Student Groups and Organizations Troop to CHED and DepEd Offices
Photo by Neil Yu
Student leaders and representatives from different organizations trooped to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Region 7 office located at Lahug, Cebu City yesterday afternoon to gather information regarding the approval of the 37 tuition fee increase applications from private higher education institutions, 28 of which come from Cebu.
Representatives of STAND-USC and UP Cebu Council, together with other youth organizations, such as Anakbayan – Cebu, College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), National Union Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list, participated the movement.
Niño Olayvar, vice-president of Anakbayan – Cebu chapter, said, “CHED remains to be a rubber-stamp agency that allows tuition fee increase without taking into mind the students who cannot bear another increase this coming academic year.”
Additionally, youth leaders Ken Ecarma of Rise for Education Alliance and Dyan Gumanao of UP Cebu Student Council went to the CHED office for a personal dialogue. “Wala’y response ang CHED,” said Ken Ecarma regarding their concern.
After bringing the case to CHED, the groups headed down to DepEd to stage another protest for the suspension of the K to 12 Program. A spokesperson from ACT, Mrs. Antonia Lim, said that educational institutions are not yet prepared for the said program. DepEd supervisor, Marshall Degamo, asked for a personal dialogue about the matter with the student groups inside the conference room of the DepEd office.
“Para sa among tanan, dili kami supak sa pagka-approve sa K to 12; ang amoa lang hangyo kay suspensuhon sa pag-implementar niini, kay tungod ang mga basic needs kay wala pa nahatag sa gobyerno. Apil na niini ang kakuwang sa mga linkuranan ug mga maestro,” stated Olayvar.
As a response, Degamo said, “Ang gobyerno kay gihinay-hinay na og buhat na matarong ang tanang mga eskwelahan. Kinahanglan maka-catch up ta sa ASEAN integration ug kinahanglan makapa-produce ta’g mga estudyante na maka-trabaho abroad.” Degamo added that the government has spent a large amount for the implementation of the K to 12 Program.
The dialogue ended as Degamo and Olayvar, together with Ecarma, presented their last statements. Lunch was served after.
