Local colleges and universities (Philippines)

Local colleges and universities (LCUs) are higher educational institutions that are being run by local government units in the Philippines.

A local government unit (LGU) maybe a barangay, a municipality, city, or a province that puts up a post-secondary institution based on Section 447(a)(5)(x) (Municipality), 458(a)(5)(x) (City), and 468(a)(4)(iii) (Province) of the Local Government Code of 1991, which provide that

"subject to availability of funds and to existing laws, rules and regulations the" LGU "shall establish and provide for the operation of vocational and technological schools and similar post-secondary institutions and, with approval of the Department of Education, fix and collect reasonable fees and other school charges at said institutions, subject to existing laws on tuition fees."

With this law, a large portion of the functions of the national government such as public works, social welfare, health services, and education was transferred to the local government.

LCUs operate on the premise that the territorial boundary of the LGU, with all the education infrastructure and facilities built by the province, city, or municipality, is the university campus itself. It means that an LCU has free access to all the structures found in the LGU, including its library, sports complex, hospitals, business establishments, and barangay centers.^[1]