• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The National University (NU) Bacolod is finalizing a scholarship program with the City of Bacolod and hopes to enroll a hundred scholars, NU president and CEO Renato Carlos Ermita said, during the inauguration and blessing of their Bacolod campus Wednesday.
Ermita said they also have their own scholarship program called the Blue and Gold scholarship, aside from that of SM Foundation.
“We aim to be a significant contribution to the development of Bacolod City and the Province of Negros Occidental, as well as the rest of the region,” he said adding that the welcome is very evident of the 495 total pioneering enrolled students in NU Bacolod.
NU Bacolod accepts senior high and college students. Enrollment started last month.
Ermita said they hope to serve more students from the different towns and cities of Negros Occidental, as well as become active and positive contributors to the welfare of the people and to the betterment of the economy of the city.
The Bacolod campus is the 9th and first expansion of NU outside Luzon. Its 8-storey building sits on a 22,000 square meter lot, and features a parking lot from second to fifth floors, and the school occupying the sixth to eight floors.
EXPANSION
“On our 124th year we are driven with the belief that NU’s education and value needs are worth sharing to the rest of the country,” Ermita said.
They will be opening additional campuses in Pasig, Ermita, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao. This is only Phase 1 of their 10-year, 20 campus expansion program. Phase 2 will be completed by 2038, he said.
“We have been dramatic in our growth. Last year we had 55,000 students and this year we have 70,000 in the whole system already,” Ermita said.
In academics, they have graduated with a 100 percent passing rate and produced a lot of board topnotchers especially in Architecture, Nursing, Engineering, Dentistry, Education, Accountancy, and Psychology, he said.
Hans Sy, NU Philippines chairman, in his video message, said that as part of the SM Group of Companies, “You can be assured that we will support our school every step of the way. The ultimate goal is to make NU truly national.”
Councilor Jason Villarosa said the establishment of NU Bacolod is another milestone for the city. Not only will NU be giving quality education that the students deserve, but also bring more people to Bacolod and help the economy by providing more jobs for the people.*
