BAGUIO CITY – At least a thousand students in Baguio and Benguet walked out of school Friday, March 11, to join Sunduan 2016, a series of protest actions conducted in various universities to stop the yearly tuition and other fees increase in both public and private universities in Baguio and Benguet.
Students of Saint Louis University (SLU), University of Cordilleras (UC), University of Baguio (UB), University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB), and Benguet State University (BSU) converged at Session Road and then at the Igorot Park after conducting localized protests in their respective universities.
According to Kabataan Partylist Cordillera, at the lead of the activity, students are “already disgusted” by the continuous rise in fees being collected by the universities but reciprocate with the lack of improvement in school services and facilities. This year, five local private universities here have already proposed increases for the next academic year.
Kabataan Partylist disclosed that SLU and UC are expected to increase their tuition by 5%. While STI College, AMA University, and King’s College of the Philippines (KCP) also proposed fee increases, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) refused to disclose official information on the increases to the youth group.
“In reality, the CHED remains a mere rubber stamp for these universities. They refuse to release data on the proposed increases just to protect the interest of the owners of universities while at the same time neglecting the welfare of the students,” said Luke Bagangan, secretary general of Anakbayan Cordillera. Bagangan also claimed that in these past years the students were put in the dark on any increases while the school proposals were being assessed by CHED.
According to Anakbayan, CHED is to blame for this lack of awareness due to their incapability to validate if the universities are actually conducting tuition fee increase consultations with the students.
“UC and SLU have already proposed increases but there were no consultations made. They always violate the rules for implementing increases yet their proposals are always being approved by CHED,” said Bagangan.
“Quoting Section 5 of the CHED Memorandum Order 3 “all Higher Education Institutions, public or private, intending to increase their tuition and other school fees for the ensuing Academic Year (AY) shall conduct consultations . . . with their student councils/governments and their faculty, alumni and/or non-teaching personnel associations.” Bagangan further cited that in UC, no proposal for increase were posted in the university’s premises.
Meanwhile, during the mobilization, students were met with oppressive force from the university’s administration and the local police force. In SLU, security guards inside the Navy Base campus forcefully dispersed the protesters without negotiation; in UC, throngs of criminology students blocked the students from joining the action on various entry points inside the university.
At the height of the protest, two unidentified personnel of the local SWAT team forcefully disrupted the group of student activists at the Harrison – Abanao intersection by speeding through the groups in a motorbike which eventually led to an altercation between protesters and the police force.
According to Anakbayan’s secretary general, the act of repression applied on the students in and outside the campus during the protest action clearly shows the utter disrespect of authorities for the student’s democratic rights.
“The fascist treatment we received from school and local authorities is more than a slap against our rights as students. It is justified for the students, and the people to fight and resist the unabated attacks on our democratic rights inside and outside our campuses,” Explained Bagangan.
“The students of Cordillera will continue to rise and fight for the kind of education it deserves, an education that is treated as a right for all, and not a privilege for a mere few.” Bagangan ended. # nordis.net
http://www.nordis.net/2016/03/students-walk-out-vs-tuition-fee-increase/
Anakbayan-Cordillera and Kabataan Partylist-Cordillera are both Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) front organizations that target the student and youth sectors of Philippine society. The protest activity noted above is part of ongoing CPP efforts to capitalize on populist issues such as increases in tuition in order to mobile and radicalize Philippine students and youth.
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