Iskolar Nga [Ba]yan?

By Johanne Margarette R. Macob

 

THOUSANDS take the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) every August, all with the fervent hope of making it into the premier state university of the country. I know exactly that feeling, I was one of those. From these thousands, only a small percentage passes the exam; worse, a portion of the passers do not pursue studying in the institution due to financial issues; worst, not everyone who starts out in the university gets to graduate from the same school because of a number of reasons, including money problems.

The death of a fellow so-called “Iskolar ng Bayan” last week was a wicked tragedy, especially because one of the reasons if not the main reason that contributed to her decision of taking away her own life was money — and not really a big amount of it. It is called poverty.

Kristel Tejada, a freshman at UP Manila couldn’t pay P10,000 plus-worth of tuition fee and was forced to take a leave of absence. She had good grades but still, she was forced to leave school. Very pathetic. Very fiendish.

I studied at UP Baguio waking up with and leaving with still the fight for an increase in the education budget. Well, the budget for state universities and colleges might have increased this year but that is not enough. UP’s per-unit rate is too high for a state university, not to mention for the country’s premier state university. Isn’t UP a public school? Aren’t we supposed to be really receiving state subsidies?

Further, if the Constitution – the book of laws of this land – provides that “The state shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all”, then why did the representative of the present administration say that they (the administration) have no control over the policies of UP? Reminder: education is a right and not a privilege.

I hope the present administration does not leave alone the state universities and colleges and instead check their policies, particularly with regards to tuition and other fees. Besides, as one great thinker argued, having an educated population leads to having a social order.

Thousands take their chance to get to study to that state university, to be one Iskolar ng Bayan. May the institution and the government secure the genuine definition of that tag. Further, I hope UP is still the University of the Philippines.

My sincerest condolences to the loved-ones of Kristel. May it never happen again.

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