technology,

Furniture and Cabinet Making, Electronics Technology, and Machine Shop Technology.

The skills and competence acquired through formal and non-formal trainings are essential in

ensuring that persons with disabilities will be equipped to live life close to normal. Gainful employment is

now available for PWDs as businesses open doors to trained PWDs.

The study of Guinto (2007) proved that companies had generally positive attitude towards

employing PWDs as this creates good image to the company as being committed to equal opportunities for

all received the highest weighted mean valuation, whereas the negative perception that employing PWDs

requires additional cost and time to supervise received the lowest mean.

Nevertheless, the study also found out that accommodations that require more costs to implement

received relatively less valuation. There was also low average valuation for accommodations that entailed

possible disruption in work schedules. Thus, some accommodations are perceived to be too costly and

firms consider these costs when making accommodation for PWDs. In particular, companies were least

willing to provide accommodations for PWDs in the form of support facilities.

Finally, the study found out that certain types of industry offer better accommodation for PWDs in

terms of benefits and privileges that the latter can enjoy, whereas companies’ preference of PWDs for

employment is independent of industry classifications. Moreover, most PWDs were likely to be found in the

lowly paid and arguably the more demoralizing jobs, implying the possibility that they may be

disadvantaged in terms of their employment opportunities and career advancement.

5
 Lastly, CHED summarizes the importance of PWDs participation in education.

The issue of persons with disabilities getting an education is not only a matter of making them be
admitted to schools but more importantly, it is all about the lifelong educational experience of the
person in school. These experiences may include making the classroom accessible and setting-up
reasonable accommodations on activities, services and other programs for easier access and full
enjoyment of persons with disabilities. These may also extend to the kind of attitudes
administrators, faculty, students, and other school.

III. Curriculum

Most of the curricular offering of the ASU-CIT are compliant with the policies and standards of the

Commission on Higher Education (CHED). In the case of BS HRT and BSIT, the number of units for the

general education courses, professional courses, major subjects and mandated subjects are fixed.

Program Policies and Standards

BS in Hotel and Restaurant Technology CHED Memorandum Order No. 30, series of 2006
BS in InfoTech CHED Memorandum Order No. 25, series of 2001

On the other hand, the BS in Industrial Technology was approved through Board of Regents (BOR)

of the university.

Program Policies and Standards

Automotive Technology BOR Approval – 13th Regular Meeting on February 20, 2004
Architectural Drafting Technology -same-
Cosmetology -same-
Garments and Textile Technology -same-
Electronics Technology -same-
Machine Shop Technology -same-

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 In order to carve out the short courses out of those bachelor’s degree programs, the Training

Regulations (TR) of the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will be consulted.

Program TESDA Training Regulations

BS in Hotel and Restaurant Technology Commercial Cooking NC II
Housekeeping NC II
BS in InfoTech PC Operations NC II
Contact Center NC II
Automotive Technology Automotive Servicing NC II
Architectural Drafting Technology Technical Drafting NC II
Cosmetology Beauty Care NC II
Garments and Textile Technology Dressmaking NC II
Electronics Technology Consumer Electronics Servicing NC II
Machine Shop Technology Welding NC II

IV. Implementation

In the light of the K-12 Basic Education Curriculum of the Department of Education (DEPED),

technical and vocational programs will be downloaded in the Senior High School come SY 2018-2019.

Under the new curriculum, basic education will be completed in 12 years instead of the usual 10 years.

Students under this curriculum will finish junior high school by SY 2015-2016. They will spend another two

years of senior high school where they have to two from among the three tracks, namely: Academic;

Technical-Vocational-Livelihood; and Sports and Arts.

According to DEPED, “[a]fter finishing Grade 10, a student can obtain Certificates of Competency

(COC) or a National Certificate Level I (NC I). After finishing a Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track in

Grade 12, a student may obtain a National Certificate Level II (NC II), provided he/she passes the

competency-based assessment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)”

(www.gov.ph).

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 Figure 1. Implementation of the K
K-12 Basic Education Curriculum

Source: http://www.gov.ph/k-12/

Any
ny proposed change in the curricular offering
offerings of the ASU – CIT is only good for two school years,

SY 2014-2015 and SY 2015-2016. As shown in the schema in Figure 2, intakes of SY 2014-2015

2014 are

expected to graduate 2017-2018.

