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On my previous post, I reprinted an article I wrote on why I feel the call for greater state subsidy in the University of the Philippines is stupid. In this entry, I would like to reproduce another post I wrote later that year. The context is about the rants of leftist groups in UP, but it deals primarily with my reflections on what the proper role of government should be, especially in the sector of education.

 

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Problematizing the Call for Greater State Subsidy in UP

October 5, 2009

 

If you are breathing in the halls of the University of the Philippines, especially in the Diliman Campus, it is inevitable that you will meet the activists calling for greater state subsidy of UP Education. The trend in this decade is a continuous cut in the budget for UP. If we factor inflation into the picture, indeed, there should be an increase in the nominal budget of UP. Maintaining the facilities of the University is getting more expensive each year.

 

While the school Administration has always expressed that it desires greater state subsidy, it cannot ignore the fact that to wait for the government to act is an act of futility while the facilities further deteriorate. This has led to the great Tuition and Other Fees Increase last 2007, which affected students admitted to the University from 2007 onwards. In addition, the University of the Philippines is trying to lure the private sector in joint ventures as part of its revenue generating scheme. Examples of which are the UP-Ayala Technohub and the currently being constructed Toyota Center.

 

The leftist elements have condemned these acts as “commercialization of education” and “state abandonment of education.” Other groups disagree, and I’m not going to argue here that it is false to think that UP education is being commercialize and that it is also untrue that the state has abandoned its subsidy for UP, for others have already argued much more clearly.

 

Bu so far, no one as far as I know has asked much [more] radical questions in defense of UP being much more autonomous in generating funds. Perhaps, there should be no state schools in the first place. Leftist groups represented in particular by STAND-UP [Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP, the most leftist of the three student parties in UP Diliman] have argued that since UP is a state university, it is a contradiction in terms to think that UP would imitate a private university’s strategy of raising funds. Well, that’s the most practical thing that UP could do for now, I dare say. It cannot wait for the government to act. But now, I also claim that UP SHOULD NOT wait for government subsidy. As a Libertarian, [it is my view that] it is not the proper role of government to involve itself in social services such as public education.

 

Perhaps, instead of calling for more greater state subsidy, which would mean more government spending of money robbed from the people through taxes, why not let the free market decide on how much the tuition of UP should be? Let it not be too high that no one would be willing to enroll, but let it not be too low than the unhampered market would dictate that the University could not meet the demand for incoming students.

 

Furthermore, perhaps there should not a single tuition fee per unit of instruction in the University. This ought to be based on the program being desired. Aside from limiting the number of enrollees in a particular course by means of IQ [i.e. UPCAT and other metrics for shiftees and transferees], limit the number of enrollees of a program by taking supply and demand as determinant of the tuition fee for that program. This way, resources are maximized.

 

As a corollary, this approach would entail those unpopular programs such as BA Anthropology, B Library and Information Sciences etc which have few students entering [to] charge lower tuition fees. This way, those who prioritize studying UP without regard for a specific program could be encouraged to get in (assuming qualifications such as intelligence are met).

 

Perhaps, this is my answer to the issue over the last three years of whether to phase out unpopular programs. Maybe, UP should. These are nonperforming assets. If UP were a private enterprise, it would avoid offering non-performing programs in order to maximize resources.

Maybe, UP should not position itself as a benevolent University of the People. Perhaps, it is not its role to provide quality education for all people in different demographics.

 

Perhaps, UP should not hold the monopoly on the intellectual capital of this country. This monopoly is expressed by the joke “There are only two universities in the Philippines, UP and the others.” Perhaps by allowing UP to become more expensive (if that is dictated by the market) [it] would force innovation in the Education sector. Why can’t other Universities be set up with quality instruction comparable or even better to UP education that would absorb other intelligent students? Why can’t there be other Universities where to be admitted is as stiff as UP so that one could also claim to be “matalino” and part of the creme of the crop?

 

Perhaps, these things could eventually come into fruition if we UP students stop demanding government subsidies and eventually let the University of the Philippines become private. Perhaps, by condemning the call for greater subsidy in UP, we will come to realize what the proper role of government is.

 

Technorati Tags: education is not a right, state subsidy, University of the Philippines

I am taking this opportunity to repost a blog post from an old Multiply account titled I Oppose the Call for Greater State Subsidy for UP and other SCUs. This is timely because a fellow named Froilan Vincent Bersamina has generated the outrage of many people from my alma mater for challenging the taken-for-granted notion that “Education is a right.”

 

His blog post can be seen here: http://fvdb.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/stupidityup

 

I have written this entry originally as my critical reflection to the following claims by activists: As usual, they claimed that education is a right. That by having state colleges and universities utilize self-generating income schemes is state abandonment of education. It is step closer to privatization and other blah blahs.

 

At the back of my mind, I was thinking that the state isn’t really abandoning education. The state still administers those institutions. It’s just being practical. Besides, I viewed it as a sign of naiveté to force UP to use only funds from the government just because it is a state school.

 

Furthermore, thanks to my exposure to Austrian Economics which affirms my long-held belief in Capitalism, I began to doubt whether state schools should be there in the first place. Perhaps, they should be privatized. These thoughts considered, I began to question the idea of education as a right. It may be unpopular and even taboo in UP, but I know that I am right and will not waver in this belief.

