Those born in Virac in the 1960s would have known of the existence of the Virac National Agricultural and Trade School or VNATS. For the Viracnons at that time, VNATS was that high school located well into the outskirts of the poblacion, in the pulang lupa of Calatagan. During the town fiesta parade on December 7, the spectators would watch for the small contingent of VNATSians and would try to see if indeed they have pulang kitid, but would be frustrated because these sturdy students parading through wore shoes.
These prejudices of the taga-banwa aside, the VNATSians can take pride in being products of solid education that combined academic excellence and practical know-how, especially in coaxing the soil to yield life-giving substance. And yes, they had a reputation for being adept in parliamentary procedures. The VNATS operated only for a decade from 1961-1971 but takes the distinction of being the mother institution of the premier school of higher learning in the happy island, the Catanduanes State University.
The beginnings
The official history of barangay Calatagan makes mention of a Calatagan Farm School during the 1920s that stood on the site where VNATS would rise four decades later. Sponsored by then Congressman Jose M. Alberto, R.A. 3398 created the VNATS on June 18, 1961 with an allocated budget of PhP200,000. In the mind of the Calatagan folk, VNATS was a continuation of the earlier Farm School. A secondary vocational high school, VNATS would only be the third such type of school established in Catanduanes after the province itself was created in 1945. The first was in 1952 when the Alicia Agricultural and Fisheries was established in Panganiban by virtue of R.A. 705. This would be renamed the Catanduanes Agricultural and Industrial School (CAIS), which much later would become the Catanduanes Agricultural and Industrial School (CAIC) that would eventually be the Panganiban Campus of the Catanduanes State Colleges (later CatSU). The second Vocational school was the Pandan School of Arts and Trade (PSAT) established in 1960 by mandate of R.A. 2653.
In Virac of the 1960s, VNATS would also be the third secondary school in town. The first two, one public and the other private, offered regular secondary education curriculum. They were the high school department of the Catanduanes College and the Catanduanes National High School. The VNATS for its part was a vocational school. At that time, most of the Viracnons sported a distaste for vocational schooling brought by the notion that education should lead to more “cosmopolitan” careers and lifestyle. VNATS, they thought, was for training of farmers, and it did not help that the school was located in what was then considered the hinterlands.
Vocational education has a long history in the country that started during the Spanish period. When the Americans came, it acquired an important place in the colonizers’ famous educational legacy to their colonial subjects. The idea was that the Philippines, subsisting on agriculture, must increase productivity by training its people for more scientific know-how. Light industries would supplement agricultural products. When the New Republic was established, the government adopted the American prescription. National development will be pursued by increased agricultural productivity, agriculture being the country’s comparative advantage in the world economic order. The economy will thrive on exports of agricultural products complemented by handicrafts. Therefore, a robust vocational education program was pursued. Elementary education will be a combination of regular academic fare and the practical arts. Specialized vocational high schools will prepare young people for further specialization for careers in agriculture and the industries in the tertiary level.
Laying the foundations
The VNATS accepted its first enrollees only in 1963, two years after its establishment. The interim period was spent for preparations, namely securing the site and physical facilities, organizing the administrative structure and recruiting faculty.
School Site: The campus that the VNATSians knew centered on the corner of the national highway and Real St. going towards Tibang, where the Land Bank and adjacent commercial buildings stand now. That was where the original administrative-cum-classrooms in the one-storey structure stood. It was made of wood and roofed with nipa. It faced the East although the gate was located on its right side, at the highway perimeter fence. From this core, the campus sprawled eastward, all of its ten hectares owned by the provincial government, which was also where the motor pool was located. However, this was soon expanded through purchase of adjacent lands from private owners. The motor pool complex would be donated by the provincial government in 1967. By the time the school was converted into the CSC, it was an area of 46 hectares aggregated from the donation and some 94 parcels of lots.
The vicinity of the campus was as rural as could be, circa 1960s. The residences of Calatagan dotted the other side of the Calle Real at the back of the VNATS school house, all the way north to border with Bigaa. The opposite side of the main highway, however, were lush greenery lined with bamboo groves along the dirt road. It was infested with mosquitos thriving on muddy puddles. Right on the opposite side where Calle Real began was a lone sari-sari store where VNATsians bought their snacks and school supplies.
Administrative and support personnel: The school was administered by a principal. The first principal was Mr. Maximo Binos from Guinobatan, Albay. He was already serving during the first two years to oversee preparatory work. An undated picture labeled “Pioneers of VNATS” showed all eight persons that comprised the teaching and non-teaching staff, including Mr. Binos.
Two other principals served in the course of ten years, namely Armando Sales, also from Guinobatan Albay and Mariano Sandoval from Los Baños, Laguna. The principal, in turn, worked under the supervision of a Division Superintendent of Vocational Schools of Catanduanes who oversaw three such schools (VNATS, CAIS, PSAT). For lack of office space, the Division Superintendent used to share office with the VNATS principal. The three superintendents who served within the decade of VNATS’ existence were Federico Zamora from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, followed by Mariano Macasaet from Los Baños, Laguna and Jovencio Bacalso from Masbate, Masbate.
