Yearly, more than 60,000 high school graduates aspire to enter the University of the Philippines for various reasons. One is the promise of quality education and academic excellence. The minimal tuition in UP is also one of the reasons. Being a state university, the cost of schooling in UP is subsidized by the Filipino people’s tax which entails a lesser tuition fee compared with other private educational institutions. Albeit, being a state university, we are presently challenged by an increase in tuition and other fees.
-Paying Scholars
Being accepted in UP is indeed a privilege to some because thousands of students compete for the limited slot. I consider myself lucky for having been able to experience some of the opportunities available during my first year in UP which, presently aren’t offered. My friends and I were able to benefit from the one hour free internet use at the Learning Resource Center. The library hour was from 8am to 7pm (if I recall it right). Every room we used had a functional Overhead Projector and air conditioner. Even if our facilities are not the most up-to-date, we are still fortunate because they’re still useful. However, as each semester passed by, the out-of-date facilities we have continue to deteriorate in quality. At the same time, austerity measures were implemented to reduce the university’s expenditure. Internet use is no longer free, library hour was curtailed, and you’re lucky enough if the OHP in your room is not that blurry and if the air conditioner breathes out cool air. We are technologically backward, our reading materials and facilities are becoming obsolete and our professors are transferring to high-paying universities.
Amidst the annual budgetary cuts, the rising inflation rate, cost of living and maintenance of school facilities, the UP Administration resorted to tuition and other fee increases to stabilize finances of the University. As a result, the burden of generating fund for the University is passed on to the students- Pasaload as some of the Progressive organizations say.
The College of Medicine is a test case for the increase. From 11,509php, the tuition in the CM increased to 20,042php. A 100% increase in library fee was carried into effect at the College of Arts and Sciences last semester while the miscellaneous fee increased from 565-965php. Alongside with these increases are other exorbitant fees such as late registration fee, dropping fee and LOA fee.
UP, supposedly, should get 80% of its fund from state’s subsidy while the remaining 20% will come from tuition fee and other income-generating activities of the University. According to our Faculty Regent, Prof. Roland Simbulan, tuition is the primary source of the University’s income comprising more than a third of all the sources. UP receives an insignificant amount from the economic pie due to the austerity measures taken up by the government thus a reduction in budget allotment in some sector including the education sector and misappropriation of the government, giving heavy premium to debt servicing and militarization.
-Why is there a need to increase/adjust tuition fee? (according to the Admin)
It was 17 years ago (1989) when we adjusted our tuition so the monetary value isn’t the same anymore. “It is proposed that tuition fees will be subsequently adjusted annually based on the national inflation rate.” (Primer on the Proposal to adjust Tuition and other fees) However, I have yet to hear of a substantial increase in worker’s wage and employees’ salary vis-à-vis the increasing inflation rate. How will the people muddle through an increase if their income doesn’t multiply? And besides, UP isn’t only affected by the rising inflation rate but everyone as well, so if the university suffers from it, so do we.
Compared with other universities, our tuition is only minimal given the quality of education we receive, according to the UP Admin. We should make it clear that UP is a state university, meaning we are subsidized. UP isn’t a private institution like La Salle and Ateneo, which can increase tuition whenever they want to. Furthermore, in UP, we regard education as a right and not a mere privilege to people born with silver spoon in their mouths. Moreover, an increase in tuition doesn’t necessarily entail a better quality of education.
The UP President questioned UP students who are opposing the increase in her open letter. The new fees are meant for the new and incoming students so why are we protesting it? We are exempted anyway. I, for one, oppose TFI/ToFI even if I won’t be affected by it. UP students play a vital role in shaping the future of our country. I believe in the so called ‘intergenerational responsibility.’ The present generation- our generation has a responsibility to the future and succeeding generations. We must strive not to be the University of/for the Elite but to be a University of and for the People. If we don’t do something about the increase, or if we don’t propose alternative policies and programs, the poor but deserving students will be deterred in entering our premier university. I wonder what UP would be like in the years to come.
Recommendations
Fighting (not pleading) for greater subsidy is still the best solution to augment the increasing university expenditure, upgrading our old facilities and improving services in the university. We should fight for greater state subsidy so that our idle lands and assets will be used for the benefit of UP constituents and for the future of our country. However, I partly agree with leasing our vast land assets to generate fund but not on increasing tuition and other fees. Utilizing land assets and establishing linkages with private sector must be regulated and guarded so as not to encourage commercialization of education.
The bracketing system must also be reviewed because it is flawed. There was a reported case where two students coming from the same family belong to different bracket. A student with a cell phone is instantly place in bracket 9, but what if the cell phone is only a gift from someone? It doesn’t necessarily indicate that a student is well-off.
Conclusion
By increasing tuition and other fees, education then becomes a commodity that one needs to buy in order to enjoy it. Education becomes an investment for the people. Students will be profit-oriented and will only aim at returning the investment made (return of investment).
The real problem isn’t only the inflation rate but the misallocation of the government on the national budget. The government should give heavy premium to education instead of paying onerous debts and bribing corrupt and spoiled military officials.
I believe that education should not only be used to educate people to produce goods and services to respond to the world and to satisfy man’s insatiable needs and aesthetic impulses but it must be service and development-oriented. Let us not repeat history where formal education was available only to rulers and nobles-an exclusivist and elitist type of education.
Sources:
A dissenting vote to the 300% tuition fee increase at the University of the Philippines by Roland G. Simbulan
Primer on the Proposal to adjust tuition and other fees
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