UP the budget! UP deserves better!

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 countrys national university, we are allocated only a small fraction of what was proposed by the UP Board of Regents, the Universitys 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 years 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 Presidents 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 countrys SUCs are supposed to be government-supported, there is no reason for the governments 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 countrys 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.

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!