Mr. Hubert B. Quiblat
3rd Commencement Exercises
August 1999
Our caring Faculties-in-Charge, our beloved Tutors, our ever-helpful Coordinators, guests, fellow graduates, Good Morning.
When Prof. Liza C. Carascal informed me that I will deliver a speech, I took a step back, slowed down on my job and reflected on the following: Sometime in 1995, I felt some kind of boredom in my job, a career burnout. It seemed I had already reached the peak of my career having been a recipient of several awards in our organization. I wanted to have more learning and training to upgrade my skills for the good of our organization and our clientele. There were several internal training programs conducted by our Human Resource Development Department but I felt they were not enough and, besides, there were 8,000 of us to attend to. I craved for more. However, I could not avail anymore for another scholarship because I had one, ten years earlier.
It was then timely that I came across a caption in one of the newspapers about UP Open University. I then applied because I believed this would be the opportunity I was looking for. I could work full time and study at the same time without leaving the workplace. The expense was also cheaper but the quality of learning was expected to be excellent, "UP kasi".
I was admitted in 1996 but I became a dropout of that batch because of the on-going reorganization conducted by our top management. I was not able to attend the orientation and study sessions because of my new assignment involving constant travels. With the timely advice of our UPOU Coordinator Nikki dela Rosa, I filed a Leave of Absence and was about to forget the idea of studying.
In early 1997, Ms. dela Rosa contacted me if I wanted to reenroll. I replied in the affirmative and resolved that I will not surrender this time. At this point, I would like to inform the UPOU Administration that I am one of the beneficiaries of a resourceful, helpful, and concerned UPOU Learning Center Coordinator. Its importance in the conduct of Distance Education is emphasized here. I appreciate very much UPOU's efforts in assisting students in coping with the demands of the UPOU programs. I believe this represents 50% of the success factors, the other 50% being the students' determination to succeed.
Being out-of-school for some time, the students are gradually assimilated into the very high academic standard of UP through a series of instructions and advice, personalized and professional attention from the Tutors. The courses are developed and arranged in such a way that students find them easy to learn and comprehend. Kudos also to our "Distance Professors" and their Course Teams. They have sacrificed a lot in preparing the Course Guide and Reader Volume for the good of their courses, programs, students, the UPOU, and the entire UP Sytem.
This acknowledgement will not be complete without recognizing the proactive thinking of the UP Board of Regents who approved the creation of UPOU for innovative education through Distance Learning.
Today, I become a living witness of UPOU's objectives, particularly letter "B" of the UPOU Primer of May 1996 that states "to develop a system of continuing education for sustaining professional growth and improving technical skills especially for those who cannot leave their jobs or homes for full-time studies."
Of course, the road to victory is not easy. There are numerous obstacles such as work-related problems, family conflicts, accidents, and other unforeseen events. But all of us, the graduating students, have overcome them all.
I would like to relate how useful and relevant the courses I have taken in DR & DM in my job especially on the aspect of development management. The courses on Overview of R & D Management and Support Systems and Organizational Structures, Relations and Processes helped me a lot during the re-engineering of our organizations in 1996, through the change of administration of our government up to today. It provided me with an understanding of actions by out top management, related this to my fellow workers and averted a possible demoralization of my staff.
Our organization, the Landbank, is also linking with several Centers of Excellence in the different regions of the country thru a tie-up called Technology Promotion Center. In here, Landbank assists in the dissemination of mature technologies developed by the scientists of these Centers of Excellence through pilot testing and techno-demo on a larger scale. I happen to sit as a member of the panel prioritizing technologies for dissemination to our mandated clients, farmers who are members of cooperatives. The course on Technology Evolution and Utilization is very much applied here.
We had a Japanese consultant who lectured about Project Cycle Management (PCM) which was similar to Goal Oriented Project Planning (GOPP) under the course on Research Project Planning Implementation and Control (perhaps one of the two most time-consuming and difficult courses). During discussions and workshops, the course guide and reader volume became very handy. I assisted my fellow participants in understanding PCM or GOPP since we had difficulty understanding the 'Japanese English'. This also provided me an opportunity to advertise UPOU among the participants.
I have indeed acquired and sharpened my knowledge and skills on development management through UPOU's Distance Education Program. Opportunities for excellent service and professional growth open. As proof, I received two awards for the 1998 operation and, starting this second semester, I am chosen to handle an important but critical position despite having a handicap on experience relative to the position because my superiors know that I finished a course at UPOU.
Going back to the perspective of distance education, I would like to suggest the following with the purpose in inviting more students and reducing the dropout rate:
1. UPOU to provide timely information to the mass media so that it will be known to a wider population. As mentioned earlier, I am one of the beneficiaries of this strategy;
2. UPOU to conduct roadshows in institutions where the targeted students are working. This needs high level talks between the heads of these institutions and UPOU representatives. Details of the programs including scholarship arrangements and official time may be agreed upon. Rich sources of students are government agencies and big corporations. This will surely increase the student population of UPOU;
3. The use of the Internet as a tool for learning may have to be expanded;
4. Word-of-mouth advertising thru the different activities of the UPOU's alumni association. The successes of the alumni are the greatest proof of what UPOU has done for them.
5. And lastly, if the budget warrants, additional learning centers, tutors, and programs may be put up in different regional centers. This will greatly reduce travel time of students to and from the learning centers.
At one time, I almost become a dropout for the second time because I have to travel 5-6 hours of bad road, one way, just to attend the study session. Interviews with some students revealed that long travel, and consequently, the fatigue it brings, is one of the causes of dropping out. Prospective students within the proximity of the learning centers will be encouraged to enroll thereby increasing and evenly distributing student population throughout the country. I believe all of the above suggestions are already considered by the UPOU but their reiteration may signify their importance. I would like to end this talk with the legend: One night a group of nomads were preparing to retire for the evening when suddenly they were surrounded by a great light. They knew that they were in the presence of a celestial being. With great anticipation, they awaited a heavenly message of great importance that they knew must be especially for them. Finally, the voice spoke. "Gather as many pebbles as you can. Put them in your saddlebags. Travel a day's journey and tomorrow night will find you glad and it will find you sad." After having departed, the nomads shared their disappointment and anger with each other. They had expected the revelation of a great universal truth that would enable them to create wealth, health, and purpose for the world. But instead they were given a menial task that made no sense to them at all. However, the memory of the brilliance of their visitor caused each one to pick a few pebbles and deposit them in their saddlebags while voicing their displeasure.
They traveled a day's journey and that night while making camp, they reached into their saddlebags and discovered every pebble they had gathered had become a diamond. They were glad they had diamonds. They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles. Thank you very much.
