Low freshman enrolment rate in UP blamed on 300% tuition hike

The Kabataan Party today said the University of the Philippines lost a significant percentage of the best and brightest incoming college freshmen this school year after the 300 percent tuition fee increase which pegged the premiere state university’s tuition at P 1,000 per unit.

Kabataan Party President and former UP Diliman Student Council Chair Raymond Palatino said the low enrolment turn-out in UP campuses is distressing.

“The low enrolment figures only confirmed our fears that the 300 percent tuition hike will result into massive disenfranchisement of qualified college hopefuls and higher dropout rate,” Palatino lamented.

Enrolment records show most of the autonomous and constituent campuses of the UP system failed to hit the 50 percent mark in freshmen enrolment rate. An article in the Philippine Collegian reported that only the Diliman and Manila campuses registered freshmen enrolment rates which are higher than 50 percent – 69.13 and 54.88 percent, respectively.

Badly hit by the low turn-outs were the Los Banos and Mindanao campuses, with 16.67 amd 16.76, respectively, Palatino said.

While the Diliman campus, the largest campus, registered the highest freshmen turn-out, he said a big number of UPCAT (UP College Admission Test) qualifiers in Diliman either deferred or failed to confirm for enrolment earlier this month.

Data from the Office of the University Registrar in UP Diliman show that 1,331 freshmen or 34.7 percent of the total 3,825 UPCAT UP Diliman qualifiers did not confirm for enrolment.

He added that the high no-show rate in UP campuses subsequently caused a staggering decline in enrolment figures for several degree programs, with some registering a zero enrolment turn-out. The BA Filipino, BA Araling Pilipino, and BA Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino offered by the Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan in UP Diliman all had a zero turn-out.

Palatino blamed the tuition hike for the low freshmen enrolment rate in UP, saying high fees discouraged many parents and UPCAT passers to choose the state university and enroll for this school year.

“Before, passing the UPCAT was both an honor and a relief for parents who would no longer have to worry about high tuition and other school fees. But with a higher tuition rate, parents now had to think twice before sending their children to UP.”

He said poor but deserving students coming from the provinces and public schools were affected the most.

“The 300 percent tuition hike prevented bright students from depressed and remote areas of the country from enroling in UP and eventually forced them to settle for poorly-maintained state colleges in the provinces or worse, give up their college dream.”

Palatino said the UP administration and the government should have already learned its lessons from the last year’s education tragedy wherein two National Achievement Test topnotchers Julie Albior and Flores Biwang failed to enrol in the university and enter college because of poverty.

He also appealed to the UP BOR to withdraw its earlier decision and consider the interest and welfare of the future Iskolars ng Bayan.

“More than generating funds, UP as the ‘University of the People’ should ensure that higher education is accessible to ordinary young Filipinos. What are state universities for if poor but deserving students can’t enrol just because of preventive school fees? Not only does it defeat the purpose for the creation of state schools but it only highlights the more devastating crisis and tragedy that await the educational system this school year.”