PUP president says 17-fold tuition hike 'necessary'

For the past 30 years, students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines have been paying P12 per unit or P288 a semester per student with 24-unit load. The PUP administration is pushing for tuition hike to improve the school facilities. With the need to improve campus facilities, the state university’s administration is pushing for an almost 17-fold tuition increase for incoming freshmen of laboratory-intensive courses such as Engineering and Computer Management. On Wednesday, PUP president Dante Gueverra justified the need to increase school fees from P12 per unit to P200 per unit. That means that incoming freshmen for the concerned courses will have to pay P4,800 for a 24-unit semester. “May pangangailangan na ang mga estudyante, na sila mismo ang sumisigaw to improve the facilities of the university. Pero kulang ang aming budget (We need to increase the tuition for the students. They themselves are clamoring to improve the facilities of the university, but we don’t have the budget)," Guevarra said in an interview on GMA’s Unang Hirit with anchor Arnold Clavio. He clarified that only the laboratory-intensive courses would be affected, so there is no need for students of other courses to worry. Students of the university have mounted protests against the increase, but Guevarra said that the Commission on Higher Education has yet to approve the administration’s plan to increase the tuition. On Monday, PUP’s 21 campuses across the nation are expected to express indignation against the imminent tuition increase. The university’s main campus, which accommodates about 32,000 students, is located along A. Mabini Street in Manila’s Sta. Mesa district.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Also on Wednesday, PUP Student Regent Donnavie Pascual slammed the impending tuition hike, saying it would be a burden to most students, not just those who are enrolled in laboratory-intensive courses. She also warned that the school would also increase the tuition on other courses. “Sa pagdating na panahon, hindi kami naniniwala na hindi mag-i-increase ang tuition ng iba (We don’t think that there would be no tuition increase on the other courses when the time comes)," she said in the same television interview. Pascual also criticized the university for spending its measly budget “on beautification projects" than on students’ facilities. But Guevarra explained that the school had to “beautify" its structures because “it would be a shame" for politicians and foreign visitors like ambassadors and heads of Korean universities to see the dismal appearance of the university. “Nakakahiya naman kung masasabi na ganito pala ang opisina ng presidente, kaya pina-improve namin iyan. Ang opisina ko di ko maimprove, paano ko ma-i-improve ang university (It would be shameful if they say that the office of the president looks like this. If I can’t improve my office, how can I improve the university)," he said. Pascual did not buy Guevarra’s justification. She said the students’ welfare should come first before the administration’s. “Isang malaking kasinungalingan…Mas nakakahiya para sa mga bisita kung nakikita na kalunos-lunos ang kalagayan na halos hindi na conducive para sa mga estudyante ang pag-aaral, kaysa unang ipagawa ang mga opisina ng mga administrador," She said. (That’s a big lie. It’s more shameful if the visitors see the pitiful state of our facilities, which are no longer conducive for learning, than see the improved offices of the administrators.) — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV