Student groups at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) plan to hold a massive protest, involving a series of walk-outs and campus strikes, to oppose an administrative proposal to increase tuition fees next year.
Based in Manila, PUP is the largest state university in the country. Over 70,000 students enroll across 18 campuses each year, with most coming from lower income families.
PUP’s Board of Regents (BOR) approved of a 100% hike in tuition rates for Graduate and Law Schools and a 53% hike in sports development fees. Other proposals include introducing a new Insurance fee in addition to building a call center, shopping mall, and commercial food court inside the campus.
Students claim that the tuition fee increases are part of a scheme by the Aquino administration to lower subsidy and decrease government responsibility for state schools. “We condemn this move by the PUP administration acting upon the orders of the Aquino government. The government’s program to further commercialize state universities and implement tuition rates comparable to private schools is deplorable. We call on the government to withdraw this measure,” stated student regent Helen Clair Alfonso.
In 2009, PUP’s BOR administration proposed a 2000% increase in undergraduate fees, resulting in a series of staged protests by PUP students. Chairs and desks were thrown from buildings and piled up in the middle of the university grounds before the administration withdrew its plan.
“Aquino slashed the budget of PUP and state schools for two consecutive years, now its plan is to hike tuition rates,” said Alfonso. “Let us remind the government that education is a right and government has the responsibility to provide quality and accessible education at all levels as mandated by the constitution”
Creative Commons Love: Victor Villanueva on Flickr
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