School can't release TORs their course not accredited with TESDA

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  — A group of new college graduates is complaining against their school, the AMA Computer Learning Center (ACLC) in this city, for its non-issuance of their transcript of records (TOR) because their course was allegedly not accredited with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Nine graduates sought the help of the media this week saying 25 of them who graduated with a degree of Computer-Based Accountancy (CBA) in May 2010 have not been issued with TOR since graduation.

Steffy Ann Lacandazo-Braza, spokesperson of the group, alleged that ACLC directress Ma. Clara Librando could not be contacted anymore, and this made them worried further because, without their TOR, they could not apply for a job.

Some of their parents do not know the real score why their TOR are not released yet, she said, adding that ACLC closed down in December 2010 and Librando had not issued any notice on the school’s closure or what it will do to answer its obligations to their graduates.

ACLC, located at Cuadra-Locsin Streets, had operated for about 15 years, and was a franchise school of the AMA Computer University with Ernesto Librando as the owner franchisee. Prior to the school’s closure, the administration had taken in enrollees in November 2010 for the second semester, said the complaining graduates.

Other complainants on Tuesday were Windy Rose Necesito, Demsie Condes, Janice Saguban, Michelle Villa, Owen Pasuquin, Arlene Grace Atienza, Zharina Dalisay, and Merly Jane Miravalles.

The graduates said they paid a tuition of about P12,000 per semester and miscellaneous and other fees for a total of P60,000 per semester. In their statement, they said they have started requesting for their TOR since June 2010 but the school registrar told them it was still on process, for the school has no Special Orders yet from TESDA.

Some of them followed it up in December 2010, prior to the closure, but they allegedly received unclear response from the school administration.

When they were still studying, they had received reports that their course was not accredited with TESDA but when they asked their teacher, Jun Montaño, he had convinced them that their course will eventually be accredited with TESDA and that the school was just processing the papers needed for its accreditation, Braza said.

Complainants Necesito and Condes said that, on February this year, some of them went to TESDA and was told that the reason they cannot be issued TOR was because their course, CBA, was not accredited with TESDA.

Last April, upon learning that the ACLC students were transferred to ABE College after the closure, they said they also went to ABE to seek help, hoping that Librando had turned over their school records to the new school.

Necesito said ABE College staff told them however that the school could not give them their TOR as ACLC did not give them an endorsement letter or even registration papers to prove that their course was registered with TESDA.

On June 13, they were able to seek an audience with TESDA provincial director Rolando Juanillo who told them that he called up Mrs. Librando who in turn promised to see him and the students at an undetermined date next week to settle the matter.

In a phone interview with The FREEMAN, Juanillo, who only assumed the TESDA office last April, his office will do its best to solve the problems of the ACLC graduates. He said the CBA course was registered with TESDA but ACLC failed to submit all requirements needed for its accreditation, such as for one of its subjects, Bookkeeping.

Juanillo said he will discuss with Librando how TESDA could help expedite the release of TOR to the graduates, and explore the possibility that the AMA Main Office would be the one to issue the TOR itself.

Librando, when reached for comment, said: "I don't have any access with the school anymore. The school has been turned over to the head office in Manila (AMA Computer University) and I don't have any records of the students anymore." (FREEMAN)