Students Walkout for National Day of Action Against Other School Fees
“Education not for sale! We are not for sale!”
This is what the different youth organizations wanted to fight for as they marched their way from University of San Carlos – Downtown campus to Metro Colon last Feb. 27 in commemoration of the National Day of Action Against Other School Fees.
The walkout aims to reveal the different problems students have been facing in their respective schools such as tuition fee increases, collection of other fees, repressive school policies and the like.
The movement was participated by USC, Student Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy, University of the Philippines – Cebu Council, Tug-ani, Southwestern University, Cebu Normal University, Asian College of Technology and youth organizations such as Anakbayan – Cebu, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, National Union Students of the Philippines, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, Nagkahiusang Kusug sa Estudyante and Youth ACT Now – Cebu.
Different youth representatives had their share in expressing the various problems they have encountered in their respective schools. Main problems centralize in the increase of tuition fee, collection of redundant, exorbitant and dubious fees, commercialization of different state universities and colleges, unjust and repressive treatment of other students and empathetic school administrators. According to Ed Bacaltos from Tug-ani, state universities are slowly being made private by the government which in turn promotes a commercialized education.
France Kevin Degamo of NUSP said that education is now considered a privilege that only a few could afford. He also pointed out that there are other problems such as the implementation of K-12 and the Road Map to Public Higher Education which does not help students but instead undermines their rights
The event ended with a speech from Nino Olayvar, vice president of Anakbayan – Cebu chapter. He summarized the different youth and student representatives’ grievances towards tuition fee increases, anonymous fees and other repressive student policies. Olayvar added that students must be the ones who should act for the right against tuition fee increase and that education is a right that everyone must fight for.
