WHY SHOULD BRACKET A STUDENTS BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR FIGHT FOR EDUCATION?

BRACKET A: A Bracket to Brag?


With the new (stricter) policies on socialized tuition fee assistance program (STFAP) of the university, the number of Bracket A students skyrocketed. In simple terms, it means that a wave of rich students are entering the university (or have been discovered, for that matter). No, this is not to bemean those students who can pay a higher tuition fee. Nor is this a warning that they should not be in the university. This attempts to provide an alternative view regarding that TOFI in 2007. It is important to remember nonetheless that corollary to the growing number of students who are paying higher tuition fee is the continuing commercialization of education, and the growing number of poor people who cannot receive tertiary education because of financial discrimination.

As this trend is increasingly disturbing, what is more alarming is the reaction -- or lack thereof of students. I do not know whether this is apathy or indifference; arrogance for Bracket A can be a social status; or acceptance and recognition that this system is the solution to the tertiary education woes of this country. Whatever the case maybe, it should be clear, that TOFI or STFAP is a step away from enjoying free and accessible education, becoming tool for preservation of the existing policies and oppression of students, no matter what Bracket one may belong to.

What is interesting about this system is the packaging, of making us believe that this actually works. Oppression here lies under the cloak of altruism. We are made to believe that as we belong to a higher bracket, we have the social responsibility to shoulder a higher tuition fee -- just because. Our ability to pay entails our responsibility to pay. Somehow, in this argument, what is lost is the vital recognition that EDUCATION IS A RIGHT, a right that we should enjoy, a right that should be shouldered by the government, not us.

Bracket A’s objection to pay a higher tuition fee does not mean selfishness by any means. It is not a refusal to contribute in solving the problems of this nation. It is an action towards accountability. It is vital to see beyond the glimmer that is STFAP. Beyond its ‘altruistic, social responsibility’ design, it is a slow trend towards state abandonment of education. It is an action where gradually, the government hands over its responsibilities the people. It is a scheme to slowly habituate the incoming generation that education is not free, that the government should not bother prioritizing education because the people can pay for it anyway. This is not ought to be. Indifference to this issue is adherence to this oppression.

To Bracket A students, what you need to realize is that your relative wealth cannot shield you from this phenomenon. Your cars, iPads, and Blackberries are no match against state abandonment and commercialization of education. You are oppressed too. You are paying 300% higher for the same education, the same facilities, in the same university. This is not taking into consideration the argument that this should be FREE in the first place. For one, the government is already charging rich people pay higher taxes, and rightly so. If you belong to Bracket A, your parents are probably paying relatively higher taxes for you to enjoy government services. However, when one enters the University, Bracket A’s are still charged of higher tuition fees because for the same reason that they have already paid higher taxes. In a way, it’s a service you paid for twice yet it still did not materialize. It is time to make this administration accountable as to where the taxes we pay go.

Furthermore, what is at stake here is the public character of the university. It is a state university, a university of the people. It should be a breeding ground of future leaders, an institution that would equip all Filipinos – regardless of race and statute, rich or poor – life’s great equalizer that is education. With this trend towards financial discrimination and commercialization, the poor are denied of education, thus the social and economic inequality in the country only widens. It is here that we should reflect whether we are really becoming a part of the solution for the development of this country when we tolerate a system of oppression.

The fight for education is the responsibility of everyone, regardless of the Bracket. Profitability should not come at the expense of an inherent right. STFAP and TOFI are becoming tools of oppression and preservation of the existing policies, slowly creating a trend towards state abandonment and commercialization of education. Overtime, this band-aid solution will become the rule for all state universities rather than an exception. The generation before us have fought hard so may enjoy the rights that we have now. We owe the past, and more importantly the future, our action to demand for a higher state subsidy and a bracket-less university.

Rid yourselves of the 'why-would-I-care-I-can-afford-it-anyway' mentality. Those who have the capacity have the responsibility to defend education. As Iskolars ng Bayan, we are more than capable of making this government accountable.