CSSPSC on STFAP: Kayang Kaya para sa Edukasyong Abot Kaya

Kayang Kaya para sa Edukasyong Abot Kaya

For more than 20 years, the Socialized Tuition Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) has endeavored to provide a more democratic access to UP education on the premise that those who are able to pay for the cost of education should pay while those who cannot should be subsidized.  The recent memorandum requiring freshmen of AY2011-2012 to present a Bracket B certification before being declared within this bracket is an effort to streamline the STFAP process. In consulting with students and organizations in the college however, the CSSP Student Council maintains that such efforts have not addressed the program’s more serious flaws.

Using simple random sampling, the CSSP Student Council gathered data showing that only 29% of the CSSP student population applies for the STFAP, less than 10% of these students are assigned to Bracket D and below, and only 15% were placed in the bracket they applied for.These numbers indicate that the STFAP has not fully lived up to its promise to subsidize financially challenged students, and the CSSP Student Council sees the need for the program to be reviewed.

First, we call into question the basis of the current bracketing system. A family’s annual income should not be the main determinant of students’ ability to cover the cost of education. We urge the UP administration to consider more nuanced indicators that will accurately assess a student’s current capacity to pay. For instance, a family’s liabilities are equally important in assigning a student’s bracket.

Second, while the STFAP is not intended to have a default bracket for non-applicants, Bracket B with the base tuition of P1000 per unit has appeared to fulfill this role in the past years. However, the division of brackets may no longer be reflective of the current socio-economic conditions in the country. We see that the designated base tuition may no longer correspond to the present average paying capacity of UP students.

Third, a deeply rooted problem is the lack of information dissemination amongst those who until today, have insufficient or no knowledge of the STFAP.  Students have expressed concern that the Office of Student Scholarships and Services (OSSS) does not provide a complete list of required documents for application, presenting students with the difficulty of procuring these documents on time. Moreover, students are discouraged by the slow processing of applications and refunds for over-assessment.

The CSSP Student Council stands by a mechanism for financial assistance that puts premium on the equal rights of every student to become an Iskolar ng Bayan and a socially just process to grant them. The CSSP Student Council believes that with critical and vigilant participation from students in the University, the STFAP can embody such a mechanism.

We ask first the UP Administration to conduct a comprehensive review of the STFAP process. We urge them to consider ways to improve its transparency and efficiency; and to ensure that the formula of the bracketing system remains relevant to the present socio-economic context, and will no longer be resorting to “default brackets.”

We ask first the UP Administration to conduct a comprehensive review of the STFAP process. We urge the Administration to consider ways to improve the STFAP's transparency and efficiency and to ensure that the formula of the bracketing system remains relevant to the present socioeconomic context.

We urge students, organizations, and college councils to participate in raising awareness on the STFAP; to inform each fellow Iskolar ng Bayan of his/her right to be appropriately assessed under this program and to be given the financial assistance that he or she rightly requires.

Kaya nating makilahok sa pagpapabuti ng STFAP.

Kaya nating itaguyod ang isang prosesong angkop at makatwiran.

Kaya nating ipaglaban ang abot-kayang edukasyon sa Unibersidad.