UP Students Leave Classes In Protest Of Tuition Hike

The Freeman - Cebu Publication Date: [Monday, January 29, 2007]

Hundreds of students in all campuses of the University of the Philippines boycotted their classes on Friday to protest the 300 percent increase in their tuition imposed by the UP Board of Regents (BOR) last December.

In UP Cebu College, the youth party-list group KABATAAN Party, together with other student organizations led by the Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante (NKE) and the Student Council, walked out of their classrooms to demand for the recall of tuition and other fee increases (TOFI).

All wearing red, more than a hundred-fifty students marched around the campus and burned a large effigy of a UP enrollment form to express disgust over the UP administration’ ’s trampling of the students” right to proper consultations on the such increase.

Karlo Mikhail Mongaya, KABATAAN-Cebu Information Officer and UP Cebu Student Council Chairman, said the tuition increase, which is in line with the Long Term Higher Education Development (LTHEDP) of 2001-2010, will lead to other tuition hikes in other state universities and colleges (SUCs).

“The present government” s grandplan for education is not merely the neglect of education as was the analysis of previous generations of students. What we now see is the out-and-out abandonment of the responsibility to provide accessible and quality education for all,” Mongaya said.

The youth leader condemned the anti-student LTHEDP, which pushed for, among others, the gigantic increases of fees in 70 percent of SUCs, making tuition equal to those of private schools, and the reduction of SUCs to 20 percent of its present number.

“TOFI is not merely a local UP issue. TOFI, which is a manifestation of state abandonment of education, is an issue of national scope that will definitely affect the future of the Filipino youth,” he said.

Meanwhile, NKE spokesperson and Student Council official Ralph Sanchez said the BOR’’s decision to have tuition “subsequently adjusted annually based on the national inflation rate” makes UP no different from private schools where education is treated as a privilege for those who can afford rather than as a basic right.

Sanchez said the BOR has shifted the burden of subsidizing the university” s expenses to the students and their parents, ending UP’’s thrust of providing a mass-oriented education. - Wenna A. Berondo

Youth Group Condemns UP Tuition Increase

The Freeman - Cebu Publication Date: [Saturday, December 23, 2006]

The KABATAAN Party-Cebu City has condmened what is said was an “unjust and immoral” implementation of the 300 percent increase in tuition fees of the University of the Philippines.

“While the youth and the UP community receives this news with grief, we are angered by the arrogance of the regents who approved the proposed increase without properly consulting the students,” said Karlo Mikhail Mongaya, KABATAAN Party Cebu Information Officer and UP Cebu College Student Council chairperson.

The decision of the UP Board of Regents did not include the votes of the faculty and student regents who had sought for a public consultation with the students. The other regents reportedly did not heed the call for a dialogue with the thousands of students who barricaded the BOR meeting venue.

“The Malacañang-appointees in the BOR has clearly learned much from their masters in the art of approving anti-people proposals despite strong public outrage,” Mongaya said.

“Like (President Gloria) Arroyo’s postponement of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit due to the political storm brought by the railroading of ChaCha, the UP administration cancelled the annual lantern parade intending to prevent students from joining protests against the said hike.”

However, he stressed that unlike the PGMA-allied lawmakers who had heeded the outcry of the Filipino people against ChaCha, the BOR proceeded to railroad the planned hike in the face of the strong opposition by various sectors.

“We will not take this sitting down. This is an infringement to the basic right to education and a blatant manifestation of the commercialized nature of the Philippine educational system,” said Mongaya.

“This is not only an issue of fee increases. More importantly, this is a result of the Arroyo administration’s policy of slashing budget for UP and education in favor of militarization and onerous foreign debt payments,” he said.

In January, the student council chair said, the BOR and the Arroyo administration may face another ‘First Quarter Storm,’ in obvious reference to the historical period in the 70s that saw hundreds of thousands of students participating in daily demonstrations.

“The BOR has crossed the line. Now that the proposal has been approved, we will be leading massive protests for the scrapping of the much-hated anti-student measure,” Mongaya said. Jasmine R. Uy

UP Studes Protest Tuition Fee Increase

The Freeman - Cebu Publication Date: [December 15, 2006]

Students of University of the Philippines Cebu College yesterday launched a text protest to oppose the proposed 300 percent increase in the tuition fee of the state-owned university.

This as the UP Board of Regents, the university’s highest decision-making body, is scheduled to meet today to discuss and decide on the proposed increase.

Since few weeks ago, the UP Cebu College - Student Council has been conducting protests to show its opposition to the move.

Today, thousands of students at different UP campuses across the country are expected to join simultaneous protests urging the BOR to scrap the tuition increase proposal.

