April 16,2007
I am feeling weird this morning for some strange reasons. We had the parents’ orientation this morning for our practicum this summer and my parents weren’t there. I can’t blame them though. They have so much to do in the province. My mother is a housewife who attends to the needs of my three little siblings at the same time she manages our small business. My father, on the other hand, is a public high school teacher. He sometimes supervises our small farm located three or four kilometers away from our house which is situated in the town proper. Maybe I am just missing them, sigh.
The orientation was well-attended. I arrived on time and sat at the back. A parent sat beside me. You could just imagine what I felt that time. The parent is somewhat the same with my father. If only he was there, both of them would probably be competing in the question and answer portion of the orientation. Nonetheless, I admire the parent for being inquisitive, at least from my point of view. His attitude implies something to me; that he was super concerned about his daughter.
One week more and we’re going to our designated areas. I am assigned somewhere in Rizal. And here are some of the things I am expecting to happen after our practicum:
-we would be toasted
It is super hot in the province since it is summer time. My currently sun-kissed skin would be blacker. Anyway I don’t care. I used to be a little bit white but because I often attend mobilizations, my skin became black. Now I could conceal my bruises caused by my lack of red blood cells.
-a change in attitude
We are all part of the petty-bourgeois segment in our society using the class analysis. Hence, we still have bourgeois tendencies basically because of our (bourgeois) orientation. But after our practicum, I believe that after seeing the harsh realities happening in our society and after experiencing firsthand the dire situation of the marginalized sectors in the sub-urban, most of us would change-in our lifestyle, attitude and political outlook.
-improvement or exacerbation of my scoliosis
I may be more of a liability in the group for having many diseases. And scoliosis is one of the many physiological problems that I have. My bed is designed for people who have scoliosis and I find it difficult to sleep in other kinds of bed. Plain and flat bed is good for my back however; my back aches whenever I turn sideways. Only two things might happen to my dear back: either it will worsen or improve. Flat surface could correct my scoliosis. Moreover, my body and back could not stand heavy loads and long hours of walking. Whoa, I am such a liability.
-heightened agitation
Seeing the conditions of the marginalized sector is already agitating but experiencing them causes much more agitation. The two things differ; the first is only superficial while the latter is experiential hence it has greater impact to the person.
-a more developed self
For our one month stay in the province, I think we might change physically and psychologically. The conditions we would be in contribute to the over-all development of ourselves. For a month we will be exposed to a scenario/world which we usually do not see for we were raised in a world of comforts-a place where we could freely and easily eat our favorite burger, order our favorite mocha frappucino drink, then watch our favorite show when we get home.
-increased political consciousness/maturity
Learning is and should be a two-way process. Surely, we will learn new things that we don’t usually read in books and newspapers. And I expect that most of us if not all would have a deeper political consciousness.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Intellectual Stimulation
I have an awful habit of writing things before I think first. My struggle for a bout of depression has finally ended. You see, sometimes I tell people things that I do not really mean. It’s as good as saying that I dislike someone when in fact I don’t. And worst of all, I tell people I love being a loner when I always crave for company. Anyway, I resolutely believe that I am destined to be alone. No matter what, I won’t get married for marriage is a deteriorating process. (Got this idea from Jerusha Abbot)
I am still it. I do.
But I have chosen to travel another path, still of the same line.
I can do so much.
I have so many things in mind that I do not where and how to start. I’m not even sure if I still make sense. Something’s wrong with me, really. I do not think anymore for the past few days, instead I always wallow. Maybe I am bipolar, you know people who have extreme mood swings. Or maybe the doctor is right; I do have severe inferiority complex coupled by anxiety disorder. My mind is filled with clouds of depression. However, I finally got my senses back. Help myself, jerk! No one can do except myself so I came up with lots of resolution in mind and hopefully (my fingers are crossed as I type this part) I will be able to do them, one by one and constantly. Reaffirmation of my principles came next.
The following are some of my resolutions:
-Less talk, more time to listen.
Not that less talk means less mistake. A person is more effective is he/she talks about what he/she knows. As for me, I recognize the fact that I know little and that I have to educate myself by reading, interacting with people, contemplating on certain philosophies and trying to formulate stuffs that could change this world. That is why, I guess for now, I need to speak less and listen more.
