Fewer Public School Grads Pass UPCAT, Qualify for Diliman

The UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) this year drew more applicants from both public and private high schools than last year, but fewer public school graduates actually passed the UPCAT.

BY VICTOR GREGOR LIMON
Philippine Collegian
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 33, September 23-29, 2007

The UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) this year drew more applicants from both public and private high schools than last year, but fewer public school graduates actually passed the UPCAT.

According to data recently obtained by the Collegian from the Office of Admissions (OA), the percentage of actual qualifiers from public schools out of the 12,053 UPCAT passers dropped by 5.2 percent, from 32.3 percent last year to a six-year low of 27.1 percent this year. Public school graduates are those from public general, barangay, and vocational high schools.

The number of applicants from public schools who qualified for UP Diliman (UPD) also dropped from 932 last year to only 271 this year. This registered a 13.7 percent decrease, from 20.8 percent last year to a six-year low of 7.1 percent. The total number of applicants who chose UPD as their first or second choice of campus also increased from 39,095 last year to 39,475 this year, but the number of public school graduates who applied to UPD fell by 2.9 percent, from 10,656 applicants last year to only 10,345 this year.

The number of private school graduates who applied to UPD, however, climbed by 1.2 percent
from 24,696 applicants last year to 24,991 this year.

More UPCAT passers from private schools

Conversely, the percentage of qualifiers from private schools grew by 2.9 percent from 46.3 percent last year to a six-year high of 49.2 percent this year.

The number of applicants from private schools rose by 3.19 percent from 40,946 last year. The number of UPCAT applicants from public high schools rose by 2.9 percent from 21,227 last year.

Science high school graduates comprise 15.6 percent of the 2007 UPCAT passers, while state high schools constitute 4.9 percent. UP high school graduates and foreign students form 2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

As UP’s annual entrance examination for aspiring freshmen, the UPCAT this year attracted over 70,000 aspirants. From 2002 to 2007, the number of UPCAT applicants increased at an average annual rate of 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, private school graduates continue to form the majority of the current crop of UPD qualifiers, with a six-year high of 63 percent of UPD qualifiers coming from private schools this year. This translates to a 10.7 percent increase from 52.3 percent last year.

The percentage of UPCAT applicants from private schools who qualified for UPD rose by 2.8 percent, from 2,343 last year.

Vice President for Academic Affairs Amelia Guevara underlined the university’s commitment to excellence, saying UP exists to provide the best education possible to the most deserving students, rich or poor.

But UPD University Student Council Chair Shahana Abdulwahid said these data reveal that UP caters more and more to privileged students from private schools, instead of setting a premium on equity. “Mas malala pa kung iisipin na kaunti na yung pumapasa from public [schools] taun-taon, hindi pa sigurado na makakapag-aral sila sa UP dahil sa tuition increase,” she said.

Meanwhile, there was an increase in the number of public school graduates who qualified for the campuses in Baguio, Pampanga, Los Baños, and Mindanao. The increase was largest in Baguio, where the percentage of qualifiers from public schools rose by 2.3 percent from 38.4 percent last year.

In UP Manila, on the other hand, 22 percent of its qualifiers came from public schools, 4.5 percent
lower than 26.5 percent last year.

New admissions policy

Former Student Regent (SR) Ken Leonard Ramos said the sharp decrease in public school graduates who qualified for Diliman may be attributed to the implementation of a new admissions policy for UPD, the UP Admission Index (UPAI). Ramos was the SR when the UPAI was approved by the UP Board of Regents in 2006.

In the 2006 UPCAT, the UPAI replaced the Equity-Excellence Admission System (EEAS) as the UPD admissions policy, while the EEAS remained the policy for other units. Under the UPAI, the top 70 percent passers were ranked based on their University Predicted Grades (UPG), which is based on the UPCAT score and high school weighted average. Meanwhile, the remaining 30 percent of the slots were divided equally between socio-economic and geographic equity measures.

Under the eight-year old EEAS, on the other hand, the top 70 percent of passers were then ranked based on their UPGs, which are adjusted for applicants who are from public schools or are members of cultural minority groups. The remaining 30 percent of slots were filled using both socio-economic and geographic equity measures.

The UP administration implemented the UPAI supposedly to address perceived flaws in EEAS, such as the uncertainty that the top 70 percent qualifiers under the old system are actually the best academically.

A staunch critic of the UPAI, Ramos said the new system’s focus on “excellence” and the outmoding of the EEAS adjustments have disenfranchised poor students from public schools. Ramos noted that the new policy, when applied to applicants from rural areas, is partial to private school students, since private school education is comparatively better than public education in the provinces. Philippine Collegian/posted by Bulatlat