UP Student Regent Raffy Jones Sanchez and Faculty Regents Roland Simbulan have already assured the students of their stands against the tuition hike during the BOR meeting today.

“While the UP Cebu students may have traveled back to their provinces for the early vacation, they will not be giving the BOR an early respite from pressure politics against the increase in UP tuition,” said UP Cebu Student Council chairperson Karlo Mikhail Mongaya.

Mongaya said that any form of increase in UP tuition is unjustified since this will deprive the majority of the Filipino youth the ability to benefit from UP education, especially in this time of crisis.

“The planned hike clearly shows that the country’s “premier state university” was never exempted from the colonial, commercialized, and repressive system of education of our country.”

“This is a repression of the youth’s right to education. This will only encourage the government to further reduce the budget for UP and shirk on its responsibility to subsidize education.”

Mongaya said that “Iskolars ng bayan” from the other UP units, where classes are still going on, will also be holding demonstrations to coincide with the BOR meeting. - Wenna A. Berondo

Text brigade against tuition increase

From the UP Cebu College Student Council

The early vacation will not deter us from holding our simultaneous protests against the proposed increase in UP tuition.

Let us appeal to our Board of Regents (BOR) to scrap the proposed 300% tuition hike by barraging them with text messages from today to December 15.

The BOR Will be deciding on the planned increase in its December 15 meeting. Only our collective action can put an end to the said anti-student proposal.

Karlo Mikhail Mongaya
Chairperson, Student Council
UP Visayas Cebu College

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Members of the BoR with mobile phones:

UP President Emerlinda Roman - 09189461009

Regent Gari Tiongco - 09178194529

Regent Romulo G. Davide - 09193501454

Regent Nelia T. Gonzalez - 09175258846

Regent Edmundo Varona - 09178344426
(Please do not include in text brigade - still hospitalized.)

Regent Roland G. Simbulan - 09173716307
(Please do not include in text barrage - is against tuition increase already.)

Regent Raffy Jones G. Sanchez - 09064430135
(Please do not include in text barrage - against tuition increase already.)

Please pass to all UP iskos and iskas, family members and friends.

A Manifesto Against the Proposed Tuition and Other Fee Increases

We, the Iskolar ng Bayan, strongly oppose the proposed tuition and other fee increases in the University of the Philippines as it is a grave and direct attack to our basic right to education and a clear manifestation of the government’s severe neglect of its responsibility to provide for education.

The proposed tuition increase (UP Diliman, Manila and Los Banos: from P300 to P1,000 per unit, UP Visayas, Mindanao and Baguio: from P200 to P600) and the accompanying increase in miscellaneaous fees (Diliman: P615 to P2000, Los Baños: P515 to P2000, Manila P565 to 950, Baguio P595 to P1405, Visayas P595 to P1405, Mindanao P830 to P1640 ) intensifies to a grand extent the commercialization of UP education and poses a grave attack to our right to education. It also defeats our struggle for greater state subsidy for education as it pushes UP to generate its own income rather than.assert the state’s responsibility to fund UP.

Tuition increase will further render UP education inaccessible. The worsening economic situation indicates the wide insufficiency of minimum wage to even sustain the basic needs of the family as show by the P 654.96 national average daily cost of living for a family of six as of January 2006 and the P325 daily minimum wage in Metro Manila. Based on this cost of living 8 out of 10 families or roughly 83% of Filipino families are considered poor, while using the international poverty measurement which count those living under $ 2 a day as poor, indicates that over 87% of the country's families are poor. With such conditions, an increase in tuition would be a social injustice and woluld further entrench the people to poverty.

The proposal defeats our fight for higher state subsidy. By generating income from students, the burden of providing education is shifted from the state to the students and their families. Such commercialization of education will consequently push the government to continuously slash budget allocations for the university and on the long term abandon its responsibility to subsidize education in accordance with its policies on education.

The proposal in principle and in practice overtly alters the very nature of UP as a state university of and for the people. The proposal clearly derives from the principle that students themselves – rather than the general taxpayer – should pay for the cost of higher education regardless of state budgetary constraints since virtually all the benefits of an undergraduate education are appropriable to the private individual himself. This undoubtedly departs from the principle of a state university which must first and foremost promote and protect the right to education by asserting the government’s responsibility to subsidize the university and a university which inculcates the spirit of valuing social over individual interest.

The fight against the imminent tuition increase is a fight for our right to education and against the commercialization of UP education. Such struggle requires from among our ranks the highest unity in will and action. Only through our collective and militant assertion can we triumph against the proposed tuition increase ad uphold our basic right to education.

Oppose tuition and other fee increases!

No to commercialization of UP education!

