Local colleges and universities (LCUs) are higher educational institutions that are being run by

local government units Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. A local government unit (LGU) maybe a barangay, a municipality, city, or a province that puts up a post-secondary institution based on Section 447(a)(5)(x) (Municipality), 458(a)(5)(x) (City), and 468(a)(4)(iii) (Province) of th
Local Government Code of 1991
which provide that

"subject to availability of funds and to existing laws, rules and regulations the" LGU "shall establish and provide for the operation of
vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...
and
technological Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
schools and similar post-secondary institutions and, with approval of the
Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, fix and collect reasonable fees and other school charges at said institutions, subject to existing laws on tuition fees."

With this law, a large portion of the functions of the national government such as public works, social welfare, health services, and education was transferred to the local government. LCUs operate on the premise that the territorial boundary of the LGU, with all the education infrastructure and facilities built by the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, or

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, is the university campus itself. It means that an LCU has free access to all the structures found in the LGU, including its library, sports complex, hospitals, business establishments, and barangay centers.

History

The forerunner of local colleges and universities or LCUs are the community schools which usually function as elementary or secondary schools at daytime and, toward the end of the day, convert into a

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

. This type of educational institution were limited to the old Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) infrastructure, while LCUs are of recent origin. In 1965, the

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (from 'University of the City of Manila', abbreviated as PLM) is a city-government-funded local university situated inside the historic walled area of Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. It was established on ...

, the first institution of higher learning in the Philippines to be fully subsidized by a local government unit, was established through the ''Republic Act 4196'', which authorizes the City of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

to operate its own university. For more than two decades, the PLM was the only local university in the country until the creation of other local universities and colleges through the enactment and implementation of the ''Republic Act 7160'', also known as the "Local Government Code of 1991," and the ''Republic Act 7796'', or the ''Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 1994''. With an increased share of taxes from 11% to 40% given by the national government units plus their own income as highly urbanized cities or

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, a good number of LGUs decided to put up their own LCUs. LGUs are aware that while it is easy even for poor families to send their children to elementary and high school because costs are relatively lower, sending them to college poses a big problem. It is in this light that local government units are inspired to establish and maintain institutions of higher learning (HEIs) in their own localities. Through an LCU, high school graduates from poor families can earn a three- to six-month course certificate, two-year associate degree, or a four-year Baccalaureate degree paying only minimal, if any, tuition fee. This is exemplified by the

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig (PLP) is a local university run by the Pasig city government in the Philippines. History The school was conceived by former Mayor Vicente C. Eusebio, with the approval and subsequent implementation of the Lo ...

, and the

University of Makati The University of Makati ( fil, Unibersidad ng Makati Pamantasan ng Makati), commonly referred to as UMak, is a public, nonsectarian LGU funded higher education institution in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1972 as the Mak ...

, which have successfully graduated deserving students from low-income families.

Naming

To create a standard and distinction between a "community college" and a "local college and university" and to have better planning purposes and more fair distribution of technical and financial assistance by the national government, the

Association of Local Colleges and Universities The Association of Local Colleges and Universities or simply ALCU is composed of forty (40) local colleges and universities of the Philippines. ALCU is working closely with the Senate Committee on Education, which is headed by Senator Alan Peter C ...

, and the director and staff of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Office of Programs and Standards visited all the "community colleges" that were included in the CHED statistics.

References

{{coord missing, Philippines Universities and colleges in the Philippines Higher education in the Philippines

History

Naming

See also

References