A lawmaker today called on the officials of the University of the Philippines to scrap the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) implemented in UP since 1989.
At the same time, Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan (Party-list, Gabriela) also joined calls for the revocation of the “no late payment” policy on tuition.
The controversial policy was suspended by UP Manila Chancellor Manuel Agulto days after UP Manila first year Behavioral Science student Kristel Tejada committed suicide a few days after she was forced to file a Leave of Absence (LoA) due to her inability to pay tuition fees.
Ilagan said the policy should not have been implemented in the first place as it was anti-poor. “It is anti-poor as it effectively denies cash-strapped yet deserving students of their right to education,” she said.
Ilagan also urged officials of UP to permanently scrap the STFAP since it is meant to make the commercialization and the government’s abandonment of education acceptable.
STFAP is a scholarship program conceived by former UP president Jose Abueva in 1987, which provides a method for determining how much tuition and fees UP students must pay based on their family’s financial capability.
Ilagan also supported demands of students for a tuition rollback and corresponding increase in government subsidies not only in UP but in all state universities and colleges (SUCs).
She said making the rich pay more to supposedly subsidize poor students is not a sustainable solution to the problem of inaccessible education.
“It is now important for state universities like UP and PUP to lead reforms in the educational system towards ensuring the youth’s access to free education,” Ilagan said.