WHEREAS, the Constitution of the Philippines directs the State to establish and maintain a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national development, and further prescribes that all educational institutions shall aim to develop scientific, technological and vocational efficiency;

WHEREAS, under Presidential Decree No. 6 A, promulgated on September 29, 1972, it has been declared a policy to reorient the educational system toward an accelerated national economic growth; and

WHEREAS, the conversion of the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural College into a State Institute of Technology, broadening for this purpose its curricular programs, would serve to achieve the above national goals;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and decree to be part of the laws of the land the following:

SECTION 1. The present Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural College, located in the Municipality of Bayombong, Province of Nueva Vizcaya, is hereby converted into the Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology, hereinafter referred to in this Decree as the Institute.

SEC. 2. The Institute shall primarily provide higher vocational, professional, and technical instruction and training in agricultural and industrial fields. It shall also promote research, advance studies, and progressive leadership in the fields of agriculture including agricultural education and home technology, fishery, forestry and industrial education.

SEC. 3. In addition to its present secondary agricultural course and undergraduate course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, the Institute shall offer undergraduate courses leading to the. degrees of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Home Technology, Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education, Bachelor of Science in Industrial Arts, and Bachelor of Science in Forestry; post graduate courses leading to the degrees of Master of Science in Agriculture and Master of Science in Agricultural Education; courses in freshwater fish culture and such other degree courses and special courses as the Board of Trustees may deem necessary.

SEC. 4. No student shall be denied admission to the Institute by reason of sex, ethnic consideration, or religious belief or affiliation.

SEC. 5. The head of the Institute shall be known as the President of the Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology. He shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines.

The powers and duties of the President of the Institute, in addition to those specifically provided for in this Decree, shall be those usually pertaining to the office of the president of a college.

SEC. 6. The governing body of the Institute shall be the Board of Trustees of the Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology. It shall be composed of the Secretary of Education and Culture who shall be the Chairman, the Director of Public Schools, the Director of Vocational Education, the President of the Institute, the President of the Alumni Association of the Institute, and four prominent residents of Nueva Vizcaya who are holders of degrees relevant to the courses offered in the Institute.

Such residents shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines. Of the first group appointed, the President shall designate one to serve for one year; one to serve for two years; one to serve for three years and one to serve for Tour years. Thereafter persons appointed to succeed such members shall hold office for a term of four years and until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified. In case of a permanent vacancy, the position shall be filled by appointment by the President of the Philippines. Such appointee shall hold office for the unexpired term only.

When the Secretary of Education and Culture is unable to perform his duties as Chairman of the Board due to illness, absence or other cause, or in case of a vacancy in the office, the Undersecretary of Education and Culture shall temporarily perform the functions of the Chairman of said Board. When both the Secretary and the Undersecretary of Education and Culture arc unable to exercise the powers of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the members of the Board shall elect from among themselves a temporary chairman who shall act as Chairman thereof.

SEC. 7. The Members of the Board of Trustees shall serve without compensation but they shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred either in attendance upon meetings of the Board or upon other official business authorized by resolution thereof.