-Interact with people
Get out of your rut, says I. More social intercourse means more exposure, more time to learn and more self-development. We cannot develop on our own; we need external touch and influence. Though, you should also devote a time for yourself and mull over on things on your own.
-Orgy reading, orgy thinking.
Reading is part of educating yourself. And it requires focus. More than that, reading should couple with thinking or time to reflect on what you read. It is not enough that we know and we learn from them, we should also think. We are all thinkers here.
-More intellectual stimulation, less emotional stimulation.
When will I ever learn? My too much emotional stimulation is a factor that further aggravated my condition. Since I am not allowed to experience too much emotion, be it happiness or sadness, I should do as advised. Now, put that in mind. (uhm, when I remember)
-Lip talk; a no-no
I detest people who talk and act otherwise. But these past few days, I have become one of them and I hate myself for being like them. Now I have to change that attitude, it’s not yet late.
I am not infinitesimal. I can do more things. Now I’m back to my senses and I have to get my brain cells working.
I am still it. I do.
But I have chosen to travel another path, still of the same line.
I can do so much.
I have so many things in mind that I do not where and how to start. I’m not even sure if I still make sense. Something’s wrong with me, really. I do not think anymore for the past few days, instead I always wallow. Maybe I am bipolar, you know people who have extreme mood swings. Or maybe the doctor is right; I do have severe inferiority complex coupled by anxiety disorder. My mind is filled with clouds of depression. However, I finally got my senses back. Help myself, jerk! No one can do except myself so I came up with lots of resolution in mind and hopefully (my fingers are crossed as I type this part) I will be able to do them, one by one and constantly. Reaffirmation of my principles came next.
The following are some of my resolutions:
-Less talk, more time to listen.
Not that less talk means less mistake. A person is more effective is he/she talks about what he/she knows. As for me, I recognize the fact that I know little and that I have to educate myself by reading, interacting with people, contemplating on certain philosophies and trying to formulate stuffs that could change this world. That is why, I guess for now, I need to speak less and listen more.
-Interact with people
Get out of your rut, says I. More social intercourse means more exposure, more time to learn and more self-development. We cannot develop on our own; we need external touch and influence. Though, you should also devote a time for yourself and mull over on things on your own.
-Orgy reading, orgy thinking.
Reading is part of educating yourself. And it requires focus. More than that, reading should couple with thinking or time to reflect on what you read. It is not enough that we know and we learn from them, we should also think. We are all thinkers here.
-More intellectual stimulation, less emotional stimulation.
When will I ever learn? My too much emotional stimulation is a factor that further aggravated my condition. Since I am not allowed to experience too much emotion, be it happiness or sadness, I should do as advised. Now, put that in mind. (uhm, when I remember)
-Lip talk; a no-no
I detest people who talk and act otherwise. But these past few days, I have become one of them and I hate myself for being like them. Now I have to change that attitude, it’s not yet late.
I am not infinitesimal. I can do more things. Now I’m back to my senses and I have to get my brain cells working.
Apolitical Intellectuals
Apolitical Intellectuals
One day
the apolitical
intellectuals
of my country
will be interrogated
by the simplest
of our people.
They will be asked
what they did
when their nation died out
slowly,
like a sweet fire
small and alone.
No one will ask them
about their dress,
their long siestas
after lunch,
no one will want to know
about their sterile combats
with "the idea
of the nothing"
no one will care about
their higher financial learning.
They won't be questioned
on Greek mythology,
or regarding their self-disgust
when someone within them
begins to die
the coward's death.
They'll be asked nothing
about their absurd
justifications,
born in the shadow
of the total lie.
On that day
the simple men will come.
Those who had no place
in the books and poems
of the apolitical intellectuals,
but daily delivered
their bread and milk,
their tortillas and eggs,
those who drove their cars,
who cared for their dogs and gardens
and worked for them,
and they'll ask:
"What did you do when the poor
suffered, when tenderness
and life
burned out of them?"
Apolitical intellectuals
of my sweet country,
you will not be able to answer.
A vulture of silence
will eat your gut.
Your own misery
will pick at your soul.
And you will be mute in your shame.
--Otto Rene Castillo
One day
the apolitical
intellectuals
of my country
will be interrogated
by the simplest
of our people.
They will be asked
what they did
when their nation died out
slowly,
like a sweet fire
small and alone.
