Manifestation in numbers
Last December, the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines approved the tuition increase that raised the standard tuition per unit from P300 to as much as P1,500 for incoming freshmen.
Months later at the beginning of a new academic year, only less than half of UPCAT (UP College Admission Test) passers showed up to enroll in the different UP units. In Los Banos and Mindanao, less than 17% of passers enrolled. In Diliman, the entire College of Social Work and Community Development has one freshman. In courses like BA Malikhaing Pagsulat, BA Araling Pilipino, and BA Filipino, none of the passers showed up to enroll. Thousands of the country’s best and brightest students as assessed by the UPCAT didn’t pursue their dreams of affordable college education in the country’s premiere state university for it has indeed become increasingly expensive, commercial and prohibitive. Can UP still claim to be the home of the country’s best and brightest?
As of a few weeks before the beginning of classes, only 5% of incoming freshmen were able to avail of full scholarship. The rest, including those who are applying for lower tuition had to pay the full amount while they wait without assurance of refunds. Some families had to resort to selling their valuables and engage in loans to be able to send their children to UP. And these stories are not made up. Freshmen have come up to share their stories. In a mobilization this morning, we had a handful of freshmen who haven’t even joined rallies before, who spoke up and shared their struggles.
To appease those who did enroll, the administration, in efforts to appear caring to the freshmen it has burdened with increased tuition, admitted them into the university’s insufficient dormitories–even those reserved for graduate students–displacing hundreds of upperclassmen.
These problems are not confined to UP. In Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science & Technology, a public college, students face a staggering 600% increase in tuition. I don’t understand why some people insist that it is not the government’s policy to gradually abandon its funding for tertiary education institutions. And that it does not force them to generate their funds from their own scholars themselves.
Yesterday, I joined some of my brods in the Upsilon in a courtesy call with UP President Emerlinda Roman. Courtesies, chicken sandwich and other pleasantries aside, I finally heard from her own lips a fact we’ve always claimed–that it is indeed the UP administration’s increasing objective to generate its own income. As prescribed by our national government. As prescribed by foreign financial institutions. And has now manifested even more.
education is now costly na talaga. baka isang araw ibenta na ang UP.
hay education is getting costly. its no longer a right. its a privilege.
naalaal mo nun sa awards night sabi ko pa nga sa u na balak ko mag enroll sa UP. Grrr. panag bulang nawala ang pangarap kong mag aral jan.
ang ganitong klase ng pamamaraan sa mga pampublikong kolehiyo at unibersidad ang siyang sisira sa pangarap ng maraming maralitang kabataang umaasang makakaahon din sila sa hirap. Dagdag pasanin na naman ito! hay!!
[…] reading Victor Villanueva’s latest blog post, I am […]
Haller, you’re causing premature drama. How can your readers know the impact of the policy when your giving numbers in a vacuum (hint, hint, it’s called comparative statics)? How many UPCAT passers went on to enroll in UP last year or the years before?
though differences in previous years’ figures aren’t as dramatic as you would want them to be to consider them conclusive, it is also important to take into consideration the composition of the students in the previous years compared to this year when TOFI was implemented. a numerical difference may not be as apparent, but the class composition of your present freshmen can be telling.
This is madness! And GMA’s administration even said a few months back that education will now get a taste of the ‘gains’ her administration has made tru the increased VAT rates and other fiscal measures they put in place.
@ Celeni: The figures shared here are closely related to the figures of last year. They tell the same story and your technicalities fail to mask the reality of the situation, more and more bright students are being denied their rights to higher education all thanks to globalization, commercialization of education and foreign intervention.
Biglang pumasok sa isip ko yung result ng survey mo na di mo pinost dito… yung kung ilang lalaki o babae ang nagbabssa ng blog mo… tapos sabi mo “iaanalyze” mo pa yung result….
sa totoo lang nalungkot ako sa figures.. nakakabahala naman na kaunti ang UPCAT passers na naka-enroll and what’s even worse is walang nag-enroll sa ibang kurso (BA’s Filipino, Araling Filipino)..
nagulat din ako sa 600% tuition increase ng EARIST (i wonder kung Presidente pa rin nila yung alumni ng PUP, my school).. i mean not that i’m degrading EARIST or anything pero i know na hindi nag-peperform ng maayos ang school na yun tapos nagtaas pa sila ng tuition fee? ..ok lang sana kung performing sila eh pero hindi naman and that’s a FACT.. sa mga prominenteng STATE U’s eh PUP na lang ata ang hindi pa nagtataas (as per unit basis, we remained P12.00/unit for several years now) although we had an increase on misc fees for more than 100% nung 2005 ewan ko lang ngayon.
sa totoo lang i noticed na kulang ang boses ng mga estudyante kaya kaliwa’t kanan ang mga pagtaas na ganyan.. again sobrang nakakalungkot.
baka next year or so wala na ang UP sa top 500 performing universities globally kasi kumukonti na yung mga matatalino na nakakapasok dahil sa kakulangan ng pera pambayad ng matrikula.
btw, it’s been a long time since i last commented here.. glad to be back so are you (from states right)..
have a really nice day.
d(^_~)b
grabe na talaga.
nagkakabiruan nga sa PUP na palapit na nang palapit yung TFI sa amin. kasi nga nagtaas na ang EARIST. 12.00 pesos per unit pa rin ang PUP pero hinding-hindi kami papayag na tumaas ang tuition fee namin. hindi man magtaas ang TF. dinaan naman sa kung anu-anong mga dagdag bayarin.
