ALYANSA's policy recommendations on STFAP and other tuition policies forwarded to the UP administration

Dialogue with Asst. Prof. Richard Philip Gonzalo (the official in charge of revising UP’s tuition programs) on STFAP and other tuition policies on 21 March 2013 at Malcolm Hall 307, UP College of Law.

Photo by JC Tejano (@jctejano on Instagram).

UP ALYANSA, BUKLURAN UP System, and other youth and student groups forward its position paper on the university's STFAP and other tuition policies to the UP Board of Regents, UP President Alfredo Pascual, the UPD Office of Scholarships and Student Services (OSSS), and Asst. Prof. Richard Philip Gonzalo (the official in charge of revising UP’s tuition programs).

ALYANSA and BUKLURAN's policy recommendations include the following:

• Repeal of Article 330 of the University Code, or the "no pay, no admission" rule
• Transparency in the STFAP by explaining to students in writing how their brackets were assigned
• Flexibility by reducing the proposed two-year bracket renewal period to one year
• Online STFAP application with the submission of electronic, instead of physical, documents for verification
• Equal application of STFAP bracketing for second-degree and graduate students without hiking tuition levels
• Yearly review of the STFAP by the admin and students
• Mode of payment in installments
• Deferred payment option without interest
• 100% tuition coverage of the existing student loans program
• Transportation allowance for UPCAT passers from distant areas

READ OUR POSITION PAPER IN FULL AT http://bit.ly/Z2Kxyc.

Iskolar para sa Bayan, pagtagumpayan natin ang QUALITY, RELEVANT at ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION... PARA SA UP, PARA SA BAYAN!

UP ALYANSA on the tragedy in UP Manila

We are one with the UP community in grief and frustration over what has transpired to one of our fellow Iskolars just recently. It is unthinkable that the state university, the university that should supposedly provide quality, relevant, and accessible education to Iskolars ng Bayan, would deprive an Iskolar of her right on financial bases. This should serve as an alarming wake up call to the administration to repeal repressive and unjust policies such as “no payment, no enrolment” schemes and forced Leave of Absence policies.

Problems like these are what socialized tuition and financial assistance are meant to solve; financial ability should never be a hindrance to our right to education. But it is obvious that the principles of socialized tuition have not been met. The administration has failed to do all it can to meet the needs of its Iskolars.

UP ALYANSA will continue the call for a higher budget on education. But in addition to this, we call for the administration to show that the higher budget we have received is used for the students; the administration must be transparent in its use of funds, always aiming to accommodate the students. We cannot tolerate the administration allowing the denial of education to Iskolars ng Bayan.

The principles of socialized tuition must also not be perverted. We call for review, consultation, and revision of the current STFAP scheme. The bracketing system must be revised to adequately accommodate the students. The payment policies must be relaxed to allow students to study in spite of their immediate financial ability. Lastly, loans and financial assistance programs must be made accessible and favorable to the students so that socio-economic condition will never be a hindrance for the availing of the state education that is due to them.

As we maintain our principles of social justice and social progress, we will continue strive to ensure that education is quality, accessible, and relevant. Although sad and mournful, we must now wake up to the realities of failures and let-downs of the current system and policies. As Iskolars para sa Bayan, we must actively involve ourselves in reformation that will support and accommodate the marginalized, powerless, and oppressed sectors of society as well as our fellow Iskolars para sa Bayan.

Let us be one with the USC UP Diliman and the whole UP community as we wear black on March 19 and March 20 to fight against repressive policies and call for a more accessible education.