The president of the University of the Philippines characterizes the tuition in the state university,based on 1989 prices, as "ridiculously low." She hints at increasing fees by as much as 300 percent in some UP campuses, claiming that quality education "must come with a cost." That's ridiculous.It appears that UP is pushed to take drastic steps to address its operational concerns: renovating buildings, maintaining facilities, and keeping professors' salaries competitive. The president laments that the subsidy to UP is shrinking. Further, the new UP charter which provides for alternative revenue sources is still pending in Congress. That is simple economics: finding solutions to a case of scarce resources.
Unfortunately, what is at stake here is not as simple.
Education as the great equalizer is best exemplified in the university. Poor families take comfort that for a few thousand pesos per semester, their bright children can enjoy the best education. A financially comfortable life is no longer a dream but a
likelihood. With the proposed increase, however, thousands of deserving students and their parents will be disenfranchised.
A primer released by the UP Board of Regents says "the eroded real value of tuition provides unwarranted support to students whose families can actually afford to pay the full cost of instruction. " We can live with that. Ultimately, these students from better-off families have a choice. This is infinitely better than totally depriving poor students of the option of going to the only good school they can afford to attend.
We trust that the UP will come to its senses and banish such notions. A tuition increase of great proportions would be a major blunder and a social injustice.
[source]
No comments:
Post a Comment