Met up with our friend Jun last week when Francis and I went to UP for his now regular jogging sessions (which I have to do, too, soon). It was fun catching up with Jun, who's now an instructor at the College of Science. Of course, we talked about the current issues plaguing dear UP, most disturbing of which is the tuition fee hike–a staggering P1,000 per unit for undergrads, which will take effect this coming June. Can you imagine, from P300 to P1,000? Whatever happened to "iskolar ng bayan"? Whatever will happen to UP's image of providing quality education for the masses sans a high tag price? The administration's take on this? A higher percentage of UP students now belong to the upper class, so they think it's just wise to take this step. But what about those who don't belong to the upper class? Is it the students' fault if they were born to the classes they belong to?
And for those upperclass men who won't be affected by this but still protest (because like I said, the hike will take effect this coming June and won't cause worry (hah!) to those with student number 06- and below), the admin says (drum rolls, please):
E hindi naman kayo maaapektuhan sa tuition fee hike e! (But you won't be affected by the tuition fee hike anyway!)
Yeah, right. So now they're teaching young minds to be indifferent? Para kayong di taga-UP!
I can now picture how things would be for our youth:
Anak: 'Nay, pag nag-college na po ako, gusto ko po kumuha ng Chemical Engineering sa UP.
Nanay: Hay naku anak... Di natin kaya tuition fee dun! Magtinda ka na lang ng yosi dyan sa kanto, kikita ka pa. O kaya sumali ka na lang sa Star Struck!
Such a sad, sad fate for a country who claims to put importance on education.
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