Probe sought into UP’s enrollment system following campus-wide glitch

A lawmaker wants Congress to probe the supposed irregularities in the implementation of the University of the Philippines’ (UP) multimillion-peso data management system.

This is after hundreds of students from its Los Baños campus failed to secure slots for their classes because of a glitch that occurred during the enrollment period.

Elago: Hundreds of UP Los Baños students failed to secure slots in their classes bec. SAIS malfunctioned during enrolment period.

— Xianne Arcangel (@xianneangel) August 1, 2016

In House Resolution 122, Kabataan party-list Sarah Jane Elago asked the House committee on higher and technical education to probe the Student Academic Information System (SAIS), a component of the e-UP project which seeks to modernize the administrative processes in the country’s premier state university.

.@KabataanPL Rep. Sarah Elago wants Congress to probe UP's bungled implementation of Student Academic Info System pic.twitter.com/QB9enMN2fy

— Xianne Arcangel (@xianneangel) August 1, 2016

She wants UP President Alfredo Pascual and other university officials to attend the congressional hearings to explain details about the project, which was implemented under his watch.

Elago sought the probe following the news that the enrolment of hundreds of UPLB students was delayed due to their failure to log on to SAIS and reserve slots in their preferred courses. The glitch has caused several students to stay on campus until after 12 midnight to access the SAIS website since it is reportedly more accessible if the campus’ Wi-Fi connection is utilized.

Prior to SAIS’ implementation, the lawmaker noted that students had an easier time accessing pertinent information on their enrollment, curriculum and matriculation through the Computerized Registration System for the Diliman and Manila campuses, and System One for UPLB.

“These previous systems were fully functional and were created by UP’s homegrown experts who are very much competent to develop further the system,” she said.

SAIS, in contrast, is made by software provider Oracle and is intended to replace the current homegrown systems used by UP units.

The US-based company has also been tapped  to create the student management systems by top universities in Asia such as the National University of Singapore and University of Hong Kong.

Compared to the P2.7 million spent annually for UP CRS, Elago said the budget for SAIS has already ran up to P24 million. Another P43 million has been set aside for the purchase of licenses and maintenance since the system uses proprietary software.

“Desperate to copy other universities, the administration implemented this project without rigorous comparison of the possible alternatives involving in-house development, and open source software,” Elago said.

One of the proposed legislation eyed by the lawmaker as a result of the House probe on SAIS is the creation of a Congressional Oversight Committee that could recommend the revocation of contracts entered into by state universities. —KG, GMA News