“As if to mock Kristel and all the victims of the rotten education system, Duterte’s cohorts in Congress and Senate are pushing for a ‘free tuition’ policy that will allow the nationwide implementation of UP’s STS – the very policy that killed Kristel.”
“We remember that she should never have been pushed away from an institution she deserved to be in, because of a flawed and unjust system.”
“Today we walk out against BS. No more lies, no more injustice, no more impunity.”
“The Aquino government’s irresponsibility in providing free and quality education to all pushes Filipino students and youth to abandon their dreams, even to the point of taking their own lives.”
The average tuition in the National Capital Region (NCR) ranges from P20,600 ($472) to P36,650 ($841) for 21 units. The rates of increase are 3.5 to 10 percent in tuition and 300-percent in miscellaneous fees.
RELATED STORY | Uncertain future await youth due to incessant tuition hikes
Citing data from the Office of Scholarships and Student Services (OSSS), the Office of the Student Regent revealed that 5,391 students applied for student loans in UP Diliman alone. As of last semester, the OSR said, 1,218 students were not able to pay their loans before the scheduled release of grades.
Parents of UP student Kristel Tejada, who committed suicide after failing to pay her tuition, refuse to simply move on with their lives; they want to make sure other families would not have to go through the tragedy they experienced.
MANILA – Teachers, students, workers and other sectors in the University of the Philippines (UP) staged Just Run, Run for Kristel Tejada and all Iskolar ng Bayan, April 7 at the UP Diliman. The run is the first activity of the newly formed UP Alliance for Justice...
“Dear Kristel, we are thankful that you reminded every iskolar that education is a right and must be accessible to all.”
In time, those armed with the perspective that forgets, ignores, or dismisses as passé in the age of globalization and privatization the reasons why UP was founded became dominant in a succession of UP administrations.
By being defensive and resorting to the distasteful tack of insinuating that serious family problems likely triggered the suicide, UP officials not only miss the entire point but also the opportunity to confront the real problems plaguing the entire university.
Ni RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA (Para ulit kay Kristel Tejada, 16) Nakidalamhati sila sa pamilya ng patay-- badha sa mukha ang panghihinayang lungkot ang tinig, balikat ay lungayngay. Ang wika nila'y ganito: "Ipinagutos kahapon ang pagrebisa nitong patakaran sa...
“Schooling was her life and hope. There were bigger problems that we faced in the past. Even if we hardly get a good meal, we stayed together. We remained strong. Even when she was hungry, she attended school.” Krizia, sister of UP student Kristel Tejada
Related story Youth, groups mourn Tejada’s death, hold black protest
By PATRICIA LOURDES VIRAY Bulatlat.com MANILA -- “Mom, have you heard of the UP Manila student who committed suicide because she couldn’t pay her tuition?” “Yes, I was almost in tears when I saw it in the news. She reminded me of you.” This was the conversation...
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
“A single death caused by the high cost of Philippine education is one death too many. Something must be done. This week, we need to rewrite history.” – Terry Ridon, president of Kabataan Partylist
The University of the Philippines is mourning.
By MARYA SALAMAT
“Not only is there a dearth of jobs in the country, there is a dearth of decent jobs. More and more Filipinos are unhappy with jobs that offer meager wages and contractual status and deny workers their legitimate rights.” – Elmer Labog, KMU
It is bad enough that students from poor families, who graduated from the country’s deteriorating public school system, would have to compete against students from the country’s version of ivy league schools: expensive private schools mostly run by Catholic congregations.
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.