System-wide student group calls for repeal of UP's "no pay, no admission" rule
QUEZON CITY, Philippines - A week after the reported suicide of a student from UP Manila, a UP System-wide student group called for the repeal of Art. 330 of the 1975 UP Code or what the group termed the university’s "no pay, no admission" rule.
The student group, Bukluran UP System, is an alliance of student organizations from UP units in Baguio, Diliman, Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and Mindanao. According to the group, the basis of UP Manila’s criticized “no late payment” policy was Art. 330 which states that “no person who has not duly matriculated may be admitted to the classes.”
In a meeting with Asst. Prof. Richard Philip Gonzalo, the official in charge of revising the university’s tuition programs, Bukluran submitted its position paper explaining the need to repeal Art. 330 and proposing to institute other tuition reforms.
“This ‘no pay, no admission’ rule is vague, iniquitous, and ultimately inhumane,” asserted Jason Alacapa, chair of UP Manila’s student council. “It allows an interpretation by the admin that admission of any student can be denied simply because of slight delays in tuition payment.”
“Now that UP Manila has lifted its ‘no late payment’ policy, it’s time to repeal its basis in the ‘no pay, no admission’ rule. Otherwise, students will forever be in danger of being deprived of their right to education on the sole basis of financial incapacity,” Alacapa added.
Concrete measures
The group urged the administration to review and reform the university’s socialized tuition and financial assistance program (STFAP) and other student financial services.
"As we mourn for the tragic death of Kristel, it is now time to take seriously the task of reviewing and reforming UP's tuition policies," said Chao Cabatingan, UP Cebu’s student council chair.
The group also called on fellow students to complement mass action with the proposal of concrete measures. "This should serve as a wake-up call for both the students and administration to formulate concrete measures to secure the right to quality, accessible, and relevant education. Such concrete measures are what we propose today,” added Cabatingan.
Too late?
In an earlier press conference, UP President Alfredo Pascual announced that the STFAP and other student financial services were scheduled to be reformed for the next school year.
“It is disheartening that the admin was too late in instituting these reforms in the case of Kristel. If only the admin listened to the students in previous years, the several policy deficiencies might have been corrected on time,” remarked Arjay Mercado of UP Diliman’s student council.
“The reforms we propose are reasonable and practicable. If the admin takes seriously our right to education, they should have no problem with our proposals,” Mercado said.
The nine other reforms proposed by the group are:
- Transparency in the STFAP by explaining to students by letter how their brackets were assigned
- Flexibility by reducing the proposed two-year bracket renewal period to one year
- Online STFAP application with the submission of electronic, instead of physical, documents for verification
- Equal application of STFAP bracketing for second-degree and graduate students without hiking tuition levels
- Yearly review of the STFAP by the admin and students
- Mode of payment in installments
- Deferred payment option without interest
- 100% tuition coverage of the existing student loans program
- Transportation allowance for UPCAT passers from distant areas
###