Figure 2. Schema of Implementation

mplementation

Year 4 Year 4
Year 3 Year 3
Year 2 Year 2
Year 1 Year 1
[2014-2015] [2015
2015-2016] [2016-2017] [2017-2018] [2018
2018-2019]

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 The suitability of the each program for students with disabilities is reflected on the succeeding

presentation. For a detailed perspective on this plan, please see the attached proposal.

TESDA TRAINING DISABILITIES

PROGRAMS OD- OD-
REGULATIONS HI VI
Wheelchair Crutches
Dyslexia Dyscalculia Dysgraphia Dyspraxia Dysphasia ASD

Commercial Cooking
BS in HRT NC II / / / / / / / /
Housekeeping NC II / / / / / / / /
BS in Info PC Operations NC II / / / / / / / / /
Tech Contact Center NC II / / / / / / / / /
Automotive Automotive Servicing
Technology NC II / /
Architectural
Technical Drafting
Drafting
NC II / / /
Technology
Cosmetology Beauty Care NC II / /
Garments
and Textile Dressmaking NC II /
Technology
Consumer
Electronics
Technology
Electronics Servicing / / /
NC II
Machine
Shop Welding NC II /
Technology

V. Recommendations

The following recommendations are proposed:

1. Adopt the “Tracks for Students with Disabilities at the Aklan State University–College of

Industrial Technology.”

2. Aklan State University should create of an Inclusive Education Unit within the Office of

Student Affairs. This unit will serve as a coordinating body for all the needs of students with disabilities.

3. The university should include a provision on the Academic Policy as regards the following
issues:

a) Parallel subjects/ substitution (i.e. Speech Communication subject for Hearing Impaired)

b) Exemption in P.E. subjects or Adaptive P.E. subjects

c) Exemption from NSTP

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 d) Adjusted study load (i.e. regular load = 24 – 27 units becomes 15-18 units for those with

visual impairments, orthopedic impairments, and learning disabilities)

e) Adjusted residency rule (additional terms)

f) Inclusion of accommodation techniques in the syllabi

4. CHED should lobby with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for a
reduction on the normal teaching load and contact hours for instructors and professors handling classes
with students with disabilities.

10
 VI. References

Aklan State University. Official Website at www.asu.edu.ph

Arnilla, A.K.A and Biray, E.T. (2013). “Prospects for Inclusive Education in the Aklan State University –
Main Campus” Paper presented during the In-house Research and Development of the Aklan
State University, July 18-19, 2013.

Arnilla, A.K.A. (2013). “Pagharap at pagtugon sa kakulangan ng kahandaang magturo sa mga

estudyanteng may kapansanan sa pandinig: pagsipat sa karanasan ng mga guro sa maritime
university” Paper read during Silawan 2013: Pedagohikal at Inklusibong Edukasyon sa Pagtuturo
ng Filipino at Saint Louis University, Baguio City. February 20 - 22, 2013.

Biray, E.T (Executive Director, ASU- CIT). (12 September 2013). Interview held at the ASU – Banga, Aklan.

Commission on Higher Education (2000). CMO No. 23, s. 2000 known as “Quality education for learner
with special needs.”

Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education Skills Development Authority, and National Council
on Disability Affairs. (2009). Guidelines in the admission of students with disabilities in higher
education and post-secondary institutions in the philippines. Retrieved from

“The K to 12 Basic Education Program” retrieved from www.gov.ph

Philippines (2005). “Persons with Disability Comprised 1.23 Per cent of the Total Population, A Special
Release Based on the Results of Census 2000”, 5 March (Philippines National Statistics Office)
cited in UNESCAP. (n.d). “Philippines-escap (Disability statistics)” retrieved from www.unescap.org
on August 5, 2013.

Salazar-Clemeña, R.M. (2006). “The state of higher education for deaf students in the Philippines” NTUT
Education of Disabilities, Vol. 5 Retrieved from http://www.tsukuba-
tech.ac.jp/repo/dspace/bitstream/10460/88/1/ETec05_0_06.pdf on February 14, 2013.

Republic Act. No 7277 (1992). An act providing for the rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of
disabled persons and their integration into the mainstream of society and for other purposes.

Republic Act No. 9055 (2001). An act converting the Aklan State College of Agriculture in the Municipality
of Banga, Province of Aklan into a state university to be known as the Aklan State University,
appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes.

Republic Act No. 9442 (2004). An act amending republic act no. 7277, otherwise known as the “magna
carta for disabled persons,” and for other purposes.

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