CHED to school execs: Exercise maximum tolerance for poor students

MANILA, Philippines - School administrators should exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with students who cannot pay their tuition, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chair Patricia Licuanan said yesterday.

Licuanan said she also supports the lifting of the “no late payment” policy at the University of the Philippines.

“I think that is a good policy. I really feel that for state institutions, including UP, I don’t think a student has to drop out just because of finances. You may have to because of performance, etc. but certainly not for financial reasons,” Licuanan said.

“If there is a sudden change in family circumstances, the school has to be very sympathetic. I came from a private school. I feel that there should be maximum tolerance that speaks for more scholarships, more resources available to assist students,” said Licuanan, former president of Miriam College in Quezon City.

UP president Alfredo Pascual lifted the “no late payment” policy at UP last March 20. However, student activists are calling for the scrapping of the university’s Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP).

Asked whether she is in favor of implementing the STFAP in other state universities as well as in private institutions, Licuanan said schools must first conduct a profiling of their students.

She said the indicators being used under the STFAP must also be reviewed.

“Even in state systems we are taking in students from rich families and that is certainly true in UP now. Why do they have to be subsidized to the same tune as everybody else or those who are poorer?” Licuanan said.

“Right now I buy the concept that those who have more should pay more,” she added.

The death of UP Manila student Kristel Tejada, who committed suicide allegedly for failing to pay her tuition, has prompted several sectors to call for more funds for state schools.

But based on the indicative budget ceilings set by the Department of Budget and Management for state agencies, funding for state universities and colleges will be reduced  from P32.8 billion this year to P31.9 billion next year.