At least 36,000 of 40,000 UP undergrads apply for socialized tuition discounts

In a news release posted of the university's website, UP vice president for public affairs Prospero de Vera said, "around 33,000 applications have been processed by the STS offices in the constituent universities."

 

Citing STS Director Richard Gonzalo, de Vera said the STS “generated more applications due to its accessible, fast and efficient system.”

 

“An STFAP application used to take from 2 to 12 months to process, while an STS application only takes two weeks processing,” de Vera added in the new release.

 

90 percent availment rate

 

The 36,000 students who sought to avail of the Socialized Tuition System (STS), which replaced the old Student Financial Assistant Program (STFAP), account for 90 percent of the total UP undegraduate student population.

 

“The 90% application rate is a significant increase from the 40% application rate when the former STFAP was still in place, de Vera also said.

 

Classes open at UP in August following the new academic calendar synchronized with the calendars of many universities overseas.  Before classes there started in June like the rest of the Philippine education system.

 

Discounts and stipend

 

The STS was unveiled last December. It has six income brackets, the two lowest of which—E1 and E2—range from P80,001 to P135,000 and P80,000 and less. Incoming UP students classified as E1 and E2 will get the full 100 percent tuition discount.

 

In a previous news release, de Vera said UP spends about P120,000 per student based on the UP budget for salaries and operating expenses. Bracket A students—those whose declared household income are above P1.3 million per year—pay only P50,000 in tuition and so the difference of P70,000 represents the UP subsidy for the richest UP students.

 

Citing Director Gonzalo referencing preliminary data from the applications, de Vera also said last Thursday that there is "a significant increase in the number of students qualifying for discounts ranging from 33% to 100%. 

 

Incoming E2 freshmen, including those taking the medicine and law programs, will get a monthly stipend of P3,500 for 10 months in addition to the full discount on tuition.  This stipend is P500 lower than the P4,000 scholars of the Department of Science and Technology at university level get. It was earlier proposed at UP that the stipend match the DOST rate.

 

Old students or upperclassmen who qualify for stipend get the old rate of P2,400.

 

"Under the STFAP, there were 12,259 students who were assigned in Brackets C, D, E1 and E2. In the STS, 17,140 students were assigned to similar discount ranges and benefits – showing an increase of 40% in beneficiaries," de Vera said.

 

New income cut-offs for the brackets

 

Among the major differences between the STS and STFAP are the new income cut-offs of the brackets.  Before, the cut-off for Bracket A (the richest students) was P1 million. Now it is P1,300,001 and above.

 

The Bracket B cut-off is now P650,001 – P1,300,000. 

 

The income range for Bracket D was revised upward from P135,001 - P250,000 in STFAP to P135,001 to P325,000 in STS. For Bracket C, the range rose from P250,001 - P500,000 in STFAP to P325,001 to P650,000.

 

Cut-offs for the lowest brackets stayed at P80,001 to P135,000 for E1 and P80,000 and less for E2.

 

The cut-off changes for Brackets A, B, C, and D “reflect a 30 percent inflation rate” between 2006 and 2012, according to a document that stated the proposal to revise the UP STFAP.

 

These changes had impact.

 

“The percentage of students who are in the high paying brackets (Brackets A and B) also significantly decreased – from 69% to 48% – under the STS,” according to de Vera.

 

There are 17,140 students from Brackets C to E2—which means that of the 33,000 applications processed, nearly 16,000 (or 15,860) are in the rich brackets A and B.

 

“The increase in the number of students who will enjoy tuition discounts from 33%-100% is most noticeable in UP Baguio (182 to 1,148 students), UP Visayas (1,732 to 2,483 students), UP Cebu (594 to755 students), and UP Los Banos (4,657 to 6,139) students,” de Vera said.

 

Screening

 

STS applicants are required to register online and respond to a questionnaire developed by the Marketing and Opinion Research Society of the Philippines (MORES).

 

MORES worked with the National Statistics Office and UP School of Statistics faculty to develop the new two-page questionnaire.  — Earl Victor L. Rosero, GMA News