Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) President Manuel Muhi assured no implementation of current and future tuition hikes in the university during a dialogue with PUP Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral (SKM), calling for student councils' participation in the campaign for subsidy increase on Friday, March 17.
After reports of over 700 students with increased tuition on their Student Information System (SIS) accounts, the PUP administration resolved that it was only a “glitch” from the university's accounting office and emails for reassessment were already delivered to the affected students.
Despite no tuition hike, the PUP administration is still calling for a subsidy increase from the national government in a proposal for the 2024 General Appropriations Act, which has yet to be approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), said PUP SKM President Kirchoff Angala.
The PUP administration asserted that a reduced source of funds and budgets at the university may cause termination of several programs and wage reductions for some instructors in different PUP campuses, especially those that are still funded by local government units (LGUs).
Once the subsidy for the university increases, students covered by the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) will not be impacted.
𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 (𝗙𝟮𝗙) 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀
The initially released Advisory No. 1, series of 2023 by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) for the first semester will be followed as the official guidelines for the second semester, which starts on March 20.
The OVPAA has already ratified the schedules of the upcoming face-to-face classes submitted by different colleges across branches and campuses, while unreleased schedules must be reported to the office immediately.
PUP admin will also be abolishing the correspondence mode of learning for the second semester of the current academic year as the learning modality does not promote “quality education” for the students.
They also pushed for a feedback system where regular assessments of the academic transition will be led by student representatives who will forward their concerns, demands, and issues regarding the implemented guidelines.
𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲”
The central student council has ensured in the dialogue an avenue for academic leniency where students will be given a lenient transition for the opening of the semester, said PUP SKM Vice President Benhur Queqquegan.
The PUP administration will be encouraging orientations between the students and professors for certain compromises and agreements in transitioning from distance learning to onsite classes, recognizing student situations including attendance factors and consideration for working students.
They will also release the transferring guidelines for working students who wish to shift from regular classes to the Open University System and vice versa.
Meanwhile, instructors who will be violating the approved class schedules and orientations can be reported to the administration with academic due process and local council-led standard operating procedures.
The Office of the Student Services (OSS) will also lead the initiative of the administration in communicating with LGUs, including barangay offices and landlords in the PUP Community for more considerable rental costs of student dormitories and apartments for the upcoming face-to-face classes.
With the current challenges facing the university in its funding system, PUP COC Student Council President Ronjay Mendiola asserted that behind several lapses in the university administration, the national government must be held accountable for the budget problems of state universities.
“Mas tindigan natin 'yung assertion natin para sa karapatan natin sa kalidad na edukasyon. Ang susi talaga du'n para makamit ito, siyempre 'yung subsidy increase na gusto nating mapagkaisahan with PUP administration dahil kung wala talaga tayong pera at budget, hindi talaga natin makakamit ‘yung kalidad na edukasyon na pilit pinagkakait sa‘tin,” said Mendiola.
PUP is among the 82 state universities and colleges (SUCs) that will be impacted by the looming budget cut of the proposed DBM 2023 budget for SUCs, where the university will get a 129 million budget cut, five percent lower than its current funding.
Graphics: Cathlyn de Raya
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