While public elementary and secondary education is affordable to a majority of Filipinos, college education is expensive for most. UP is one of the few that is/was affordable to many Filipinos. GMA just increased the tuition (by 300%?), making UP unaffordable to many propective students, whose families belong to the lower income strata of Philippine society, who otherwise would have been eligible to an outstanding education.
I think this is a huge mistake. The government should make education a priority in the national budget. These youth are the future of the Philippines.
I think it is extremely important for govt to support college education of poor, but gifted, youth. Lower income youth should be given the opportunity to improve their lot through education. If the govt, due to the budget, cannot afford anymore than what it has agreed to above the UP increased tuition to support the college education of said youth, then it should provide alternatives.
One alternative is to greatly increase the tuition of the richer UP students. Contrary to public perception, roughly 25% of UP students belong to the higher middle class and come from exclusive private schools, including the richest of the rich in the country. They can take some of the burden in the cost of education of the poor UP kids.
The govt can also provide low-interest college loans for students coming from poor families. Or college grants payable by future services in the professions in demand, e.g. for medical students. Collateral can be required as insurance for payment. Because no matter how poor a Filipino is, he always has a relative who can vouch for him. Even the U.S., a much richer country does that. A good college education is expensive and it is not free!
