Education for Whom? A Study on the Effects of the 2007 TOFI (Tuition and Other Fees Increase) on Students of the University of the Philippines’ Metro Manila Campuses

Abstract

The University of the Philippines is reputed to be the Philippines’ premier university. It is also known to have a bias towards the marginalized sectors, considering its relatively cheap tuition fee. Unfortunately, due to the 300% tuition and other fees increase (TOFI) in 2007, many poor but deserving students are now unable to enroll in the said University, while more middle and high-income students are enjoying the subsidized quality education that UP offers. In addition, the Iskolar ng Bayan Program, well known as the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), a scheduling that provides different amounts to be paid depending on the bracket in which a student is said to be in, was also rebracketed to serve the needs of the students who were hit by this recent TOFI. This research paper will tackle the issues of the TOFI and STFAP, and its effects on the socio-economic profile of the first and second year students currently populating the University. Chapter 1 will show methodology, framework, and other various tools used by the researcher for the paper. Chapter 2 will tackle the reasons why tertiary education in general is necessary, followed by a discussion on the situation of the Philippines in terms of expenditure for college education, after which the events related to the TOFI and the rebracketed STFAP will be presented. Chapter 3 will show the results of the survey done among the target student population. 600 first and second year students (whose student LD numbers start with 2007 or 2008) from both UP Manila and UP Diliman campuses were asked, using multi-stage sampling in UP Manila, and accidental sampling in UP Diliman. The respondents were requested to answer questions on whether or not they can afford another semester in the University, on what they thought of the current tuition fee and of the STFAP, and on their opinions regarding the TOFI.