NORSU's history rewritten

CEBU, Philippines - The history of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) has been rewritten to its rightful place, with a certification from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) that it was actually founded in 1907, and not in 1927, as had been recorded earlier.

NHC executive director Carminda Arevalo and party attended the unveiling ceremonies of the historical marker, stating that at NORSU has metamorphosed from a simple wood class in 1907, inside the then Negros Oriental Provincial High School, which is now the Negros Oriental High School.

In 1927, it became the Negros Oriental Trade School, offering technical courses, including auto-mechanics, and in 1956 it became the East Visayan School of Arts and Trade, offering night classes to all and, four years after, the out-of-school youths.

Included in the institution's supervision were the Negros Oriental Agricultural School, the Guihulngan Vocational School and the Bais City School of Fisheries, until it became the Central Visayas State College (CVPC) in 1983. 

Through the efforts of its former president, the former 3rd Dist Rep. Herminio Teves, CVSC became NORSU in 2004, a state university as it is now.

During the ceremony, Arevalo with NORSU president, Dr. Vicente Real, unveiled a marker proclaiming 1907 as NORSU's foundation year, making the school 107 years old. Real, as witnessed by his executive secretary Nino Zamora and Gina Batuhan, l received the NCHP certificate of transfer from Arevalo,

Dumaguete Diocese Bishop Julito Cortes blessed the marker and prayed for guidance for all the administrators and stakeholders of NORSU in the historic event that was also attended by officials from the cities of Bayawan, Bais and Guihulngan, and the towns of Sta. Catalina, Siaton, Pamplona and Mabinay, the governor's office and congressmen of the three provincial districts.

In his acceptance speech, Real said NORSU, this time, will be remembered in the annals of history as having been established in 1907 with humble beginnings as a wood class, and not 20 years after. "In our review of history documents and literature, we discovered with my executive secretary that the first teacher of the tertiary vocational school then was the late lady Thomasite, English teacher Rebecca Berry," Real said.

To date, the university is looking for pictures of the first teacher and the rest of the officials who have sacrificed and contributed to the growth of NORSU, in line with the plans to establish a university museum of all people who served the institution from 1907 to the present.

Real further said that, when he assumed as president on July 13, 2012, he was informed of a movement of discovering the distinct cradle years of NORSU in 1097 by the former vice president of academic affairs Dr Romula Santos Aleta.

After a comprehensive review, following up the paper trails, and gathering all the documentary evidences, Real petitioned the NHCP for the granting of a centennial status of the university reckoning back to 1907.

Thus on February 14, 2014, NORSU is officially 107 years old, he said, adding that Negros Oriental is now "blessed to have three of the oldest universities in the country: Silliman University ( in 1901), St. Paul University-Dumaguete (1904) and now, NORSU (1907)."  (FREEMAN)