THE HOUSE Committees on Higher and Technical Education, Appropriations and Ways and Means have approved the bill converting the Bulacan Agricultural State College into a state university.

House Bill 8111 has been endorsed for plenary deliberations.

Under the bill, the agricultural state college located in the municipality of San Ildefonso will be known as Bulacan State Agricultural University.

The bill was introduced by Representatives Lorna Silverio, Mark Go, France Castro, Eric Go Yap and Joey Salceda.

The state university will offer undergraduate and graduate courses in the fields of agriculture, forestry, veterinary, medicine, agricultural engineering, geodetic engineering, fisheries, education, science and technology, arts and humanities, information and communication technology and other relevant fields of study.

“Its conversion into a state university will have greatest impact in the advancement of higher education and professional development of students in agriculture and allied disciplines,” Silverio said in her explanatory note.

She said that the measure is consistent with the mandate of the State “to establish and maintain a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national development.”

Currently, the school has more than 4,000 students.