Uh- Oh. Brace yourself UP.

UP regents vote 7-0 for tuition hike

300% increase for incoming freshmen

By DJ Yap

Inquirer

Last updated 02:13am (Mla time) 12/16/2006

Published on Page A25 of the December 16, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

IT’S OFFICIAL.

The cost of education at the state-run University of the Philippines will be triple the current rate starting next year.

Voting 7-0, the UP Board of Regents upheld the controversial
proposal to adjust tuition and other fees at the state university,
despite mounting opposition from student groups that voiced their
protests yesterday at two of the UP’s yearly traditions: the Lantern
Parade and the Oblation Run.

The board approved president Emerlinda Roman’s recommendation to
impose a 300-percent increase in tuition, which had not been adjusted
since 1989. The increase will apply to incoming freshmen next school
year.

With the approval, the cost of an academic unit shall be raised from
P300 to P1,000 on the Diliman, Manila and Los Baños campuses, and from
P200 to P600 on the Baguio, Visayas and Mindanao campuses.
Miscellaneous fees shall also be increased in varying degrees across
the campuses.

The BOR, chaired by Commission on Higher Education chief Carlito
Puno, also approved the revised Socialized Tuition Financial Assistance
Program, which categorizes students according to their financial needs.

UP officials said the modified STFAP would ensure that students who
could not afford the tuition would not have to pay, and would even
receive stipends of up to P12,000 per semester.

Full rates

Under the new tuition scheme, only the “millionaires” among the
students would bear the brunt of the full rates, while the less
affluent would pay rates corresponding to their income brackets, the
officials noted.

The decision enraged students who had gathered in a massive
demonstration outside the College of Law building, where the meeting
took place. Upon learning the news, dozens rushed to the lobby to
confront the regents. But they later calmed down and peacefully left
the Malcolm Hall after their leaders stepped in to pacify them.

University Student Council chair Juan Paolo Alfonso said more
protests were being planned in response to the new development. Student
Regent Raffy Jones Sanchez, on the other hand, described the decision
of the board as an exercise in “shamelessness.”

“This administration is worse than the House of Representatives,” he
said in an apparent reference to the failed bid of administration
legislators to effect a Charter change through a constituent assembly.

Protest

Sanchez, along with faculty regent Roland Simbulan, did not attend
the meeting in protest of the sudden change in venue. The original
venue of the meeting was Quezon Hall, but the officials later moved it
to Malcolm Hall to avoid a confrontation with students who had
“barricaded” the entrances to the administration building.

At 3:30 p.m., UP vice president for legal affairs Marvic Leonen
attempted to enter the hall, only to be blocked by students who had
formed a chain around the entrance, amid hoots and loud chants.

Earlier in the day, officials announced the cancellation of the
Christmas Lantern Parade, citing security concerns. But some students
said the affair went on as scheduled, even if some participants dropped
out of the parade.

Some 30 members of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity streaked naked for
their annual “Oblation Run.” Spokesperson Joselito Caparino said this
year’s run was also in protest against the tuition increase, Charter
change, and the withholding of funds of the Philippine Collegian, UP’s
official student publication.

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