Students in different state colleges and universities all over the Metro held whole day activities to strengthen and intensify the fight against budget cut to education and other basic social services.
PUP Strike continues
Thousands of students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines continue to walk-out in their classes as they continue the strike against budget cut. During lunchtime, other student leaders from SUCs joined the PUP community in a boodle fight to signify the united stand of different students in different schools to stop budget cut. In the coming days, students from University of the Philippines, Philippines Normal University, and Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute for Science and Technology will start their own campus strikes vs budget cut.
“The education sector is in dire need of more budget. To this, the Aquino gov’t replies: we do not have enough funds. But, is this really the case? A quick detour to the proposed budgetary allotment to the military, foreign debt, and pork barrel fund is necessary to reject this claim,” said Sheryl Alapad, Student Regent of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
UP Manila- PGH community “prescribed” a notice of strike to stop budget cut to UP ad PGH
In the University of the Philippines- Manila, UP Manila professors, administrators, students, and PGH health workers announced in a press conference today that the UP Manila community will hold its strike on November 25 and 26 to intensify its call to stop the P1.39 Billion UP Budget cut and P114 Million budget cut in the Philippine General Hospital.
“Nasa 50/50 ang buhay ng iskolar ng bayan at ng mamayan na tumatanggap ng serbisyo sa PGH. Nasa bingit ng Kamatayan at kinukuha ang lakas at dugo ng UP Manila at PGH dahil sa budget cut,” said Ces Santos, Chairperson of the University of the Philippines-Manila Student Council.
For his part, Prof. Carl Marc Ramota, Chairperson of the UP Manila Department of Social Sciences said that “the faculty of the Department of Social Sciences, UP Manila passed a resolution last Friday to go on strike on November 25 and 26 to oppose the P1.39 B UP budget cut.”
“Our prescription to Pres. Noynoy and to the senate: to re-channel the P68 Billion unprogrammed fund of the Palace, P19.2 Billion increase in CCT budget, P10 Billion increase in AFP, and P30B hike in interest payment to Education, health, and other social services, ” said Benjie Santos, President of the All-UP workers Union in Philippine General Hospital.
“We won’t let the state subsidized education flat line. That’s why the UP Manila PGH community will go on strike to assert our right to education and life,” added Ces Santos.
Philippine Normal University students marks the walk
Meanwhile, Students from the Philippine Normal University marks a notice of strike in the student walk to signify the students’ unrest against budget cut. Together with other state schools they will hold a week-long protest to stop the P92 Million PNU budget cut.
Students form Private schools and High Schools trooped to CHED
Meanwhile students from private schools trooped to the Commission on Higher Education to protest the budget cut to CHED scholarships and the low spending to basic education.
From the P1.15 billion allocation for this year, the government will be spending only P501 million for college scholarships next year—a decrease of more than 43 percent or P650.6 million.
“Aside from the cut to CHED scholarships, students are also protesting against the tuition and other fee increases in private schools. Budget cut to state schools, and tuition and other fee increases in private and public schools will definitely lead to more students dropping out of school,” said Einstein Recedes, President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP).
On December 1, students will hold a mobilization in the senate to appeal to the senators to stop the education budget cuts and rechannel military, debt-servicing, and pork barrel funds to education and other social services.
Reference:
Vanessa Faye Bolibol
Secretary-General, NUSP
i felt devastated about it………… "education first MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!