QUEZON CITY – The UP Student Regent said it welcomes the move of the University of the Philippines to grant the appeal of four political science students who were earlier barred from graduating because they failed to pay their tuition fees.
The students wrote letters to UPM Vice Chancellor Josephine de Luna and appealed that they may be permitted to settle their unpaid tuition fees even beyond the deadline set by the university, citing their families’ financial problems.
De Luna has disapproved their appeal, saying it could set the precedence for other students to violate the strict “no late payment” policy of UP.
Her decision was condemned by the students. “We condemn the UP Manila administration for barring these students from graduating just because they have not yet settled their outstanding balances. This is not what UP stands for. If it is a public service university, it should be helping out its students so that they can finish, not penalize them because they are unable to pay their tuition on time. I am appalled by what the UPM administration is doing despite what happened to Kristel Tejada last year,” said UP Student Regent Krista Melgarejo, who was referring to the suicide of behavioral sciences student Kristel Tejada because she was not unable to settle her outstanding debt in UP Manila.
UP President Alfredo Pascual has called the attention of the UP Manila administration and sent letters to the students notifying them that their appeal has been granted by the Board of Regents in its meeting last March 28.
Pascual said the students would now be able to settle their outstanding balances.
“We welcome the move of the Pascual administration by approving the students’ appeal. We also thank everyone who contributed in the campaign. This is a product of our collective action. However, this does not mean we will stop campaigning because anti-poor and anti-student policies cease continue to exist in UP,” Melgarejo said.
Last December, the Board approved the amendments to the UP Code and the reforms on the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP)in order to make UP education accessible.
“The reforms in the UP Code and the STFAP did not make any significant changes – education in UP remains elusive to the poor Filipino youth. Policies like the ‘no late payment’ policy in Manila and the practice of purging students with unsettled accounts from their class lists in Diliman continue to exist. And with the recent approval of the academic calendar shift, it has become more elusive. That is why the struggle continues for our right to education,” Melgarejo said.
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