Muslim and indigenous groups will gain membership in the governing body of the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) if a female lawmaker has her way.
Anak Mindanao party-list Rep. Sitti Djalia A. Turabin-Hataman, in House Bill 5786, seeks to amend Republic Act 8292, also known as the “Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997,” which was enacted into law on June 6, 1997.
At present, Turabin-Hataman said the Muslim and the indigenous groups are not represented in the governing body of SUCs.
“If they are, they represent not the Muslim and indigenous groups but their constituents, such as alumni president, faculty president and president of the Student Council,” said Turabin-Hataman, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Muslim Affairs and wife of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Mujiv Hataman, said.
Turabin-Hataman said Muslim or indigenous groups are not represented in the Board of Regents for State University and Board of Trustees for State Colleges despite the fact that there is huge number of Muslim students enrolled in these SUCs.
Under the bill, the head of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) shall automatically sit in all these governing boards of SUCs where Muslim students population is obviously significant.
The bill also provides that the head of the Commission on Indigenous Peoples shall also sit in all governing boards of SUCs where there is significant number of indigenous students.