University education to die for

Perhaps one of the saddest stories from the Philippines this week was from a 16-year old college student who took her own life, allegedly because she could no longer afford to pay her tuition.

Kristel Tejada, a freshman at the University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) taking up Behavioural Sciences, took her own life on March 15.

We also learned of events leading up to this student's tragic death that could have saved her from being pushed so far off the edge that the only way out for her was ending her life.

Tejada, the eldest of five siblings, had been having difficulty attending her classes since February because of "family and financial problems," a report from the Manila Times says. She had earlier applied for a tuition loan from the UPM's loan board, but was denied. She had to file for a leave of absence from school because she could no longer afford to pay her tuition. A few days later, Tejada ended her life.

Tejada's parents had told news site, Interaksyon, they had tried to negotiate for an extension with the university while they take out a loan against their house to help pay for the tuition. But the extension request was denied. The university has, since last year, implemented what is essentially a "no tuition no entry" policy for students.

The Philippine Collegian, the school paper of the University of the Philippines (UP), reports: "In November 2012, the UPM administration barred students who failed to pay tuition on time from being admitted to their classes. The said students were eventually allowed to attend their classes after a dialogue with UPM officials, but some students had already been forced to file for a LOA, according to reports from the Office of the Student Regent (SR)."

Funded by the national government, the University of the Philippines has been — at least in the olden days — one of the most prestigious universities in the Philippines. Because it provided subsidized yet quality education for low income families, it served as a beacon of hope for the Filipino youth, a reminder that their social status does not have to dictate their future and that they have an equal shot at a great education as the rich kids on the other side of town. UP was the epitome of the well-loved President Ramon Magsaysay credo: Those who have less in life should have more in law.

UP students were fondly called "Iskolar ng Bayan" (scholars of the people) — or so they have been. The series of tuition hikes at the state-run university in recent years have left many students struggling to stay enrolled.

What happened to Tejada crystallizes what education activists have long been calling for: access to quality, affordable education for those who have less in life. They fight for education as a right for all, not a privilege for a few. Rightly so, for no nation in the world has ever achieved greatness without the foundation of an educated citizenry.

This issue unfolding in the midst of a national elections could be bad or good for education advocates — depending on the calibre of political leaders dominating the polls in May.

This could be good because the story is front-page news material, and we know how politicians love to piggy back on the hottest issues of the day to get some media love — strongly condemning this, highly supporting that.

On the other hand, this could be bad in that this issue might just have a lifespan that ends on election day. It would take a genuine leader and public servant to take the issue of affordable education beyond the campaign rhetoric and into the halls of Congress and the Senate.

Equal access to quality, affordable education should be on the top agenda of every political party or candidate in this electoral race to effect meaningful change that will set the country in the right path towards sustainable progress.

And by "top agenda," I don't mean the press releases. 

President Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957): "Those who have less in life should have more in law."