Skip to main content

New UP President Fred Pascual comments on UP's financial sustainability

New UP President Alfredo Pascual last Feb 10 took over the reins of the University of the Philippines in a simple ceremony in Quezon Hall.  Mr Pascual served until Feb 9, 2017.His speech is here. The theme of Mr Pascual's  speech focused on the never ending effort to raise the standards of the university, modernize its infrastructure, turn it into a competitive research university without compromising the university's reputation for teaching excellence.

However Mr Pascual, a chemistry graduate but development banker by profession, spilled out the necessary numbers. It is no secret that the salaries of professors are abysmally low and definitely uncompetitive. The same is true for the loyal staff which are even more disadvantaged.

The numbers include that to make the salaries really competitive (professors on average should get 100,000 pesos a month from the measly 25,000 or so at present), the UP should have an endowment of at least 8 billion pesos (that is about 181 million US dollars at present exchange rates). Or the university has to get at least half a billion in extra revenue.

Mr Pascual should be credited for defining on what terms UP's financial sustainability should be based on. He differentiates from commercialization of assets from commercialization of education. He is in favour of the former but not on the latter. He says he won't agree to an increase in fees, but will continue to lobby for government's sustained financial commitment to UP over and above what it gets now.

His mantra appears to be to "change mindsets". How this is to be achieved in a university with eclectic views need to be seen. Mr Pascual's success or failure in his program of governance will be measured on this alone.

His cabinet of vice presidents which includes two of my former professors are known to be familiar with how a 21st century financially viable educational operates. In this way, even if Mr Pascual does not know them personally, he is assured they share in his vision of how UP can become financially sustainable.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kung bakit dapat maging wikang pambansa din ang Ingles

Isang kakatwang eksena ang nasaksihan ko sa isang pribabdong opisina kamakailan lang. Dalawang empleyado ang inatasang bigyan ng solusyon ang isang isyu tungkol sa logistics. Ang isa ang tubong Davao at ang isa ay taga Iloilo. Ang unang wika nila ay Cebuano (Bisaya) at Hiligaynon (Ilonggo). Ang dalawang wika ay halos pareho ngunit may mga katagang iba ang kahulugan sa isa't isang wika. Ginamit nila ang wika nilang kinalakihan at hindi sila nagkaintindihan. Ang nangyari tuloy ay gumamit na lang sila ng wikang Ingles! Yung na nga rin ang sabi ko. Mag-English na lang kaya kayo! At bakit di wikang Filipino ang ginamit nila? Sa totoo lang, marami pa rin ang hindi bihasa sa Filipino upang gamitin ito sa mga larangan tulad ng logistics. At hindi lamang sa mga larangang teknikal, sa mga biyahe ko sa ibat-ibat lugar sa Pilipinas, ang mga naka-paskel sa mga CR o palikuran tungkol sa pagtitipid ng tubig ay naka sulat sa 1)Wika ng rehiyon 2) Wikang Ingles 3) at minsa'y sa wikang Filipino S
Post a Comment
Read more

Simoun's lamp has been lit, finally.. not by one but by the many!

"So often have we been haunted by the spectre of subversion which, with some fostering, has come to be a positive and real being, whose very name steals our serenity and makes us commit the greatest blunders... If before the reality, instead of changing the fear of one is increased, and the confusion of the other is exacerbated, then they must be left in the hands of time..." Dr Jose Rizal "To the Filipino People and their Government" Jose Rizal dominates the Luneta, which is sacred to the Philippine nation as a place of martyrdom. And many perhaps all of those executed in the Luneta, with the exception of the three Filipino secular priests martyred in 1872, have read Rizal's  El Filibusterismo . Dr Rizal's second novel is a darker and more sinister one that its prequel but has much significance across the century and more after it was published for it preaches the need for revolution with caveats,  which are when the time is right and who will in
Post a Comment
Read more

President Manuel Luis Quezon's Code of Ethics

Being a denizen of Kyusi, in honour of the man who gave my city its name and for being the most colourful prez the Philippines ever had, I have the pleasure to post Manuel L Quezon's Code of Ethics on his birthday. Let us profit from the wisdom of the Kastila. 1. Have Faith in the Divine Providence that guides the destinies of men and nations. 2. Love your country for it is the home of your people, the seat of your affection and the source of your happiness and well-being. It's defense is your primary duty. Be ready to sacrifice and die for it if necessary. 3. Respect the Constitution which is the expression of your sovereign will. The government is your government. It has been established for your safety and welfare. Obey the laws and see that they are observed by all and that public officials comply with their duties. 4. Pay your taxes willingly and promptly. Citizenship implies not only rights but obligations. 5. Safeguard the purity of suffrage and abide by the decisions of
1 comment
Read more