No one will ask them
about their dress,
their long siestas
after lunch,
no one will want to know
about their sterile combats
with "the idea
of the nothing"
no one will care about
their higher financial learning.
They won't be questioned
on Greek mythology,
or regarding their self-disgust
when someone within them
begins to die
the coward's death.
They'll be asked nothing
about their absurd
justifications,
born in the shadow
of the total lie.
On that day
the simple men will come.
Those who had no place
in the books and poems
of the apolitical intellectuals,
but daily delivered
their bread and milk,
their tortillas and eggs,
those who drove their cars,
who cared for their dogs and gardens
and worked for them,
and they'll ask:
"What did you do when the poor
suffered, when tenderness
and life
burned out of them?"
Apolitical intellectuals
of my sweet country,
you will not be able to answer.
A vulture of silence
will eat your gut.
Your own misery
will pick at your soul.
And you will be mute in your shame.
--Otto Rene Castillo
Saturday, February 24, 2007
I
"Sometimes I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."
I should be reviewing for my economics exam tomorrow but here I am, surfing the net and all. Anyway, I need to vent out what I'm thinking about activism and apathy. Crap, I haven’t finished some of my articles that I’ll be posting next here in my blog.
I joined a mass organization when I was in first year. I was inspired by my sister who studied in Diliman. If I may consider, I recruited myself in that organization because I was the one who talked to them about me wanting to join their organization. Yeah, I was rare, they seemed to be curious at the same time astounded upon hearing my request if they could orient me coz I really want to join. So there we were in their old tambayan. They began indoctrinating me about their political line and ideology which came as a culture shock for me. I came from a conservative family; my father was super strict and my mother is quite conservative (a good combination,eh?. And as you might have guessed, I was locked inside the box where reality is far from my reach. I must mention here that I used to cry at the sight of a beggar wandering the road and scenes like that. Since I wasn't really aware of the real world, I was deterred to help them coz I'm not yet in the right position (you know what I mean, I don't have money yet to give them and all). Poverty was a natural thing to me that time. Some people are just lazy while some are not. Or probably, I was thinking that equality is a myth. Activism needs a strong and firm conviction because reality bites. Reality is harsh. Sometimes I even think that apathy comes in when people are not that brave enough to understand the reality and care for others. Some people are not apathetic per se. It's just that they're afraid to go out of their comfort zone and see the 'reality' of life. Maybe it's just a matter of perspective. Apathy is not just apathy. It is shape by many factors.
Activism is viewed by some people as a shallow, linear and devoid concept or it is just an activity (to some). To others, it maybe just a phase in their life. It's a focal point for their active engagement or involvement in the society that has nurtured them. Or maybe at some point, some realize that it is a cycle. It entails contradiction: within yourself (internal) and outside (external). When people started caring, I think that's where activism comes in. We are all activists in our own way, we just don't notice. To be a member of a mass organization or progressive organization is not a prerequisite to becoming an activist. You join such organization when you want to be guided by a political ideology and a principle.
Activism, for me, is an act of actively involving yourself in different issues. Say if you care so much about the environment then you could be tagged as an environmental activist. If, just like myself, you want to be active more on politics and social issues then you could be considered as a political or social activist. UP is known to be the cradle of activism in the Philippines. And I was clueless what my college years in UP would be like. Before I enter UP, I was advised by my paranoid father that I shouldn’t join mass organizations. Being the submissive girl that I am, I assured them that I will do as they say. I admit, I hate my father for many reasons, but my membership doesn’t mean rebellion on my part.
Activism is not fun. You need to sacrifice (time, money, even your family). Little sacrifice means big to the organization and to the greater cause of serving the people. Yes, I don’t attend my class at times when the need arises. I don’t make good papers, I always flunk in quizzes (especially in econ), and I was never a good speaker (and I hated recitations). But for me, what I did and what I will do is always justifiable. It’s a matter of perspective. If you view that as laziness, it means sacrifice on my side. I enjoy learning, inside and outside the classroom. I like hearing different opinions from my classmates and most of all, I love thinking. In fact my ultimate dream is to be a political thinker. I once thought of formulating an idea that could make a great impact to the whole world (yes it may sound ambitious to you, but I believe that all things are possible), but for now I guess I have to pass my exam tomorrow. Impossibility is when you give up on trying achieving something.
