Assistant Secretary for the Office of Insular Affairs Esther P. Kia\u2019aina toured the Northern Marianas College yesterday and talked with college officials and students in what she would later call a \u201csobering\u201d experience.<\/p>\n
She toured the college with college president Dr. Sharon Hart and Bobbi Merfalen, dean of Academic Programs and Services, along with other college officials.<\/p>\n
The overall experience, after her tour and discussion, proved to be an eye-opener for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSobering,\u201d she said, when asked to describe her experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see the teachers and faculty doing their best to provide a high-quality higher education for these students here. It seems to me that the students want to be here and to be part of a workforce for the future of the Northern Marianas. It is concerning to me that they are struggling to have standard facilities to provide for the proper education of the students here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
One of the areas she visited was the nursing facility as well as college\u2019s cafeteria, where she asked students what they thought of their college.<\/p>\n
She would later describe the cafeteria as \u201ccrowded quarters\u201d and pointed to the nursing facility\u2019s need for updated equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need updated equipment to better teach. It\u2019s not just facilities, it\u2019s equipment, and just the basic necessities any higher education student, any college student deserves,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A nursing student told Saipan Tribune that instructors and students essentially make do with \u201cvisualization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome equipment are not there but we do try our best to visualize our learning, and our instructors try their best to make that work for us. Like, our medicine cabinet they label instead of \u2018boxes\u2019 it\u2019s \u2018drawers,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said because there is no medicine cabinet, it\u2019s a different look for them when students do go to the hospital, but that they are still able do what they are told to do.<\/p>\n
She also cited the need for more mannequins.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome are missing where we need to do injections, and some of the arms are not made for that. It\u2019s a bit difficult. But our instructors do their best,\u201d the student said.<\/p>\n
Partnerships
\nBecause of limited funds, Kia\u2019aina said it is important that all parties from the Executive Branch to local agencies work together to help the college.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message that I want to send is that if you look at economic development as a priority and workforce development as a necessary component of that priority, then investment must be made in higher education and that is not only in the funding available to run the college but also the necessary infrastructure,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Before the tour Kia\u2019aina sat down with the college to discuss current and completed OIA-funded capital improvement projects as well as priority projects on the table.<\/p>\n
As reported earlier, OIA funds were key, through an $800,000 facilities grant, to the renovation of the college\u2019s building K, which was completed in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I got today was a clear demonstration that they are doing the best that they can with the limited resources that they are given, but that in itself is not enough to achieve the objectives of providing for a quality higher education in the Northern Marianas Islands,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
This education, she believes, is a big part of what the college offers as a \u201cconduit\u201d for the local workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkforce development needs the necessary resources to train people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said the college couldn\u2019t succeed in this without the partnership of all. That would include all the hardworking people of the college, its students, and not just Insular Affairs but other federal agencies as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cCritically important is the support of the Northern Marianas government,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Kia\u2019aina said she looks forward to working with all the parties involved to help the college.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students in the Northern Marianas deserve no less than any other students in the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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