Youth leader: Congress must review Education Act of '82

MANILA, Philippines - A youth leader on Tuesday urged legislators to review the Education Act of 1982 so that they would be able to map out a long-term solution to the tuition problem being confronted by students. The proposal was aired by National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) president Alvin Peters who said that while a tuition hike moratorium provides an immediate relief to parents and students, the government should also look into long-term solutions that will put an end to unabated tuition increases. Peters, in a press statement, also urged the Arroyo government and legislators to review the Batas Pambansa 232 or the Education Act of 1982 which placed the education sector under a deregulated environment. He explained that the said law is the main culprit behind incessant hikes in tuition and other fees as it gives school owners limitless powers to determine their own tuition rate. His remarks came during a press conference held by student council officers from private and state schools in the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman today, student groups said the rising prices of basic commodities and services are likely to offset the effects of the moratorium on tuition increases. Present in the said press conference were student councils from UP Diliman, UP Manila, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Philippine Normal University (PNU), Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST), University of the East (UE), University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Jose Rizal University (JRU). "Filipino families are finding it increasingly difficult to send their children to school as food and oil prices and house expenditures continue to rise," Kabataang Pinoy President Dional Carlo Cerrafon said in the same statement sent to media offices. Citing the final results of the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FEIS), Bolibol said that while total annual income was slightly higher than its 2003 average, expenditures are rising faster than income. The study, conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) every three years, shows an increase of 16.4 percent in the average annual family income, from P148,616 in 2003 to P173,000 in the 2006 survey among the estimated 17.4 million Filipino families. Total income was pegged at P3.01 trillion. However, total annual family expenditure went up by 18.8 percent in 2006, from P124, 377 in 2003 to P147,000 in the recent survey, or a total expenditure of P2.56 trillion. About 59 percent of all expenditures of the poorest 30 percent of Filipino families went to food. Consequently, this led to a decrease in other expenditures, particularly education spending among households, from 2.9 percent to 1.3 percent, he said. Another survey released by NSO in 2003 revealed that one out of every three Filipinos aged between six and 24 has never been to school or has dropped out of the education system. Some 11.6 million Filipinos, or 34 percent of the country's six to 24 year-olds, quit school prematurely or never received any formal education. "Unfortunately, rising prices and stagnant wage levels have narrowed down the options left to most Filipino families. Now they have to make a choice between sending their children to school and their own everyday survival. Poverty and government neglect have made education a luxury to many of our countrymen," Cerrafon pointed out. On the other hand, Peters said the rising cost of education in state schools could only be blamed on the government's poor education spending and policy of rationalization. "The policy allows state schools to be treated as income-earning entities, thereby encouraging the commercialization of education," he said. For her part, NUSP National Capital Region Chairperson Vanessa Bolibol challenged the Arroyo government to lower tuition rates and go after abusive school owners. "If the government can go after Meralco and push for lower electricity rates, why can't it do the same for tertiary schools?" Kabataang Pinoy, NUSP and other student groups are already gearing up for huge protests against unabated tuition hikes and education budget cuts in different parts of the country to mark the opening of classes on June. - GMANews.TV