Last
May
21,
the
Review
Committee
of
the
Board
of
Regents
called
for
the
University
Student
Council
Chairpersons
of
Diliman,
Los
Banos,
and
Manila
to
discuss
possible
courses
of
action
and
alternatives
for
specific
provisions
relating
to
the
tuition
system
in
the
University
Code.
The
following
points
were
discussed:
Art.
330
No
person
who
has
not
duly
matriculated
may
be
admitted
to
the
classes.
In
exceptional
cases,
the
University
Registrar
may,
on
the
recommendation
of
the
Dean
or
Director
concerned,
authorize
the
admission
of
a
visitor
to
a
class
for
not
more
than
five
(5)
sessions.
Art. 430 Students who are indebted to the Student Loan and Short-Term Cash Loan Funds, their sureties and parents or guardians shall be notified that such indebtedness must be paid as follows:
Student
Loan
-
should
be
paid
at
one
time
or
in
four
installments
one
month
before
the
final
examination.
Short Term Cash Loan - is payable within ninety (90) days. After
ninety (90)
days,
a
service
charge
shall
be
collected
per
month.
The
period
of
payment
shall
be
extendable
to
another
sixty
(60)
days.
If
after
the
extension
the
loan
has
not
been
fully
paid,
the
co-
debtor
shall
pay
the
principal,
the
interest
and
service
charge.
Art.
431
If
a
student
fails
to
settle
account
in
full
one
month
before
the
final
semestral
examinations,
the
faculty
member
shall
either
bar
the
delinquent
student
from
taking
the
examinations
or,
if
the
student
is
allowed
to
take
the
examinations,
withhold
the
grades.
If
the
account
is
not
settled
by
the
opening
of
the
following
semester,
the
student
may
not
be
allowed
to
enroll.
During
the
course
of
the
discussion,
a
number
of
alternatives
were
raised.
The
very
same
alternatives
will
be
discussed
to
further
manifest
the
unified
stand
of
the
University
Student
Council
and
the
College
Councils
of
UP
Diliman,
UP
Los
Baos,
and
UP
Manila.
Article 330 According to Section 9 of RA 9500 on Democratic Access, The national university shall take affirmative steps which may take the form of an alternative and equitable admissions process to enhance the access of disadvantaged students No student shall be denied admission to the national university by reason solely of ...economic status... Article 330 evidently violates the principle stated by imposing a policy that denies access to deserving students to a UP Education due to financial incapacity. The government is mandated to ensure accessible and indiscriminate education to all students, particularly to the University of the Philippines, being a national university as stated in the UP Charter. Taking the recent case of Kristel Tejada in UP Manila as an example, the existence of such policy resulted in complete denial of access to education concretized by the Forced Leave of Absence (FLOA). Thus, Article 330, a policy that clearly violates the right of students to accessible education to the national university, must be repealed from the UP System Code. Coverage and Interest Rate of the Student Loan Board In the current system, a student may loan a certain percentage of his/her tuition fee based on year level. It ranges from 70% for freshmen and sophomores, 80% for juniors and seniors to 85% for graduate students. With 6% annual interest, the student tuition loan must be paid in full or installment one (1) month before the finals week of that semester. We recognize the need for a revision when it comes to the present situation of the loan system for students. It is true that comparing the current loan opportunities which could take care of 70% to 85% of the total tuition fees of students, it is still better to introduce a system wherein they could loan for 100% of their total tuition. This is to give more flexibility to the student body on choosing the best time to pay for the tuition fees. In addition, the interest rate, which accounts for 6% of the loan per annum, could be a big burden for them in the long run. Therefore, it is better to remove the interest liability of students who choose to loan. This would remove the burden of paying more in the future. Therefore, it is
urgent that we expand the coverage of the loan system to 100% and remove the interest rates that students need to pay. Deadline of Loan Payments In its current form, the university allows the student to avail a loan, given that he/she is bound to clear before the succeeding semester starts. When a student fails to do so, this article gives the faculty the authority to bar the student from taking examinations, withhold the grades of the student, therefore making him ineligible to enroll for the next semester. Also, students who aren't able to pay their loan from the previous semester are not allowed to pre-enlist subjects for the next semester. This clearly violates the mandate of the University, as aforementioned in the guiding principles of the UP Charter, RA 9500, SEC. 9 - Democratic Access. Given this, we find it important to give an ample time for students to be able to pay for the loan without having to suffer being rejected from the enlistment process. It is just fair to consider that students may find it difficult to pay the loan in one semester due to various economic factors. With this, we urge the administration to extend the deadline given to students who loan from one semester to one academic year. Also, we would like the university to be able to implement a Study Now, Pay Later Scheme for those students who wish to just pay their tuition once they're able to earn the money to do so. Our Struggle Remains While we accept the fact that these revisions are better than what we currently have, we still demand for the UP Administration and the Philippine Government to heed our calls for a better education system. We won't allow these policy changes to stop our call for Full State Subsidy, Better Management of SUC Funds, and Transparency and Accountability in the Budget Process. For how many years, we have repeatedly called for the government to completely subsidize the Budget Proposal of UP. Although the UP budget has increased recently, it is still far from what the university truly needs in order to provide quality education to its students. In Section 2 of the Declaration of Policy in the 2008 UP Charter, it is stated, The University of the Philippines is hereby declared as the national university. The State shall promote, foster, nurture and protect the right of all
citizens
to
accessible
quality
education.
