UP administration, students scoff at Abad’s justification for SUC budget

UP administration, students scoff at Abad’s justification for SUC budget

“If we are given a zero budget, would that mean that we would land in the top position?” UP student regent Krissy Conti told bulatlat.com, adding that Malacañang should not compare the University of the Philippines with other private universities that are profit-oriented.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com
 
MANILA — For a few weeks now, students across the country have been holding protest actions condemning the proposed budget cuts on state universities and colleges. The Aquino administration has repeatedly denied that there are cuts in the budget for SUCs. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad claims that the budget for SUCs increased from $540.1 million to $594.8 million, which is broken down into $537.8 million for the core budget of SUCs, $45.6 million to fill up vacancies lumped under the Miscellaneous and Personnel Benefit Fund (MPBF), and $11.4 million allotted to the Committee on Higher Education to align the curriculum of SUCs to available jobs.

“We do not know where Abad got his figures. But even if it is true, it is still a far cry from the P45 billion that we are asking for and the allotment for the capital outlay remains zero,” University of the Philippines student regent Krissy Conti told Bulatlat.com.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad also said a higher budget for SUCs does not necessarily translate to a higher quality of education citing the Quacquarelli Symonds world university report where the University of the Philippines (UP) still fared better than other private universities.

“Note the recent international survey where the well-funded Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University and UST (University of Santo Tomas) fared worse than the underfunded UP,” Abad said in a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.

Other stakeholders in the issue, however, think otherwise.

Prof. Danilo Arao, assistant to the vice president for Public Affairs and director of System Information Office of UP, said in an interview with bulatlat.com that Abad’s view may be one way of looking at it. “But how much more if we are given our sufficient budget?”

“If you look at the grand scheme of things, we rank 62 in Asia and is way behind worldwide,” Arao said. He added that UP should not be compared to other private universities because it is a “national university” by virtue of its charter..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/30/up-administration-students-scoff-at-abads-justification-for-suc-budget/