Fight for greater state subsidy!

Uphold our right to Education!

U M A K S Y O N

Ugnayang Multi-sektoral Laban sa

Komersyalisasyon ng Edukasyon

Message from the Chairperson

Butyag Student Council Publication Date: [July 3, 2006]

From the University of the Philippines Cebu College Student Council, warm nationalist greetings to all the brave and genuine Iskolars ng Bayan who were united in opposing the proposed tuition increase in the June 30 Systemwide mass action.

Due to the unity and show of force that we projected in all UP units the UP Board of Regents has decided to postpone the discussion of the proposals to another date. We have temporarily stopped the approval of the said P200 to P600 per unit tuition hike.

This is another testimony to the fact that it is only through collective action that we can bring our struggles to victory.

The Student Council calls on each and every one to be vigilant against all anti-student policies that the administration would like to approve without any consultation.

Once more, we thank everyone who heeded the call to wear black, the more than a hundred UP Cebu students who participated in last Friday’s collective gathering, and everyone who gave support to our fight in defense of the right to education.

Fellow Iskolars, our fight has just begun.

No to Tuition and Other Fee Increases!
Uphold Poper Student Consultation!
Fight for Higher UP & Education Budget!

A United Stand of UP Students Against the Proposed Tuition Increase

We, the Iskolar ng Bayan, strongly oppose the proposed tuition and other fee increases in all units of the University of the Philippines. Furthermore, we contest the imposed tuition increase in the UP College of Medicine from an estimated P11,000 to P20,000 which may be used as an example of the administration to impose increases in other UP units all over the country.

Believing that education is a right, we the Iskolar ng Bayan collectively stand against this unjust scheme of generating income from students especially in this untimely situation.

The tuition increase proposal will make UP education less accessible to the majority of the Filipino youth. This scheme will further limit UP education only to a certain group or bracket, thus would cater only to those who could afford to pay such a costly education. Moreover, this proposal will obviously forfeit the very nature of the University of the Philippines – the premier state university of the country, the University of the People. UP, a state university must first and foremost protect the rights and interests of its students. The burden must not be passed on to the students which in the first place is the government’s responsibility. In these trying times, the increase in tuition and other fees is not the solution.

As students of the premier state university, we assert to have an access to quality education that is prioritized by the government. The non-prioritization of education is a clear manifestation of the current administration’s abandonment of its responsibility to the youth sector. Increased tuition fees and other laboratory or miscellaneous fees are mechanisms used by the UP Administration to generate income from students because of the meager budget we receive from the government. This is used to augment the diminishing UP budget, but which also advertently promotes state abandonment. Moreover, a number of state universities and colleges have increased tuition and other fees despite the CHED memorandum. The unjust collection of increases poses a grave threat to our right to education. Furthermore, it is a manifestation of curtailment of our right to education.

We want a better and quality education, but we stand firm that the burden must never pass on to the students. We demand a greater state subsidy for education.

The recent approval of the tuition increases in UP College of Medicine without properly soliciting the stands of the students is a curtailment of the students’ right to be properly consulted. Despite the strong objection of students of such a proposed tuition increase, the administration still approved the proposal. We shall not allow this to happen to other colleges or units of the University or to any state university or college in general. We shall fight all forms of commercialization of education, especially the continuing trend of decreasing education budget, increasing tuition and other fees, such as the increase in the library fee and laboratory fees, imposed exorbitant fees such as the late registration fee and rental fees and the proposed inclusion of bogus fee such as internet and energy fees.

The recent implementation of increase in the library fee in the University of the Philippines Diliman and Mindanao to the incoming freshmen is a clear showing of how the administration finds other means to generate income from students. This is a scheme of commercialization of education. Moreover, the policy of non-consultation of proposed increase pose a possible repercussion to the future Iskolar ng Bayan in the long run and will leave the students at a losing end. We demand a proper venue for consultation on any increases or policy the administration desires to implement.

The proposed tuition increases for UP Units of Diliman, Manila and Los Banos (from P300 to P1,000) and UP Visayas, Mindanao and Baguio (P200 to P600) per unit, pose a grave threat to our right to education. This scheme will further justify the state abandonment to our education and will further make UP education less accessible to the bulk of the deserving Filipino youth. We shall safeguard our rights and fight schemes of commercialization of education.

We appeal to the UP administration, especially to the UP Board of Regents to properly consult the students regarding policies of increases. We further appeal that the administration considers the plight and sentiments of the greater number of the students regarding this proposal.

It is in these times that we, the Iskolar ng Bayan, join ranks in fighting for our basic rights and together we shall uphold our rights to education!

