Press Release
February 8, 2007

KIKO: UP CHARTER WILL HASTEN
COMPETITIVENESS OF UP EDUCATION

Passed on 3rd reading last night, in a bid to avert the declining competitiveness of UP education and the exodus of highly-skilled professors to private schools, Senate Majority Leader Kiko Pangilinan lauded the passage of the new UP Charter that would amend the century-old charter of the country's premier university.

"Many of the problems of UP are borne out of a small budget to reform and improve many of its services. With the passage of the UP Charter Act, the University will finally be able to generate income through the use of its resources and assets, which could be used to improve its curricula and salary system. The Act also institutes provisions on tax incentives on donations to the University as a means to raise more resources from the private sector," Kiko said.

"The recurrent problem of tuition hike, which has hounded the state university for so long, will likewise be abetted as UP will be self-sustaining and the burden will not be cast solely on the students," Kiko added.

"The passage of the UP Charter will certainly hasten the competitiveness of UP degree-holders and its already world-class research. It is sad that two or three decades ago, other Asian national universities looked up to UP as the center of learning and information in Asia. Today, UP is lagging behind. The new UP Charter will help raise the bar of excellence of the school, my beloved alma mater," he said.

"The present condition of UP epitomizes the current financial limitations of the university system. It also betrays our resolve to develop and be globally-competitive. With a new UP Charter, we can look forward to tremendous innovation and improvement of its curriculum, facilities and teaching staff," he added.

The UP Charter also allows UP to generate income from its idle lands, increase the salaries of its teaching and non-teaching staff and redesign its current curricula, among others.

News Latest News Feed