July 8, 2021
Francesca Kapunan
When the University of the Philippines announced last November 2020 that there would be no UP college admission test (UPCAT) because of the pandemic, students expressed their dismay online.
Don’t get me wrong. The unanimous decision from all University Councils is completely understandable since realistically, it would be near impossible for all UP campuses to actually hold UPCAT in the middle of a global pandemic. It would be a logistical nightmare, trying to manage social distancing and finding the proper space to assist the hundreds of thousands of senior high school students vying for a spot in the country’s most prestigious university.
In lieu of the traditional (and notorious) admission test, UP would simply be basing its admissions on the students’ high school records.
This is where things get muddled. A lot of students have expressed their dismay with completely forgoing UPCAT, since they have already poured hours worth of their time, not to mention thousands in cash, to review for UPCAT. With the hundreds of thousands of students taking college entrance tests every year, review centers have become a lucrative business entertaining the mostly private school students who can afford it.
On another note, students are also worried with UP’s high school record system, pointing out that high schools across the country never had a uniform grading system, while citing other factors that can contribute to a student receiving a high grade.
Amidst the clamor and clutter of opinions, leaves the opportunity to dissect a larger issue at hand, that being admission tests as a filter for free education, and the inaccessibility of state universities and colleges.
University of the People?
Passing the UPCAT is like a badge of honor among high school students, an ego stroke signifying one’s intelligence. I myself am guilty of such a feat, one that I’m not particularly proud of. But there’s something especially ego-stroking, thinking about how among hundreds of thousands of fellow applicants, you could be chosen to study in the Philippines’ premier institution of higher learning.
UP is known for its rigorous admission process and low passing rate. Every year, only about 10%-15% of its takers actually pass; and every year, the number of takers grows since the Free Tertiary Education Act was passed into law. For many low-income to middle-class families, obtaining a degree in the country’s national university is a key for upper social mobility; a step away from poverty.
And this is what UP has signified (or at least tried to signify) for such a long time. Even when tuition was still being collected, UP’s semestral matriculation fee was starkly lower compared to its other private school counterparts, like Ateneo, La Salle, and UST, giving off the idea that UP is a university of the people. The university prides itself in catering to students from all social classes, spawning a novel’s worth of rags to riches story from its students.
In the past, UP has had many students who are diamonds in the rough, first generation college graduates who are the sons and daughters of farmers and jeepney drivers. The question is whether or not this fact rings true to date. Personally, I wouldn’t say so. My dad picked me up from a class in UP Diliman one time and observed the sheer amount of cars being driven by students. “Dati noong panahon namin (in the 90s), ang mga estudyante lang na may kotse yung mga taga Business Ad. Dito sa AS (Palma Hall), mga prof lang may dalang kotse. Ngayon, puno na ang parking.”
This isn’t meant to disrespect the many upper-middle-class students who study at UP. In a country where education is more of a commodity than a right, it would be hard not to pass up on the opportunity for free tuition. The problem itself isn’t about the number of upper-middle-class students studying at UP. Rather, it’s about the inaccessibility of education towards all social classes.
Would forgoing UPCAT and basing UP’s admission system on highschool grades make the university more accessible? No. Like what many students say, aside from the lack of uniformity in grading across many highschools, there are also a lot of factors that affect a student’s academic performance.
One of which is social class. Think about it. If you’re a student who comes from a background of comfort, having a katulong to tend to your every need, you could devote your time completely towards studying. Your parents can provide you with your every need, and you wouldn’t have to juggle two jobs besides having online classes and tending to house chores. You have a lot of time in your hands.
Compare these circumstances with the experiences of many, the majority, who have a plethora of responsibilities aside from academics. The fact of the matter is that economic background is a large determinant in getting into UP. Even within senior high schools, the leading and top schools in the country are private schools, asking up to P200,000 per year from parents. If you’re a minimum wage earner, how could you possibly afford such a thing?
And the same way that economic background is a large determinant in getting into UP so is college education a large determinant for upper social mobility. But imagine if every student was presented the same opportunity, to study in a university, with no prerequisites involved. That is a dream that is surely worth the political struggle.
Cream of the Crop is Overrated
We live in a country so normalized by poverty that we’ve come to romanticize it. We ogle at the sight of rags to riches stories, because it wrenches our hearts that someone with enough grit, determination and the right amount of luck could persevere despite all odds and achieve success by society’s standards. Our eyes glitter at the sight of these stories, when in fact, stories like these should not be unique.
I long for the day when we are no longer left in awe in hearing these stories because it would mean that education has been accessible and attainable to all, and not the lucky few.
We aren’t meant to be inspired by the thought that out of hundreds of thousands of students, we made the cut. We aren’t meant to compare our circumstances with fellow students and think of how lucky we are while using it as a motivation to make ourselves more successful in the traditional sense of the word. We should be enraged by it.
We don’t use other people’s poverty as a cautionary tale. Instead, we should question why out of one hundred students who enter elementary, only seven end up graduating college.
The answer is because up until now, education is widely inaccessible. It’s because, despite the existence of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, there are still more victories to be won in a struggle for education that is genuinely free and can be attained by all.
In the most idealist sense, if UP is to be the university of the people, then it should forgo UPCAT altogether and open its gates to the masses, with no prerequisites involved.
Quality education isn’t attained by filtering students, true quality education caters to all and not the select few. SYNC IN.
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