How Xygen College started

Alfredo F. Gallardo 

Allow me to introduce our school, Xijen College of Mountain Province, Inc., a non stock non profit tertiary institution based in Bontoc, Mountain Province, here in the Cordillera Administrative Region.  We are the lone private institution offering pre-school, technical vocational courses and college programs. 

XiJen College started as vocational school. Joel Fagsao, founder of XiJen College, came into being as a pioneering Institute of Technology Training Center in June 1992. This Institute first started by offering short Computer Operation Training Programs to students and office workers. Its aim was to provide institute technology in computer literacy.

For its out-reach program, it embarked on what it calls "Computer to the Barrios" or bringing computer education to the barrios so that students in these places learn the basics of computer and computer literates.

For having the initiative to put up a computer school in a rural area and providing opportunities for computer literacy-education, XiJen won an award. The college bested other Cordillera Administrative Region nominees for its innovation, employment generation and community service. It won the 1st Business Excellence Award that was presented on Nov. 7, 2005 at the World Trade Center, Philippine Trade Training Center, Manila.  The institution also is TESDA's Kabalikat Award recipient in 2010 both at the regional and national level for its support to technical vocational education.

Today, the college is putting itself as vehicle of information through our articles, features and techno-innovations.