It sucks that the TFI is economically justified (inflation rate over the years, etc). But it sucks more that the minimal subsidy we get is the reason why the brightest students cannot enjoy a huge privilege of low tuition.
Bikoy, I voted for Karol, but I am so with you on this.
Hindi talaga ako pabor sa pagtataas ng matrikula (dahil kahit ako dito, mahihirapan as soon as I graduate dahil naka-student loan lang ako), pero Vic, para yatang sa pagtaas ng tuition fee mo lang ata tinuturo ang mababang bilang ng mga freshmen na bagong pasok sa UP System. Puwede rin kasing maging factor ang pagkapasa nila sa ibang eskuwelahan, ang kursong kanilang napasahan sa UP, o di naman kaya ay naapektuhan ang kanilang desisyon ng kanilang mga magulang.
Halimbawa, kung may isang incoming freshman na nakapasa sa UP-Diliman sa kursong Malikhaing Pagsulat, at nakapasa rin naman siya sa isa pang pamantasan sa kursong Nursing, kahit na gusto niyang pumasok sa UP-D, kung magpapadala siya sa utos ng kanyang mga magulang (o dala na rin ng sariling desisyon dahil sa kagustuhang tumulong sa magulang) na mag-Nursing na lamang, more or less, igi-give up niya ang slot niya sa UP. Puwede ring hindi nagustuhan ng estudyante ang napasahan niyang kurso sa Peyups pero nakapasa siya sa gusto niyang kurso sa ibang paaralan, malamang eh doon siya pumasok sa eskuwelahan kung saan niya gusto ang kurso. Sa tingin ko ang daming figures na nandito sa entry mo pero I don’t see any reason kung bakit yung 600% increase ng tuition fee lang ang dapat i-take into account dahil ang madami rin namang factors na maka-apekto sa pagdedesisyon ng isang estudyante (at isama na rin ang mga magulang kung saan papag-aralin ang kanilang anak), although totoo rin namang makakaapekto rin ang halaga ng gagastusin, considering na dapat mas maliit ang matrikula sa Peyups at sa iba pang Public Universities dahil dapat ay malaki ang share ng government sa pondo.
Ayun lang naman.
hindi rin naman hiwalay ang ganong klase ng desisyon sa pag-iwas sa mataas na matrikula sa UP. bahagi pa rin sya ng commercialized view ng education.
dahil nga ganon ang pagtingin sa edukasyon at may kamahalan ang presyong ipinapataw para sa karapatang ito, napipilitan ang marami sa mga kabataan at ang kanilang pamilya na piliin ang mga kursong mas siguradong magbabalik sa kanila ng kanilang financial investment imbes ang mga kursong gusto talaga nila at makakatulong sa kultural na pagyaman ng bansa.
[…] are the numbers presented by fellow blogger Bikoy in one of his entries - dismal enrollment figures that point to the disastrous consequences of the blatant […]
[…] are the numbers presented by fellow blogger Bikoy in one of his entries - dismal enrollment figures that point to the disastrous consequences of the blatant […]
Commercialized view? Well, I have to agree with that, pero ang sa akin lang, iba-iba naman kasi ang motivation ng mga tao sa pagpili ng eskuwelahang papasukan nila eh. Isa nga sa halimbawang sinabi ko ay involved ang financial gain na makukuha ng estudyante sa course na kukunin niya. Ayun, dito applicable ang “commercialized view” ng education. I mean, kahit naman ako eh, aminado ako dito. I don’t know about you, or about your readers. Bakit ba tayo nag-aaral at pinapag-aral ng mga magulang natin?
Pero, paano mo naman ang mga taong hindi pumasok sa UP hindi dahil sa pagtaas ng tuition, kung hindi dahil wala sa UP ang course na gusto nila? Paano kung nakapasa siya ng Fine Arts sa UP at sa ibang university, but due to other reasons (maliban sa mataas na tuition), pinili niyang pumasok sa iba? Paano kung hindi sila pinayagang mag-UP kasi malayo (puwedeng mag-dorm, oo, pero nangyayari ito)? Paano kung hindi nag-UP kasi faithful sa alma mater (i.e. Ateneo)? Of course, napaka-unlikely naman na ganito nga ang nangyari sa lahat ng mga faculty at colleges sa Peyups, but it’s a possibility. The thing is, ang daming ways to interpret bakit bumaba ang bilang ng enrollees this school year na I find it weird kung sa isang factor ko lang iba-base ang sisi.
