Comments on: Where do the rest of the brightest go?

By: phineas

phineas — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:29:22 +0000

wrong point. mas nararapat ang greater subsidy kesa sa TFI. tandaan mo, hindi tayo PRIVATE university, STATE U tayo.

By: Anna

Anna — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:36:08 +0000

okay lang naman ang tofi, especially given the fact that most students who enter up come from private schools..dapat lang naman na pagbayarin na ang kaya naman talagang magbayad. however, more than debunking the policy altogether, i feel that the university should really make the stfap bracketing efficient. kung hindi nila magawa to, then they should put a moratorium on the tofi.

By: Frances

Frances — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:53:58 +0000

My two younger brothers - Batch 2007 Sertipiko sa Malikhaing Pagsusulat, UP Diliman, and Batch 2008 Associate in Arts, UPOU (just like Jeric) - are also affected by the 300% Tuition and Other Fees Increase in UP.

We’ve long been doing our best to enlist ourselves in meaningful scholarship grants for our collegiate courses but to no avail (note: I’m already an incoming Fourth Year BS Psychology Major, and throughout my entire stay in UP, I never found a scholarship grant wherein my credentials fit in). My brother and I have also tried to avail of the loan program offered by the university during the Second Semester of AY 2007-2008, but this didn’t really offer genuine financial relief to us.

My point? Scholarship grants and loan programs don’t make up for the aforesaid tuition hike in the University of the Philippines and other SCUs (State Colleges & Universities). SCUs like UP have the obligation to provide relevant and accessible education to the people, especially those from marginalized sectors, but how can these academic institutions carry out their obligation with astronomic matriculation hikes? Families will merely continue to find themselves grieving over high Education costs brought about by state abandonment and deregulation policies, unless a genuine reform in the Philippine Education program is executed.

By: Mon

Mon — Sun, 25 May 2008 08:07:56 +0000

“Some parents even went on to give unsolicited narrations of their family’s financial struggles, especially in light of the relentless increases in prices of staple and other basic commodities.”

Nakakarelate ako. Sa hospital halos ganito rin yung eksena. Meron pa nga dyan humingi talaga sakin ng pera.

By: Jeric

Jeric — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:26:33 +0000

I’m an incoming 1st year student of UP Open University and I have to pay P1,000/unit too. In OU’s case only the new students would have to pay the P1,000/unit while the continuing students are given the old rate. Our miscellaneous fee is around P4,000. But the thing is our maximum load per semester is 12 units.

By: Eka

Eka — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:13:45 +0000

Hello, Bikoy. I have always been an avid reader of your blog (though this would be my first time to comment on any of your entries).

It’s really sad to know that studying in UP (which is supposed to be a privilege for the brightest minds of the Philippines) is slowly becoming blind obedience in its worst form.

Long before this TOFI has been implemented, I already have friends who grieve over the tuition that their families cannot afford to pay. They actually considered transferring to other universities with cheaper fees. (To give you a better view, our tuition by that time was just around 7,000+.)

Having experienced that, I won’t be surprised if UP is not even losing, but has already lost many of the brightest youths along the way.

Though I remain to be a silent activist until now, I do support your advocacies regarding this issue. Please extend my wishes of luck to the USC. The students need you, and we do count on your efforts and future plans. We appreciate the fact that you stand up for the people who are weak of heart.

Thank you very much.