On UP's Tuition Policy, Corporatization, and Social Rights

Paalam "Lorena" / "Kristel".... It is really sad that UP is being blamed for the suicide of a young, promising student. I am just lucky and thankful that when I was studying in UP Diliman for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees, I had a Barangay Scholarship which gave me a privilege to only pay 600 pesos per semester — a negligible cost indeed. This effectively lessened the burden of undergoing a very demanding UP education.

Personally and in principle, I believe in free state education — from basic to the university level. This should include the social provision of universal healthcare, social security, and life's other basic necessities. 

But since it is election season in the Philippines, may I remind the voters that if a candidate promises all these free services, do not believe them if they won't explain to you how they are going to create wealth to finance all these costly social services. We have to create a wealthy nation — at least a middle-income country — first in order to afford free and socialized provision for education, health care, and social security. I have always argued that the question of the mode of production for our political economy is a prerequisite for the goal of redistributive justice.

Economic development, political democracy, and social justice now!

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Comment on Alex Magno's column in the Philippine Star:

"Kristel"

I remember our class discussion before with Alex Magno re utilization of UP's land grants. Anyway, though I believe in the ideal of free state education, I argue that even from the point of view of finance, UP managers must realize that UP education itself is a considerable guarantee of the future capability of the student to pay off her/his study loan. Indeed, being generous to a UP student is a very sound investment decision!

Similarly, the UP administration's resort to "forced leave of absence" (forced LOA) for students who do not pay their tuition on time effectively cuts off the expected cash-flow of the borrower to pay off his/her debt in the immediate future.

Unfortunately, the attempt to "corporatize" the management of a state university does not fully grasp the capitalist logic of investing in future productive human capital — i.e., a (UP) student. I am not that comfortable in using this business language for the sphere of state education but I would just like to point out that even from their own capitalistic mindset they do not understand well the imperatives of investments and finance.