UP the Budget! UP deserves better!

***Taken from http://www.facebook.com/notes/cssp-student-council/up-the-budget-up-deserves-better/197973060266741




For the past few years, economic data show trends of low priority for education in the country as reflected by the usage of only meager percentages of the gross national product (GNP), far below what is recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Delors Benchmark of 6%. This year, the situation remains the same – P241.1 billion or only 2.5% of the GNP is allotted to education. Without even looking beyond the University of the Philippines, the country’s national university, we are allocated only a small fraction of what was proposed by the UP Board of Regents, the University’s highest policymaking body. From the P17.1 billion recommendation for 2012, we are only given P5.54 billion by the Department of Budget and Management. This budget for UP is P208.2M or 3.6% lower than last year’s budget after going through the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is the deteriorating situation of education today in the Philippines.

Aside from the state of education in the country in general and even closer to the students of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), it has been a glaring fact that the government gives unreasonably low priority for the fields in the College, namely, anthropology, demography, geography, history, linguistics, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. The President’s Proposed Budget Highlights stipulate that the curricula of SUCs will focus on priority areas for economic development such as business process outsourcing, tourism, agriculture and fisheries, and infrastructure development. While economic development is indeed important especially for a developing nation like ours, development in the social, cultural, and political aspects must also be given due focus. This is the basic principle behind holistic national development.

The CSSP Student Council - the duly elected representative body of the students of CSSP - and the CSSP Academic Circle - the official alliance of academic student organizations in the College - affirm and assert that quality, relevant, and accessible education is the key to alleviating the country from the ills of being an underdeveloped nation. Providing the basic social service of education for all will not only equalize socioeconomic opportunities and raise standards of living but also provide a more human and meaningful life for each Filipino. Education therefore is a key to social progress. More important than this, however, is the fact that education is a right; it does not even have to be rationalized for its goals because education should be seen as a goal in itself. Education is rightfully and justly deserved by every human individual; therefore, it is also an important aspect of social justice. In fact, it is mandated by the 1987 Philippine Constitution that education at all levels as a right should be protected and promoted by government (1987 Constitution: Art. XIV, Sec. 1; italicization added) and that education should be given the highest budgetary priority (1987 Constitution: Art. XIV, Sec. 5).

This value for education must not and cannot be selective. We believe that all levels of education must be given equal support and priority, from the preparatory to the tertiary, as well as the technical. Beyond being mandated by the Constitution, support for one educational level without the other will lead to gaping inefficiencies, professional voids, and lack of educational fulfillment. While the foundation at the first few years of education is important, the final years must also be taken into account for the holistic development of a person. Thus, with the fact that the country’s SUCs are supposed to be government-supported, there is no reason for the government’s lack of investment in these public higher educational institutions (HEIs). Indeed, privatization of education in the country is evident in various trends, most fundamentally portrayed by the data showing that there are 1573 private higher educational institutions in the country compared to only 110 SUCs. For many Filipino high school graduates, their only option is to enroll in a public institution of higher learning. To provide even less support for SUCs is tantamount to depriving these Filipinos of their chance and opportunity for upward social mobility.

This depressing picture of low priority for SUCs is the context within which the University of the Philippines is situated. As the premier national university producing the next leaders of this country, UP must be given due attention by government. Housing numerous centers of excellence accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the University needs sufficient support from the State to maintain its tradition of honor and excellence and to continue serving the needs of the Filipino nation. A walk into any campus of the University will orient anyone to the unjust situation in UP: from deteriorating armchairs to dilapidated buildings, from outdated equipment to unsafe environments exemplified most recently by the fire that engulfed the Chemistry Pavilion at Palma Hall, from underpaid faculty members to contractual non-teaching staff laborers unable to support their families, from students subjected to the faulty socialized tuition program to deserving high school graduates who ultimately opt out of UP because of high tuition fees. It is clear that the University deserves better.

Finally, the administration and our legislators must also understand that development is not merely economic but also social, cultural, psychological, ethical, and political. Unfettered industrialization focused only on the economy can possibly hinder real societal improvement. Development must be complemented by, for examples, anthropological understanding for indigenous cultures, a demographic assessment of the population geographical value for territorial integrity, historical admiration for nationalism, linguistic respect for the country’s polyglot characteristic, philosophically grounded ethics in this rapidly changing world, institutional reform based on the principles of political science, psychological comprehension of the Filipino mind, and a sociological imagination of social statistical trends. Indeed, the state must learn to prioritize social sciences and philosophy.

On these bases, the CSSP Student Council and the CSSP Academic Circle launch UP the Budget! UP deserves better! - a campaign for higher budgets for education in general, state universities and colleges, the University of the Philippines System, and the fields of social sciences and philosophy. Among the efforts being undertaken are:

• Online video lobbying through social networking sites. You may access the video via http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=fil&v=c58jOq9jyQE. Legislators who have responded and pledged support as of 20 August 2011 include:

1. Rep. Pablo John Garcia
2. Rep. JV Ejercito
3. Rep. Amang Magsaysay
4. Rep. Kimi Cojuangco
5. Rep. Mercedes Alvarez

• Sending of the CSSP Student Council’s position paper to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Higher and Technical Education. Recipients of the position paper are:

1. Rep. Oscar Malapitan
2. Rep. Pangalian Balindong
3. Rep. Josefina Joson
4. Rep. Emil Ong
5. Rep. Eric Singson Jr.
6. Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza
7. Rep. Teddy Brawner
8. Rep. Romeo Jalosjos Jr.
9. Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua
10. Rep. Kaka Bag-ao
11. Rep. Ma. Georgina De Venecia
12. Rep. Nur Jaafar
13. Rep. Josephine Veronique Lacson-Noel
14. Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya
15. Rep. Jonathan Cabilao Yambao
16. Rep. Narciso Bravo Jr.
17. Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong
18. Rep. Joseph Gilbert Violago
19. Rep. Ma. Rachel Arenas
20. Rep. Anna York Bondoc
21. Rep. Cesar Sarmiento
22. Rep. Romeo Acop
23. Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay
24. Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr.

• Signature campaign for a petition to be sent to House representatives and senators. You may access the petition via:

http://www.petitiononline.com/upbudget/petition.html

Itaas ang budget para sa edukasyon!

Itaas ang budget para sa UP!

Bigyang halaga ang agham panlipunan at pilosopiya!

UP the budget! UP deserves better!

References

CHED. (2010, August). Information on Higher Education System. Retrieved August 8, 2011, from Republic of the Philippines Commission on Higher Education: http://202.57.63.198/chedwww/index.php/eng/Information

DBM. (2011, July 27). Highlights of the 2012 Results-Focused Budget. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines: http://www.gov.ph/downloads/2011/07jul/2012-Proposed-Budget-Highlights-BSA.pdf

DBM. (2011, July). National Expenditure Program Year 2012: VII. Department of Education. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from Republic of the Philippines Department of Budget and Management: http://www.dbm.gov.ph/NEP2012/DEPED/DEPED.pdf

DBM. (2011, July). National Expenditure Program Year 2012: VIII. State Universities and Colleges.Retrieved July 30, 2011, from Republic of the Philippines Department of Budget and Management: http://www.dbm.gov.ph/NEP2012/SUCS/SUCS.pdf

DBM. (2011, July). National Expenditure Program Year 2012: XVI. I. Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from Republic of the Philippines Department of Budget and Management: http://www.dbm.gov.ph/NEP2012/DOLE/I.pdf