Republic Act No. 11197

This Act shall be known as the "Zamboanga Sibugay Polytechnic Institute (ZSPI) Act".

The Kabasalan Institute of Technology in the Municipality of Kabasalan, Province of Zamboanga Sibugay is hereby converted into a polytechnic institute to be known as the Zamboanga Sibugay Polytechnic Institute (ZSPI), hereinafter referred to as the Institute, under the supervision and administration of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

In line with the adoption of the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) and the Senior High School Program of the Department of Education (DepED), the Institute shall endeavor to restructure its technical-vocational education curricular programs to make them responsive to the rapidly, changing demands of the industry and the labor market in both the domestic and global fronts, and within the context of the mutual recognition arrangements embodied in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic integration framework and other relevant international agreements for technical-vocational education.

The Institute shall endeavor to offer higher level competency qualifications in technical-industrial education programs and technology and shall continue to upgrade its curricular standards as a tertiary TESDA-polytechnic educational institution that caters to wide-ranging specialized technical, creative and conceptual knowledge and skills demonstrating depth and complexity in the planning, evaluation, initiation and management of approaches to competency compliant technical skills and functional knowledge application.

The Institute shall offer a wide array of one (l)-year to three (3)-year TESDA-registered technical-vocational curricular skills training programs and certificate courses, and shall aim to meet the competency requirements under Level V of the PQF, which is the Diploma Level in technical-vocational education. It shall primarily provide tertiary undergraduate technical-vocational education, and shall likewise ensure the provision of various skills trainings and trade specialization courses relevant to the needs of the province, specifically geared towards the acquisition of employable skills, gainful employment, practical livelihood and entrepreneurship.

The Institute shall play a lead role in helping students and out-of-school youths and residents from low-income families and persons with disabilities in the Municipality of Kabasalan and adjacent municipalities in the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay become productive and self-reliant, and to become part of a globally competitive middle to high-level skilled labor force to hasten the social and economic development of the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay, in particular, as well as meet the manpower needs of both local and international labor markets, in general.

The Institute shall consider in the design of relevant technical-vocational training programs and courses to be offered thereat a competency assessment of the socioeconomic profile, employment conditions and opportunities, business climate, market and industry potentials, resources available and presence of support structures, including the literacy level and skills readiness, and the overall development needs of the host area, Kabasalan, and adjacent communities within the operational radius of the Institute. It shall likewise consider the relevant skills and trade competencies, craftsmanship training programs and entrepreneurship activities needed to deliver the effective employment and development interventions required to make Kabasalan and all localities comprising the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay human resource and economic productivity hubs.

The Institute shall also serve as a TESDA-accredited Assessment Center for acquired competencies in technical-vocational skills in the entire Province of Zamboanga Sibugay.

Priority admission to the Institute and availment of technical-vocational education thereat, including scholarships, grants-in-aid and student financial assistance, however, shall be given to the most disadvantaged citizens of the Municipality of Kabasalan and to the most economically depressed areas in the province.

Further, as deemed necessary and practicable, in coordination with the DepED and the TESDA, the Institute shall render relevant teachers training assistance and curriculum design to the secondary schools offering the technical-vocational livelihood (TVL) track under the K to 12 Program of the DepED in the communities and areas within the operational radius of the Institute.

The Institute shall offer one (l)-year to three (3)-year technical-vocational courses and undergraduate certificate, including short-term courses and modular trainings in diverse relevant technical-vocational and industrial technology education to comply with employment standards in preferred market-driven labor opportunities, but shall give premium efforts, however, to skills specialization for local market employment requirements geared towards achieving the development needs for a robust inclusive economy of the Municipality of Kabasalan and the other municipalities in the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay, in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), business-industry partners, and such other relevant agencies.

The Institute may establish, as deemed necessary and practicable, research and technology hubs, mobile training programs, and satellite or extension training centers in priority areas throughout the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay to strengthen linkages between the industry, the academe, and the technology programs thereat. It shall likewise adopt the use of innovative training modes such as information technology-assisted instruction, dual learning system, open or distance education, and community laboratory and such other instructional programs to afford the community greater access to technical-vocational education and skills training.

The Institute shall, as far as necessary and practicable, offer TESDA-registered technical-vocational courses and short-term training programs. Course completion in these programs shall be credited through skills competency assessment under National Certification (NC) Levels I to V, as applicable, and shall further qualify for academic recognition under the Ladderized Interface System for tertiary education, if compliant with the requirements under said program.

The Institute shall, as necessary and practicable, offer skills development options for higher competency qualifications in technical-industrial education, trade technology, tourism, agricultural technology, business literacy, and innovation in TESDA-registered skills courses as follows:

The provisions of this Act notwithstanding, the conversion of the Kabasalan Institute of Technology into the Zamboanga Sibugay Polytechnic Institute shall become operationally effective only upon the determination and declaration of the TESDA through the issuance of a formal recommendation and Certificate of Compliance that the Institute has satisfactorily complied with the minimum requirements and quality standards prescribed by the TESDA governing the following:

The Institute shall be headed by a School Superintendent under the supervision of the TESDA and appointed by the TESDA Director General in accordance with civil service rules and regulations and the qualification requirements and standards for such office.

The School Superintendent shall render full-time services and shall be responsible for the administration and operation of the Institute.

The academic and administrative staff of the Institute shall be organized following the staffing pattern of the TESDA for such type of schools pursuant to existing laws, rules and regulations.

All assets, fixed and movable, personnel, records and documents of the Kabasalan Institute of Technology as well as its liabilities or obligations shall be transferred to the Institute: Provided, That the positions, rights and security of tenure of faculty and personnel therein employed pursuant to existing laws prior to its conversion into the Institute shall not be impaired.

All parcels of land belonging to the government occupied by the Kabasalan Institute of Technology are hereby declared property of the Zamboanga Sibugay Polytechnic Institute and shall be titled under that name: Provided, That, should the Institute cease to exist or such aforementioned parcels of land be no longer needed by the Institute, the same shall revert to the local government unit (LGU) concerned, or to the Municipality of Kabasalan, Province of Zamboanga Sibugay.

The amount needed to initially implement the provisions of this Act shall be charged against the current years appropriations of the Kabasalan Institute of Technology. Thereafter, such amount as may be necessary for the operation of the Zamboanga Sibugay Polytechnic Institute shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Within ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act, the TESDA, in coordination with the DOLE, the DTI, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the DILG, the concerned LGUs, and such other relevant agencies and industry-business partners of the host locality, shall prepare and issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

If, for any reason, any section of this Act shall be deemed unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be affected and shall thereby remain in force and in effect.

All laws, executive orders, decrees, instructions, rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with any provision of this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

VICENTE C. SOTTO III President of the Senate

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO Speaker of the House of Representatives