They are the university’s guidance counselors, librarians, technical specialists, extension workers and researchers, who are also at the forefront of developing and producing notable researches.
BY JOHN ALLIAGE MORALES
Philippine Collegian
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 28, August 19-25, 2007
They are the university’s guidance counselors, librarians, technical specialists, extension workers and researchers, who are also at the forefront of developing and producing notable researches.
Known as the research, extension and professional staff (REPS), they are, however, considered as one of the most marginalized sectors in the university. “Ang REPS ay academic personnel katulad ng mga professor. May mga master’s at doctoral degrees din sila. Pero maraming instances na hindi sila kino-consider as academic personnel, kung hindi inililinya sila sa pagiging administrative staff” (The REPS are academic personnel like professors. They also have master’s and doctoral degrees. But there are many instances when ), said All-UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU) national president Judy Taguiwalo.
Not only do they have to contend with the low budget for their development, REPS also face the lack of recognition for their own research, strict rules on promotion and tenure, low salary, and lack of representation.
According to the Human Resource Development Office (HRDO), The University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City has 460 REPS, 93 of whom are in the College of Science.
REPS as academic staff
Faculty and REPS at the First System-wide Academic Personnel Conference last year agreed that “UP Faculty and REPS as academic personnel of the university should enjoy equal rights and privileges.”
The Board of Regents (BOR) created in 1967 the academic non-teaching position, later called REPS, with the aim of upgrading some positions held by the administrative staff and officially classifying them as academic personnel along with the faculty. In 1986, the BOR reclassified REPS as either faculty or administrative staff.
In 1992, however, the Supreme Court disqualified the membership of professors and REPS with the
All-UP Workers Union, an administrative workers union, on grounds that academic and administrative staff are different. Currently, REPS are affiliated with the AUPAEU, the first academic union in UP.
Peripheral work
Administrative work, however, eventually became the REPS’ peripheral function, as the university stopped hiring “clerks” after implementing its “job modification” scheme, guidance counselor Belina Cuevas said. She further said that REPS are also compelled to work in units that are not “research-based.”
In a 2003 study on the role of REPS in UPD, commissioned by then UP Diliman Chancellor and now UP President Emerlinda Roman, 54 percent of REPS perceived their research and extension work as “academic”, while 24 percent answered “administrative” and 21 percent stated both. However, 48 percent of REPS said they do actual administrative roles that are outside the REPS’ job description, including the management of laboratory, preparation of the minutes of a meeting and monitoring daily time records.