Hindi naman dahil Premiere state university ang UP, at may taong nag-apply dito at nakapasa doesn’t necessarily mean na doon na nga sila papasok. Isa pa, yung mga binanggit mong figures ay sa mga courses lang sa UP na hindi naman “in demand.” Kung mababa ang enrolment sa mga nasabi mong colleges, does it also apply to other colleges na “in demand” (i.e. Psychology, Nursing, PolSci) at natural na mataas ang bilang ng freshies?
Dapat yung figures na ni-post mo dito, may comparisons din with the previous enrollment, para malaman kung yung increase ba talaga ang cause ng low number of freshies this year, otherwise, madaming ibang factors ang dapat i-consider. Apektado din ba ang mga upperclassmen sa increase ng tuition?
(Oi Vic, hindi ako galit ha, hehe. Masyado nang mahaba ‘to.)
I must really agree with Bikoy. Yeah, may point si Miss Angela regarding dun sa mga iba pang possible factors kung bakit mababa ang percentage of enrolees sa UP ngayon, pero I don’t think that’s the issue. The issue is the loss of accessibility to cheap but quality education.
In addition, kung anuman ang ginagawang batayan ng mga kabataan ngayon sa pagpili ng kanilang mga kurso, reflective ‘yun sa current culture na meron tayo and sa uri ng lipunang Pilipino, na mala-kolonyal at mala-pyudal.
So, it is not the fee increase alone. It is the incompetence of the centralized UP bureaucracy. They should have settled on the scholarships months before the start of school. No one should have to wait for some underworked bureaucrat to find out if they can afford university.
And what about all the other staff. Does all the UP units need all that staff that they have? Of course not. NO UP bureaucrat, be they chancellor or vice chancellor or some other servant, needs a personal driver.
Students who passed the standards to the tougher courses and subjects did sign up for their courses. The colleges of engineering and science didn’t suffer such dramatic drops in enrolment in the face of the increases in tuition. Simply put, if the investment is commensurate to the tuition, people will still opt to take it. UP is known to be good in engineering and the sciences, ergo, the increase in fees didn’t faze those who wanted to get degrees for thos programs.
As for the examples - BA Malikhaing Pagsulat, BA Araling Pilipino, and BA Filipino — I refuse to make any conjectures. haha.
buti nalang di ako naabutan ng increase na yan. actually, 4 years na akong graduate. pati yung kapatid ko, third year na nung sinimulan na yung increase. hahay. nakakalungkot talaga yuang increase na yan.
What will justifying the commercialization of education do for any of us? Go on, cite valid reasons, call on “facts” (hello, comparative statistics yourself: it is easy to lie with statistics, yes. And this goes BOTH WAYS - if you have not read the De Dios report in full, Celeni, may I suggest that you do?), be as reflective as you can. What will justifying the commercialization of education do for you? Education. Commercialized. Profited from. Why is it so hard to spend as much, if not more, time arguing for the other case? Education. Accessible. Free. What will justifying the commercialization of education do for those who cannot go to school because of it?
bikoy, in fairness, alam mo rin pala ang sitwasyon namin but we do are best to roll back our tuition fee. Because I have evidence that may prove of a illegal increase of tuition fee. Yung may pakana ay yung nagmamalinis ng matandang matapobre ng ched na walang iba kundi si Nona Ricafort. Kung mababa lang sa kanya ang 30 pesos pwes 40 milyong pilipino ang nabubuhay sa 30pesos. Basta marami aong papasabugin sa kanya. nagmamalinis sya sobrang dumi naman ng ugali nya!!!
Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST), nagtaas ng tuittion fee last year, but i think the administration of EARIST tried to showed to us, kung san napupunta ung binayad ng mga 1st year student dahil cla lng nmn ang affected, malaki nrin ang pingbago ng EARIST after n mgtaas ito ng tuittion fee, kailangan lng tlga namin ng dagdag n suporta at budget mula sa government….,nasasayang kc ang mga matatalinong student n ngaaral sa EARIST kung di pagtutuunan ng attention…
kala mo lang yun!!
Kung alam mo lang ang nagyayari sa EARIST at saan napupunta ang pera mo baka magpakatiwakal ka!!
Nakakabulag ang panlabas na nayo ng eskwelahan
pero sa reyalidad sira-sira ang klasrum.
Kung matino ang Presidente sana hindi mo inuunang
bumili ng washing machine, 2 magic sing at kung ano-ano pa
na hindi naman pinakikinabangan ng estudyante
hay…gusto ko rin mag-aral jan…high daw quality ng edukasyon…parang ntakot ako kasi baka di kayanin ng utak ko pero mas hindi pala kakayanin ng bulsa ko! sana pagbigyn ang mga estudyanteng may utak kahit walang pera…kung nalaman ko agad ung mataas na increase e di sana di na’ko nag-exam…sayang din ung 500…sayang lalo ung pagkapasa ko…hanggang internet at makapal na letter lang…
If you have the brains, you’d be smart enough to look for private or public scholarships in order to get to UP.
[…] in Diliman is a low 2,600+ out of more than four thousand qualifiers, which further reinforces the effect that has manifested after the tuition increase was implemented. As the second year of its implementation reinforce this trend, hopefully it builds a stronger case […]