Oppose the tuition and other fee increases in UP! No to commercialization of education! Uphold proper student consultation! Fight for higher state subsidy!

Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP (KASAMA sa UP)

Talk Back: Not a Rumor

Sun.Star Daily Publication Date: [June 19, 2006]

Sun.Star Daily’s June 14 issue published a news item which mentioned my supposed citing of a rumored “200 to 600 percent” increase in UP Cebu’s tuition.

I would like to clarify that the said UP Cebu tuition hike is a P200 to P600 per unit increase or a 200 percent increase. Likewise, the proposed adjustment is not a mere rumor but is the real result of the Arroyo administration’s policy of abandoning its responsibilities to provide accessible education.

According to the UP Student Regent, a committee formed by UP President Emerlinda Roman to review UP’s tuition policy just proposed a UP system-wide increase for all undergraduate tuition.

Despite such, the Arroyo government has continued to delude the people with praise releases about its achievements in the field of education, even to the extent of claiming the existence of a tuition hike moratorium for all State Universities this year.

The really sorry state of Philippine education and the approval of tuition increases in the UP Manila College of Medicine and UP Extension Program in Pampanga disprove such empty talk.

In the end, it is these false realities that must be brought to light, brought out into the public, and confronted.

By Karlo Mikhail Mongaya
Chairperson, Student Council
UP Visayas – Cebu College

UP Naming Mahal

Years of government neglect have produced the intended result. Facilities have been reduced to a sorry state of decay and services are diminished by austerity measures.

But more alarming consequences are in line for us iskolars ng bayan. With Arroyo’s cuddling of the military and prioritization of foreign debt servicing over education, UP is fast becoming too expensive for the underprivileged majority.

Last summer, the UP Board of Regents (BOR) approved several tuition and other fee increases affecting various UP units.

• All UP Diliman Colleges hiked library fees from P400 to P800.
• The UP Manila College of Medicine tuition for incoming freshmen increased from P11,500 to P20,000.
• The UP Extension Program in Pampanga Graduate Studies’ tuition was adjusted from P500 to P1,000 per unit.
  

As if these are not enough, a committee formed to review UP’s tuition policy has just submitted its final recommendation for discussion to the BOR.

This June 30, the BOR will meet in UP Los Baños to discuss the committee’s proposals to increase undergraduate tuition for future freshmen in all UP units. To this end, no consultation was ever undertaken to take the student sector’s interests into consideration.

• Proposed tuition hike for UP Diliman, UP Los Baños, and UP Manila – P300 to P1,000 per unit.
• Proposed tuition hike for UP Pampanga, UP Baguio, UP Mindanao and UP Visayas – P200 to P600 per unit.
  

In the long run, we know where this all leads to – a more commercialized and less accessible UP education. A direction that may find future iskos and iskas singing the UP Naming Mahal, not as our alma mater song, but with the rising cost of education in mind.

Indifference and non-involvement will only urge the powers that be to continue with blatant anti-student schemes. Let us therefore stand up for our right to education.

This Friday, we invite everyone to join a system-wide gathering timed with the 1210th BOR meeting. Assembly is 11:30 AM at the Admin steps.

We likewise invite everyone to a Nationwide Youth Protest this July 7.

KNOCK-DOWN THE PROPOSED SYSTEMWIDE TUITION HIKE!
FIGHT FOR HIGHER UP & EDUCATION BUDGET!

Tuition Moratorium in State Universities & Colleges?

The Freeman Publication Date: [June 12, 2006]
Cebu Daily News Publication Date: [June 15, 2006]

Contrary to the present regime’s claim of a tuition moratorium in the state universities and colleges, the iskolars ng bayan lament the increase of tuition in the UP Manila College of Medicine and the UP Extension Program in Pampanga.

From 11,529 pesos per semester, the UP Manila College of Medicine now charges a tuition of more than 20,045 pesos per semester. Likewise, the UP Pampanga Management Program’s tuition increased from P500 per unit to P1, 500 per unit.

The gigantic slashes in the education budget in the past few years have not only led to deteriorating facilities and services in state universities and colleges. More so, the government’s abandonment of its responsibility to fully subsidize education has led to the imposition and increase of tuition and other fees.

Such impositions only put more weight to the already heavy economic hardships faced by the Filipino people today.

Hence, fewer students are opting to continue with their studies. Those who find private schools too expensive now realize the same conditions existing in the state universities and colleges.

If the Arroyo regime continues with such anti-student schemes, then it will be only a matter of time before it is ousted from power. Education, after all, must remain a right and never a privilege for an economically advantaged few.

By Karlo Mikhail Mongaya
Chairperson, Student Council
UP Visayas – Cebu College