Six
out of ten applicants who qualified for UP Diliman (UPD)
this year through the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT)
are enrolled in private high schools, and are mostly
from the National Capital Region (NCR), according to
data recently obtained from the Office of Admissions.
Private school students who qualified for the flagship
campus UPD comprised 61.1 percent of a total of 3,826
UPD passers. UPD also recorded the least dispersed distribution
of passers according to the region of origin, with 2,292
or 59.9 percent of the passers coming from NCR.
The total number of students from private schools who
qualified for UP, meanwhile, were 6,309 out of the 66,570
UPCAT takers, while passers from public schools were
5,876. (see table 1) Out of the total number of UPCAT
takers, 18.37 percent qualified for the different UP
units. (see table 2)
The number of UP qualifiers who are from private schools
grew by 2.4 percent from 49.2 percent last year to 51.6
percent recorded this year. Conversely, a 2.3 percent
decrease from 50.3 percent last year to 48 percent this
year was recorded in the number of qualifiers coming
from public general, national, science, vocational and
barangay high schools.
The Admissions office has yet to release the disaggregated
data on the number of UPCAT qualifiers based on the
classification of public schools.
Meanwhile, 29.6 percent of UPCAT qualifiers were from
the cities in NCR.
The bulk of qualifiers to UP units in Los Baños,
Manila, and Pampanga were applicants also enrolled in
private schools. Majority of students from public schools
qualified mostly in UP units in Baguio, Cebu, Iloilo,
Mindanao, and Tacloban.
Downward trend in passers
from public schools
The percentage of UPCAT qualifiers from public schools
this year dropped by 15.8 percent from the five-year
high of 63.8 percent in 2003. Similarly, the number
of public high school graduates who qualified for UPD
this year stood at 37.8 percent from 60.1 percent in
2003.
Meanwhile, there was a recorded 3.1 percent marginal
increase in the number of UPD qualifiers from public
schools, from 1,404 last year to 1,448 qualifiers this
year. The percentage of UPD qualifiers from private
schools dropped by 2.2 percent, from 2,409 last year.
UP President Emerlinda Roman said that although the
number of private school graduates who passed UPD remains
larger, the nominal increase in the passing rate of
public school graduates might set an “upward trend”
in the future.
About 41 percent of UPCAT qualifiers were from the
regions around Luzon, 17.2 percent from Visayas, 11.5
percent from Mindanao.
Low enrolment of public grads
feared
Student Regent (SR) Shahana Abdulwahid feared that the
enrolment turnout of UPCAT qualifiers from public schools
might continue to dip amid higher tuition in UP.
In 2006, the UP administration approved the 300 percent
tuition increase, putting the base rate at P1,000 per
unit from the former P300.
Abdulwahid also said more students from private schools
might enrol in UP as it charges relatively lower tuition
compared to private universities like Ateneo de Manila
University and De La Salle University.
“[S]a papatinding krisis sa araw-araw na pamumuhay
ay aasahang dadami rin ang kaso ng no-show sa UP passers,”
Prof. Melania Abad, chair of the All-UP Academic Employees
Union-Diliman, said. She cited the study made by former
SR Terry Ridon stating that no-show rate in UP units
stood at 33 to 65 percent after the implementation of
the tuition increase.
Roman contended that a study by the UPD administration
last year revealed that personal and parental decisions
over higher tuition influence whether students would
study in UP.
Flawed admissions policy
Abdulwahid blamed the skewed gap between applicants
who passed UPD to the new admissions policy called the
UP Admission Index (UPAI) which replaced the UP Equity-Excellence
Admission System (UP EEAS) in 2006. She said that the
rising number of private school graduates who could
avail of UP education is a manifestation of the “flawed”
UPAI, as the policy fails to assure higher enrolment
of less privileged students.
Under the UPAI, only in the lower 30 percent of UPCAT
qualifiers are equity qualifications including socio-economic
and geographic measures considered.
The top 70 percent were ranked with specific equity
adjustments for students who are from public schools
or belong to a minority group, under the old EEAS. Likewise,
the remaining 30 percent of the slots were ranked with
considerations on socio-economic and geographic differences
among applicants.
Roman said the decreasing number of UPCAT qualifiers
from public schools is not the UPD administration’s
“emphasis on excellence over equity,” but
a “signal” of the deteriorating status of
basic education in the country.
Courses with higher investment
return
Abdulwahid also lamented that students choose courses
that would give them higher rate of investment return
for the rising cost of tuition in UP.
In UPD, courses in the natural sciences and mathematics
cluster recorded the highest number of UPCAT qualifiers
numbering to an average of 140 applicants. On the other
hand, courses in the arts and humanities cluster were
the least demanded with a range of applicants from one
to three.
According to Abad, the least favored courses include
BA Filipino, BA Araling Filipino, BA Malikhaing Pagsulat
sa Filipino and BA Art Studies in the College of Arts
and Letters, and BS Social Work and BS Community Development
in the College of Social Work and Community Development.
Meanwhile, courses from the College of Engineering were
“in demand.”
“I am not alarmed,” Roman said, pointing
that the decrease in subscription to some courses follows
the “same trend” as in the previous years.
Although Roman claimed the administration will not abolish
courses that are not popular, she suggested that the
departments and faculty members “reinvent”
their courses to increase demand.
“May bentahe ang mga kurso na pumapaloob sa kahingian
ng merkado/negosyo,” said Abad.
# Philippine Collegian
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