Quo vadis, UP?

Is the University of the Philippines (UP) a school for the masses or a school for the elite?

That is a question UP president Angelo Jimenez addressed in the flagship program of his administration he presented on the occasion of the 116th founding anniversary of the country’s premier state university.

He said the results of the 2024 UP College Admission Test (Upcat) showed that 44 percent of the qualifiers were graduates of private schools, 27 percent came from science high schools, and only 29 percent were from public schools. And of the approximately 10,000 students admitted to UP, some 5,500 were from Metro Manila.

According to the UP website, that data showed a chronic underrepresentation of students from public schools, particularly those in rural and underserved communities.

Jimenez said he wants to correct that situation by widening enrollment from what he called geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, an objective he wants to accomplish through collaboration with other state universities and colleges.

Educational benefits

To make its admission test more inclusive, Jimenez said UP has adopted a program where around 350 Upcat passers from remote areas and low-income families would receive educational benefits and assistance so they can pursue their studies in UP.

The effort to make UP education more available to less financially advantaged members of our society through scholarship programs and financial grants has been a work in progress for years.

In 1989, UP adopted a program that aimed to democratize undergraduate admission by making tuition payments based on the annual income of the student’s family and other factors.

Because this program proved to be unwieldy, it was replaced by a socialized tuition scheme in 2013 that, among others, gave discounts to enrollees depending on the paying capacity of their household.

With the enactment in 2017 of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, tuition and other miscellaneous fees in UP and other government-run universities and colleges became free.

Low passing rate

The high passing rate of private school graduates in UP’s admission test is not surprising. They have the benefit of better educational facilities and are able to meet their academic requirements without being beset by financial issues.

But not so for public school students who have to make do with whatever educational facilities the government can afford and scrounge for money for their school projects.

Putting a cap on the number of private school students that can apply for admission to UP would be unfair, if not susceptible to challenge for its legality, because the parents of those students also pay taxes and so they have the right, like all other taxpayers, to get their taxes’ worth by enrolling their children in government-funded UP.

The low passing rate of public school graduates cannot be solved by discriminating against private school graduates.

As economists are wont to say, the way to economic progress is raising the economic level of the poor, not bringing down the rich.

Level the playing field

To improve the passing rate of public school students in the admission test, UP can take a leaf on what some private colleges encourage prospective enrollees to do before taking their entrance test—attend review or preparatory test sessions.

If UP wants to increase the number of its test passers from, say, Mindanao, Leyte, and Samar, it can make arrangements with UP Mindanao, which is based in Davao City, and UP Tacloban to conduct refresher classes for public school graduates at or around their areas.

That action would, in a manner of speaking, help level the playing field between those graduates and those from private schools or Metro Manila. These sessions would not entail a lot of expenses because the facilities and materials that could be used for them would already be available in those campuses.

‘Iskolar ng bayan’

The program of UP to provide financial assistance to some 350 admission test passers to enable them to continue their studies is a step in the right direction, as the university noted some Upcat passers don’t pursue studies there because they could not afford living and other expenses.

Putting money directly into the pocket of financially disadvantaged “iskolar ng bayan” (scholars of the country) is more practical and advantageous than discounted tuition fees.

Its recipients would be able to manage the money or make proper adjustments in their expenses depending on their actual needs. That sense of control makes them feel less as subjects of charity.

Hopefully, the 350 students are just the starting point and that the number of beneficiaries would increase if UP, with the support of its alumni in Congress, would be able to secure additional funds for that program.

When Jimenez ends his term in 2029, we would know the answer to the question we raised at the start of this editorial.