During the heydays of VNATS in the mid1960s, there were fourteen non-teaching personnel. Doing administrative tasks in support of the Principal were: Juan Tablizo (Administrative Assistant); Juan Dianela (Bookkeeper); Roman Vargas (Cashier); Vicente Camacho (Auditing Aide); Pedro Samar (Supply Officer); Rosalinda Aries (Clerk); and Daisy Gapaz (Clerk). Later, Ms. Gapaz would take the responsibilities of the Bookkeeper who had to take a protracted leave due to ill health.
Meanwhile, “non-office” work were done by eight personnel, namely: Crispin dela Cruz (Heavy Equipment Operator); Pablo Gualberto (Poultry House Keeper); Federico Marquez (Farm Aide); Florencio Tablizo (Janitor); Bernardino Samar (Janitor); Julian Sorrera (Driver); Jesus Jacobo and Leonoro Manoguid (Security Guards).
Most of these non-teaching personnel would be absorbed into the Catanduanes State Colleges. All the eight administrative personnel of VNATS were moved or designated into positions, such as Juan Tablizo who became Administratvie Officer, Daisy Gapaz as Budget Officer, Pedro Samar as Supply Officer and Rosalinda Aries as Personnel Officer. Same it was for those doing non-office work: Jesus Jacobo eventually became Chief Security Officer. Pablo Gualberto moved on, acquired the proper schooling and joined the pioneer faculty of the College of Agriculture.
The Faculty
During the first year of operations, there were just a handful to teach the first year course, but others came in as called for by the increasingly specialized subjects of higher year levels. In all, 18 teachers taught at VNATS, one time or another, throughout the ten-year period. The mentors were as follows:
Vocational specialization
Agriculture: Romeo Santelices, Domingo Monjardin, Armando Flores, Jose David, Wenceslao Borre, Diomedes Camu (Agricultural Farm Mechanics).
Homemaking Arts; Consuelo Popa, Lucila Dayawon.
Industrial Arts: Teopisto Vargas.
Academic
Florencio Guerrero (Science); Reynaldo Tablizo (Physics); Florencio Tejada (Mathematics); Teresita Arcilla (English); Clara Vargas (Pilipino); Teresa Vargas (Mathematics); Prima Tejada (History, Social Studies); Amelia Moratalla (Biology); Josefina Collantes (Pilipino)
A number of these teachers were absorbed into the teaching force of the Catanduanes State Colleges in 1971, such as Romeo Santelices and Wenceslao Borre at the College of Agriculture. The former would become Dean of said college. Teresita Arcilla served as Principal of the CSC Main High School and Teresa Vargas joined the College of Arts and Sciences as faculty member. Much later, Amelia Moratalla would also join the College of Agriculture. On the other hand, Consuelo Popa stopped her teaching and became the Head of the Food Services and Dormitory. Teopisto Vargas assumed as Head of the Motor Pool and his wife Clarita worked in the Records Office.
The Curriculum
Secondary vocational education in the Philippines during the 1960s was designed according to the so-called 2-2 plan, a four-year course that gave equal attention to the basic academic subjects and the practical know-how in agriculture and home industries. This scheme was quite uniform in all public secondary schools in the country, completion of which will qualify entrance to any tertiary level schooling. The difference, however, in a secondary vocational school had to do with two aspects. Firstly, typically located in rural setting, a vocational school recruited students from subsistence agricultural families that otherwise cannot afford to send children to high school. They offered free tuition and other forms of assistance in order to attract enrollees. The whole idea was to allow farmers’ children upward social mobility by equipping them with basic competencies in life and prepare them to take on their parents’ agricultural enterprise but with greater productivity courtesy of scientific technology. But then, they may move on to college, and with their exposure to vocational education, they would be motivated enough to follow through by taking up related fields of specialization.
Secondly, there were clear, conscious measures to give emphasis on the hands-on, practice-based training in agriculture and the practical arts. This was what the alumni would distinctly recall of their time at VNATS. Compared to the typical high school graduate, the VNATSian had the advantage of having acquired adept know-how in operating a tractor, plow the field, cultivate crops and produce robust yields. They developed intimacy with the soil. Surviving teachers would recall that all academic inputs were geared towards relevance to agriculture. Biology was taught in relation to crop production or animal husbandry. Math problems had to do with agro-econometrics and computing fertilizer formulas. Physics was made an applied discipline to aid understanding of things like the mechanics of tractor engines, soil properties and hydraulics. Even language courses were imbued with relevance to an agrarian setting. Pervading through all these was the inculcation of the value for the dignity of labor and the deep appreciation for the Good Earth.
The curriculum was divided into two parts. The first was the general academic offerings and the second a set of vocational specialization courses. The former is composed of five clusters of subjects namely1) languages, 2) science, 3) social studies, 4) character education, and 5) health, physical education, music and military training. The vocational specialization is divided into 1) agriculture, 2) homemaking arts, and 3) industrial arts.
In the ten-year span of VNATS, two secondary vocational curricula were implemented. The first one took effect for the first batch in 1963 all the way to the next four batches. In 1968, where the last batch enrolled, a revised curriculum was applied. The difference between the two was not so much on overall content but on the configuration of subject titles and descriptions.
There was a clear gender dimension in the vocational curriculum. While both sexes were trained to cultivate the land, the girls had added subjects on homemaking arts which included cooking and dressmaking. For the boys, practical skills such as carpentry were given. The whole idea was to enhance the partnership of male and female for domestic agricultural production in the rural domestic setting.
In the second part, we discuss student life at VNATS and the co/extra-curricular fare, which together would describe the essential VNATS experience.