Toward
this
end,
it
is
the
policy
of
the
State
to
strengthen
the
University
of
the
Philippines
as
the
national
university.
Therefore,
we
strongly
assert
our
call
for
full
state
subsidy
to
UP
Education.
While
the
responsibility
of
the
government
to
give
a
full
subsidy
to
UP
is
a
must,
theres
also
a
mutual
responsibility
on
the
part
of
the
university
to
provide
platforms
for
checks
and
balances
when
it
comes
to
the
internal
allotment
of
its
funds.
In
line
with
this
principle,
we
would
like
to
stress
the
importance
of
having
transparency
and
accountability
when
it
comes
to
data
pertaining
to
financial
transactions
undertaken
by
UP.
Currently,
theres
no
specific
policy
in
all
UP
units
when
it
comes
to
students
access
to
these
information
for
research
and
investigative
purposes.
This
is
a
complete
violation
to
the
principles
of
transparency
and
accountability
that
our
councils
would
like
to
forward.
Also,
it
is
mentioned
in
Sec.
3
(h)
of
the
UP
Charter
of
2008,
The
University
shall
provide
democratic
governance
in
the
university
based
on
collegiality,
representation,
accountability,
and
active
participation
of
its
constituents.
This
policy
must
not
be
so
strict
so
as
to
give
an
unbalanced
power
between
the
student
body
and
the
holders
of
the
information.
In
this
manner,
student
participation
in
the
internal
budgeting
process
of
UP
would
be
maximized.
Also,
transparency
and
accountability
on
the
part
of
the
administration
would
be
further
ensured.
Therefore,
we
urge
the
administration
of
all
SUC's
to
create
policies
governing
the
release
of
data
to
students
to
ensure
transparency
and
accountability.
It
is
clear
that
revising
Articles
330,
430,
and
431
are
not
enough
to
answer
our
calls
for
a
better
UP
Education.
The
government
and
the
university
administration
can
expect
us
students
to
remain
vigilant
and
active
in
continuously
campaigning
for
these
causes
to
come
into
fruition.
Note: The University Student Council and College Councils of UP Diliman, UP Los Baos, and UP Manila also demands full disclosure and active consultation from the review committee throughout the whole deliberation process of Articles 330, 430, and 431.
Signed
by:
UPD
University
Student
Council
UPD
League
of
College
Councils
Architecture
Student
Council
Asian
Institute
of
Tourism
Student
Council
Business
Administration
Council
Engineering
Student
Council
College
of
Arts
and
Letters
Student
Council
College
of
Education
Student
Council
College
of
Fine
Arts
Student
Council
College
of
Home
Economics
Student
Council
College
of
Human
Kinetics
Student
Council
College
of
Mass
Communication
Student
Council
College
of
Music
Student
Council
College
of
Science
Student
Council
College
of
Social
Sciences
and
Philosophy
Student
Council
College
of
Social
Work
and
Community
Development
Student
Council
Law
Student
Government
National
College
of
Public
Administration
and
Governance
Student
Government
School
of
Economics
Student
Council
School
of
Library
and
Information
Studies
Student
Council
School
of
Statistics
Student
Council
UPM
University
Student
Council
University
of
the
Philippines
Pharmaceutical
Association
UPM
College
Student
Councils
College
of
Allied
Medical
Professions
Student
Council
College
of
Arts
and
Sciences
Student
Council
College
of
Dentistry
Student
Council
College
of
Medicine
Student
Council
College
of
Nursing
Student
Council
College
of
Public
Health
Student
Council UPLB
University
Student
Council
UPLB
College
Student
Councils
College
of
Agriculture
Student
Council
College
of
Arts
and
Sciences
Student
Council
College
of
Development
Communication
Student
Council
College
of
Economics
and
Management
Student
Council
College
of
Engineering
and
Agro- industrial
Technology
Student
Council
College
of
Forestry
and
Natural
Resources
Student
Council
College
of
Human
Ecology
Student
Council
College
of
Veterinary
Medicine
Student
Council