 

What follows is the original post, followed by the comments in response to the post.

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I Oppose the Call for Greater State Subsidy for UP and other SCUs

May 5, 2009

 

 While the call of leftist and activists in UP Diliman for greater state subsidy is appealing because it will result in lower tuition and greater access to Education, the long-term repercussions are overlooked and I have to oppose it.
          Even if corruption were eliminated and the budget re-aligned to prioritize education, it cannot be denied that state subsidy must be increased at an exponential rate to factor inflation and the growing need for education by a ballooning population.

          This begs the question of where the government could take the much needed funds. First, through taxation. Second, through borrowing. Third, a combination of these.

           Whichever option the government takes to fund an ever increasing subsidy, the result would be greater burden for the general public. Inflation, (which is the expansion of the money supply), is inevitable.

          Therefore, it is stupid and selfish to please and appease UP students as well as those from the public schools if the whole Filipino people will be greatly burdened.

          Ironically, the leftists groups are calling for the removal of the R-VAT and other excessive taxes but they themselves are the ones calling for increased government spending in social welfare services.

          No government however rich could afford a welfare state and the net result of such collectivist ideas is higher taxes. In other words, the things that the leftists and Marxists in UP are fighting for are flawed. It’s stupid, no matter how well-intentioned.

          The alternative solution I see is to reduce subsidies by encouraging even more the self-generation of income for good SCUs. Then, close those worthless SCUs since a school if it cannot provide quality education does not deserve to be opened in the first place. This will reduce government expenditures.

         Make the pre-college education 12 years instead of the current 10 and make sure such graduates could work already. I have observed that many of those taking college degrees are not really fit for the rigors of University work and that they should have taken technical courses.

         A person wanting to finish a degree just to get a job, and not for the real purpose which is the refinement of culture and thinking, he or she does not deserve to go to college.

         Having said that, a 12-year pre-college system will drastically reduce the demand for tertiary education, precisely because the need of skills training for the purposes of employment will have been taken care of.

         As a final note, it is clear that those demanding for such subsidies are living in a fantasy world. The state has no way of satisfying the needs and wants of everyone. As such, the responsibility of one’s economic FATE rests on the individual and not the collective.

 

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Comments

 

1. by finalflash

quite idealistic too, but I have to agree: UP’s self-sufficient ways are inevitable.
Changing the education system into lower, middle, and higher schools is also a good way to produce skilled workers (since that’s what the world needs today).
In the economic sense, the leftists are quite fanatical. As far as the future of education is concerned, anything can happen. (Can’t help but reply…)

 

2. by me

 

Hello, thanks for replying. Let me inform you that the framework I am studying and using for advocating free-market capitalism and limited government is Austrian Economics, led by intellectual giants like Ludwig von Mises.

I am still studying their works and they are more relevant to what is happening in the United States. I am still in the beginning phase of learning their arguments, especially the Problem of Economic Calculation, but I chose to pick and write on those things that I understand.

The left has bombarded the average Isko with Marxist rhetoric and an equally radical but sensible voice must counter them.

 

3. by finalflash

 

yeah dude. I think the UP administration should be given a chance to make the students understand that some things must happen. Sometimes though, some students inside and outside UP label the word “liberal” as “leftist” (because the word “liberal” sounds “hip” or different from what is happening outside UP). It’s quite good that UP education is liberal but sometimes an ideal wants to dominate another and it doesn’t sound good. So a voice radical from the communist or Marxist view on economics is needed, I guess. (Can’t help but reply again)

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: austrian economics, education is a right, education is not a right, Ludwig von Mises, state subsidy, University of the Philippines, up diliman

            This year of 2010, I have started to embark on what I describe as a Hero’s Transformative Journey. I first learned of the concept of transformative journeys in 2005, through the lecture I downloaded titled Transformational Journeys. The lecturer, Dr. Grant, was discussing the movie The Field of Dreams. In simpler terms, to embark on a transformative journey means to decide on finding out whom you really are and what shall be your ultimate contribution to the world, i.e. your legacy. In every great story or myth, the person undergoing such journey is called the hero. In this journey of mine, I am indeed the hero. I admit that there are many people I admire and wish to emulate, but the truth remains that nothing great shall happen to me unless I decide to become the hero of my life and start working on my unique contribution.

            Only a few people know that I suddenly left the restrictive walls of formal schooling this year. Some when they heard it were shocked; a few were supportive. That’s understandable, and if I have no good reason to do so, I would have felt ashamed. In reality, I should feel ashamed for having done exactly the opposite for so many years. I have vegetated for so many years in the State University, having forgotten the purpose and the motivation the got me into that institution in the first place. This uneasiness is insidious and has prevented me from being the happy person I wish to be. So I decided to follow my bliss. I have decided to spend a year off in order to determine what I really want to become, and work on it through reading of relevant books and by meeting key people to learn from and contribute in return. Every person must come to the point of deciding whether to come to terms with his true self, or whether to live inauthentic lives. I am glad I have chosen the former. The great Abraham Maslow had stated this clearly:

“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.”

 

           This blog shall be a repository of my thoughts and opinions. While I consider myself a lone traveller, I would be more than glad if all the lessons I get from this journey could help as many people as possible reading this blog.

Technorati Tags: Elevic Pernis, hero, self-actualization, transformative journey