I was shaped by the things around me. What was done to me created me. I was ‘exposed.’ And I chose to serve. When reality is presented to you, you could have two diametrically opposed reaction; one is to deny it and the other is to accept it and act. The first one is apathy and the latter is activism.
Many times I find myself questioning why I have to explain myself. I have to, not only because it’s considered liberalism (based on our ideology), but because I chose to. It’s also a matter of preference or choice. And activism is also like that.
My petty bourgeois tendency: ‘Sometimes I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.’ Playing safe is pathetic, but sometimes you feel the urge of going back to where you came from-your bourgeois orientation and way of living. I am not here to please anyone. Activism is not only excelling in class, it also needs excellence in serving the people. So whenever I feel demoralize because of counter-activism opinions, I go back to the primary reason why I chose this path. I am here because of the masses. I am not a savior and I could not liberate them. But I want to be an agent of change to achieve genuine liberation and equality (if such concept is true).
(I am entitled to my own opinion, you may agree or disagree but that's just natural. This world is full of contradictions anyway.)
I should be reviewing for my economics exam tomorrow but here I am, surfing the net and all. Anyway, I need to vent out what I'm thinking about activism and apathy. Crap, I haven’t finished some of my articles that I’ll be posting next here in my blog.
I joined a mass organization when I was in first year. I was inspired by my sister who studied in Diliman. If I may consider, I recruited myself in that organization because I was the one who talked to them about me wanting to join their organization. Yeah, I was rare, they seemed to be curious at the same time astounded upon hearing my request if they could orient me coz I really want to join. So there we were in their old tambayan. They began indoctrinating me about their political line and ideology which came as a culture shock for me. I came from a conservative family; my father was super strict and my mother is quite conservative (a good combination,eh?. And as you might have guessed, I was locked inside the box where reality is far from my reach. I must mention here that I used to cry at the sight of a beggar wandering the road and scenes like that. Since I wasn't really aware of the real world, I was deterred to help them coz I'm not yet in the right position (you know what I mean, I don't have money yet to give them and all). Poverty was a natural thing to me that time. Some people are just lazy while some are not. Or probably, I was thinking that equality is a myth. Activism needs a strong and firm conviction because reality bites. Reality is harsh. Sometimes I even think that apathy comes in when people are not that brave enough to understand the reality and care for others. Some people are not apathetic per se. It's just that they're afraid to go out of their comfort zone and see the 'reality' of life. Maybe it's just a matter of perspective. Apathy is not just apathy. It is shape by many factors.
Activism is viewed by some people as a shallow, linear and devoid concept or it is just an activity (to some). To others, it maybe just a phase in their life. It's a focal point for their active engagement or involvement in the society that has nurtured them. Or maybe at some point, some realize that it is a cycle. It entails contradiction: within yourself (internal) and outside (external). When people started caring, I think that's where activism comes in. We are all activists in our own way, we just don't notice. To be a member of a mass organization or progressive organization is not a prerequisite to becoming an activist. You join such organization when you want to be guided by a political ideology and a principle.
Activism, for me, is an act of actively involving yourself in different issues. Say if you care so much about the environment then you could be tagged as an environmental activist. If, just like myself, you want to be active more on politics and social issues then you could be considered as a political or social activist. UP is known to be the cradle of activism in the Philippines. And I was clueless what my college years in UP would be like. Before I enter UP, I was advised by my paranoid father that I shouldn’t join mass organizations. Being the submissive girl that I am, I assured them that I will do as they say. I admit, I hate my father for many reasons, but my membership doesn’t mean rebellion on my part.
Activism is not fun. You need to sacrifice (time, money, even your family). Little sacrifice means big to the organization and to the greater cause of serving the people. Yes, I don’t attend my class at times when the need arises. I don’t make good papers, I always flunk in quizzes (especially in econ), and I was never a good speaker (and I hated recitations). But for me, what I did and what I will do is always justifiable. It’s a matter of perspective. If you view that as laziness, it means sacrifice on my side. I enjoy learning, inside and outside the classroom. I like hearing different opinions from my classmates and most of all, I love thinking. In fact my ultimate dream is to be a political thinker. I once thought of formulating an idea that could make a great impact to the whole world (yes it may sound ambitious to you, but I believe that all things are possible), but for now I guess I have to pass my exam tomorrow. Impossibility is when you give up on trying achieving something.
