By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
Right after PDu30’s ascension to the throne in Malacanang, he declared that Filipinos deserve free education. So state universities and colleges were ordered not to collect tuition fees from their enrollees.
Good for PR, bad for the people.
Here’s why. The law should not have touched the system being implemented in UP, or all other SUCs should have followed the UP system.
What was being implemented in UP then was the socialized scheme of fees. If you were the kid of a rich family, you paid very high tuition fee. The smaller the income of as student’s parents, the smaller the fees he paid. If a student’s parents are poor then he became a recipient of a grant or a scholarship. He only did not pay any tuition fee, he also was given allowances for board and lodging and for books.
When the main criterion for admission to the UP was passing the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) which was implemented in the early 1970s, the university had to expand its parking areas because majority of those who were passing it had cars or were the children of rich families. It is still the same now. Thus, this PDu30 administration’s policy where students don’t have to pay anything, it is actually the people who are now paying through their taxes the education of these rich kids.
The same is true in other SUCs. Some SUCs’ admission are not based on merit but on influence. We have heard of children of politicians being admitted to SUCs due to political influence even if these kids are spoiled brats who did not really care about getting an education, or that they did not have the aptitude to be in college. And it is the people through their taxes who are paying for their education.
At least, in UP, by and large, admission is based on merit. To borrow the words of Sen. Chiz Escudero, “maski sino ka pa, o maski anong pangalan mo.” Well, there was an exception I know. The case of Imee Marcos. From what recently came out, how did she get admitted to the UP College of Law if she did not have a pre-law diploma from Princeton University?
The point here is that, for the sake of the people, what should be implemented was the past scheme of UP called socialized tuition fees. That is, it should be adopted by other SUCs where the rate to be paid by students is based on their parents’ ability to pay. Rich kids should pay a lot more and the poor should be granted scholarships.
This column was a result of what I found out from graduating UP Baguio MassCom students who came to interview me to satisfy a requirement for their graduation. I was shocked to find out that they, like all other students in SUCs, were not paying anything.
In sum, we can say that the free tuition policy in SUCs is quite bold, but so stupid.
Now, UP, as far as I know, cannot give scholarships to poor but deserving students. I hope I am wrong on this one. The effect is that many poor students there dropped out because they could not afford the other expenses being in college requires.**
