The incoming president of the government-run University of the Philippines (UP) intends to broaden the scope of what he called “UP-grade education” to cover state universities and colleges (SUCs).
Angelo Jimenez, who is set to take over the reins of the UP in February, said his idea is to close the gap in quality learning between UP and other higher education institutions owned by the government.
“I want to be able to close the gap in quality of learning or teaching in all the constituent (universities of the) University of the Philippines… Once you close that gap, we will spread UP-grade education towards regional centers of excellence that we shall identify among the state universities and colleges,” Jimenez said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.
Through this, students will no longer need to enroll in UP to avail of “UP-grade education,” he added.
He deems it an anomaly that only one university is leading in quality education.
“This for me is more democratic rather than insisting on programs and policies that will increase enrollment in UP,” he said.
Regulating the number of undergraduate enrollment in UP can help faculty members pursue research, he said.
Jimenez also noted that one of UP’s missions under its charter is “to provide leadership in higher education, particularly in teaching.”
Improving access to “UP-grade” education is only one of Jimenez’s three “major” plans for his six-year term as president. The others are strengthening research, especially in the graduate level, and embracing digital transformation in learning.
Regulating state forces on campus
Jimenez, who is also a labor lawyer, said he is in favor of institutionalizing an agreement that regulates the entry of uniformed personnel inside UP campuses.
“Ang rules of engagement diyan, when it comes to uniformed personnel entering [campuses], [it] shouldn’t be based on agreements that can be broken by any party at any given time. To give it more stable basis, it should be legislated,” he said.
In 2021, the Department of National Defense (DND) unilaterally terminated a 1989 pact with UP, under which military and police forces must first notify the university administration before conducting operations in any of its campuses.
Jimenez stressed that a 1992 agreement between UP and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), which also limits police entry into UP campuses, remains in effect.