I was shaped by the things around me. What was done to me created me. I was ‘exposed.’ And I chose to serve. When reality is presented to you, you could have two diametrically opposed reaction; one is to deny it and the other is to accept it and act. The first one is apathy and the latter is activism.
Many times I find myself questioning why I have to explain myself. I have to, not only because it’s considered liberalism (based on our ideology), but because I chose to. It’s also a matter of preference or choice. And activism is also like that.
My petty bourgeois tendency: ‘Sometimes I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.’ Playing safe is pathetic, but sometimes you feel the urge of going back to where you came from-your bourgeois orientation and way of living. I am not here to please anyone. Activism is not only excelling in class, it also needs excellence in serving the people. So whenever I feel demoralize because of counter-activism opinions, I go back to the primary reason why I chose this path. I am here because of the masses. I am not a savior and I could not liberate them. But I want to be an agent of change to achieve genuine liberation and equality (if such concept is true).
(I am entitled to my own opinion, you may agree or disagree but that's just natural. This world is full of contradictions anyway.)
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
A reaction paper on UPs' 300% tuition increase
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
-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
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Intelligence is a social construct
When I reached Grade One, my teacher doesn’t want to accept me because I am underage but my parents insisted and so did
You know what is the disadvantage of having a parent that is a teacher? It’s when people expect a lot from you. They think that you’re intelligent enough to know everything because your parent is a teacher, which is not true at times.
Intelligence matters to people nowadays. When applying for a job, a person must have good communication skills and good academic performance (meaning the person has good grades), among others. Even in schools, intelligence matters. As what they say, “In UP, the stratification isn’t based on ones wealth but with ones intellectual capability.
How then should we judge if someone is intelligent or not? Through IQ tests or from his /her grades in school, or the ability to use the knowledge one has? People have created different criteria to measure ones intellectual capacity, but how sure are we that they are right? I, for one, don’t believe that some people are stupid and have low IQ. People will always excel in one thing if not all. We all have that x factor because we have brains. We just have to get them working. Work, brain! Yeah!
Now what should I tell you? I believe that intelligence is a social construct. During the primitive stage, the intelligence of a person wasn’t measured. It didn’t matter. No one is called stupid or fool. No one is adored because of his good intellectual ability. Then the idea of intellect came, which also became a weapon to oppress and discriminate people. In our society, observe who are the intellectuals. They are mostly the wealthy ones because they have access to knowledge. Yes, you heard me right. Have you ever heard of people hoarding knowledge? I’m not referring to people who hide books in the library when you need them, or to people who pretend not to know things when you ask them about it. Capitalists hoard knowledge in different ways. Sometimes, they don’t publicize new discoveries; say a cure for AIDs, because they want to be the sole supplier of that drug. They want total control or monopoly. Intelligent people are also being used by capitalists for their gain.
The bottom line is that intelligence is a social construct. I’m not sure if I am able to write my point. Now, I don’t care if I’m intelligent or not. What matters is that, whatever it is that I learn in school and in my organization, I apply it in practice. That’s what learning and intellect is all about.
Activism in the Web
I learned using the computer when I was in my third year high school. That’s pretty much late because compared with other nationalities, say Americans, they learn using computers at a very early age. But here in the Philippines
My younger sister who is in Grade three has this computer lesson. She’s luckier than me. She is studying in a private school, which, most often than not, have complete technology or more technologically advance.
I’m not into net surfing and stuffs like that before. I really think it’s a waste of time, MONEY and energy. The most trivial thing I did in the net is to have a friendster account. Well up to now I still have an account. Friendster is an online community. It’s a virtual place where people can meet, be friends (or even lovers), etc.
Lately, I had this addiction with blogging. Blog is an online diary where you can write everything you want, and I mean everything. It became a venue for people to write their thoughts and ideas. As for me, I want to use (and I will use) the internet as a venue to voice whatever is in my mind that is socio-politically and economically related. And here applies what we call internet activism or cyber activism. I’m not saying that this is the right and the only way to be politically involved, but this could be a way to reach out thousands and even millions of net users around the globe not to mention that this is the fastest way to disseminate information and propagandize stuff you advocate.
I’m still an activist after all, just trying to exhaust every means available to promote my cause.
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