SEC. 8. In addition to its general powers of administration, the Board of Trustees shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To receive and appropriate for the purposes specified by law such sums as may be provided for the support of the Institute.
(b) To confer degrees upon successful candidates for graduation of the Institute. It may also confer the usual honorary degrees upon persons in recognition of learning, statesmanship or eminence in science, agriculture, forestry, industry or public service related to such fields;
(c) Subject to Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, to appoint, upon recommendation of the President of the Institute, the Deans of the different schools of the Institute, the Registrar, the heads of departments, professors, instructors, lecturers and other employees of the Institute; to fix, in accordance with WAPCO rates, their compensation; to prescribe hours of service, duties and the conditions of work as it may deem proper; to grant to them in its discretion, leave of absence under such regulations as it may promulgate, any provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and to remove them for cause after an investigation and hearing pursuant to Civil Service Law governing disciplinary action;
(d) To approve the curricula and rules of discipline drawn up by the Institute Council as hereinafter provided;
(e) To fix the tuition fees required of students as well as matriculation fees, graduation fees and fees for laboratory courses, and all special fees to constitute a special trust fund of the Institute, and remit the same to the office or authority concerned;
(f) To provide fellowships and scholarships for deserving faculty members and students;
(g) To prescribe rules for its own government and for this purpose, to enact such regulations not contrary to law, as may be necessary;
(h) To receive in trust legacies, gifts and donations of real and personal property of all kinds and to administer the same for the benefit of the Institute or of a department thereof, or for aid to any student in accordance with the directions and instructions of the donor, and in default thereof, in such manner as the Board of Trustees may in its discretion determine;
(i) To maintain and support as its branches the Santa Cruz Community School in the Municipality of Kayapa, the Sta. Fe Community High School in the Municipality of Sta. Fe, the Casat Community High School in the Municipality of Bayombong, the Tuao Community School in the Municipality of Bagabag, the Belance Settlement School in the Municipality of Dupax, all in the Province of Nueva Vizcaya; to establish such other branches within the Province of Nueva Vizcaya as may be necessary and within the limits of its appropriations, and to designate other schools of secondary levels as feeder schools;
(j) To provide vocational training to adult citizens and out-of-school youths; and
(k) To name after prominent Filipinos or heroes any hall, building, annex, ground, or branch of the Institute.

SEC. 9. A quorum of the Board of Trustees shall consist of a majority of all the members holding office at the time the meeting of the Board is called. All processes against the Board of Trustees shall be served on the President or secretary thereof.

SEC. 10. On or before the fifteenth day of June of each year, the Board of Trustees shall submit to the President of the Philippines a detailed report, setting forth the progress, condition, and needs of the Institute.

SEC. 11. There shall be an Institute Council consisting of the President of the Institute and all members of the faculty of the Institute. The Council shall have the power to prescribe the curricula and rules of discipline, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. It shall fix the requirements for admission to the Institute, as well as for graduation and the conferring of degrees, subject to review by the Board of Trustees. The Council alone shall have the power to recommend students or others to be recipients of degrees. Through the President of the Institute or a duly authorized committee, the Council shall have disciplinary power over the students within the limits prescribed by the rules of discipline.

SEC. 12. The body of instructors and professors of the Institute shall constitute the faculty of the Institute, with the President of the Institute as the presiding officer.

No member of the faculty of the Institute shall attempt directly or indirectly, under penalty of dismissal by the Board of Trustees, to influence students or attendants at the Institute towards any ideology, political or otherwise, which preaches the overthrow of the Government through violence or subversion.

SEC. 13. There shall be a secretary of the Institute who shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees upon recommendation of the President of the Institute. He shall be the secretary of the Board and also of the Institute, and shall keep such records of the Institute as may be determined by the Board of Trustees.

SEC. 14. The President of the Institute, may, upon prior consultation with the superintendent of schools of the province, designate any secondary school in the division concerned as training or laboratory school of the Institute.

SEC. 15. The Treasurer of the Philippines shall be ex officio treasurer of the Institute. All accounts and expenses therefor shall be audited by the Commission on Audit and all disbursements shall be made in accordance with existing auditing rules and regulations.

SEC. 16. Heads of bureaus and offices of the National Government arc hereby authorized to loan or transfer, upon request of the President of the Institute, such apparatus, equipment or supplies as may be needed by the Institute and to detail employees for duty therein, when in the judgment of the head of the bureau or office, such apparatus, equipment, supplies or the services of such employees can be spared without serious detriment to the public service. Employees so detailed shall perform such duty as is required under such detail, and the time so employed shall be counted as part of their regular official service.

SEC. 17. The requirements provided in this Decree as may prove adverse to the present faculty and employees of the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural College who may be absorbed by the Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology shall not apply to them. But future appointees to the said Institute shall be subject to all the requirements provided in this Decree.

SEC. 18. All parcels of land, buildings, equipment and facilities owned by the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural College, as well as all obligations and appropriations thereof, shall be transferred to the Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology.

SEC. 19. In addition to the amount already appropriated for the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural College, there is hereby appropriated the sum of five hundred thousand pesos for purposes of carrying out immediately the provisions of this Decree. Hereafter such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Decree shall be included annually in the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 20. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 22nd day of May, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.