Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday, September 5, raised the continued deferral of the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT), saying the University of the Philippines (UP) cannot keep putting off the entrance exam since it gets the lion’s share of funds among the country’s State Universities and Colleges (SUC).
“Kapag walang UPCAT, dalawa ang biktima dito, yung bata and yung university (If there's no UPCAT, there are two victims here, the student and the university). Why? Because UP gets 23.41 percent of the budget of all the SUCs. Almost one fourth of their budget goes to UP – meaning greater funds, greater power, greater responsibility," Cayetano said in a manifestation during the Senate session.
"Hindi pwede ang petiks-petiks diyan at hindi na pwedeng hindi mag-UPCAT (They can't afford to be complacent and not administer the UPCAT). This is so urgent,” he further said.
The UP has suspended the UPCAT since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been selecting students based on their high school grades.
Since the pandemic situation in the countey has improved, Cayetano filed Senate Resolution No. 157 on August 25, 2022 strongly urging UP to administer the UPCAT for the next academic year 2023-2024 to make the admission process more holistic.
But on Friday last week, UP announced that it has suspended for the third year its college entrance exam for incoming freshmen.
Cayetano warned disregarding the UPCAT will sideline deserving students who may not necessarily have the highest grades but can pass the entrance test.
“Kung y'ung grades lang titingnan mo (if you just look at their grades), you will not get the best of the best. Pinapatay mo mga pangarap ng mga bata (You will kill a child's dream),” he said.
Prior to this, Cayetano led the organizational meeting of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology and briefly touched on the unsatisfactory UPCAT passing of Philippine Science High School (PSHS) students of only 60.55 percent.
This ranks poorly compared to the school’s 97 to 99 percent passing rate during pre-pandemic years, according to Cayetano.
“The Philippines Science High School system has 12 schools and during the administration of UPCAT, they have 97 to 99 percent or almost a hundred percent passing. Nung nawala ang UPCAT, only 60.55 percent ang pumapasa (When they removed the UPCAT, only 60.55 percent passed),” Cayetano said.
“Two years na 'to. Many science high schools around the country are complaining that the best of the best are not getting in kasi mali ang sistema (because the system is not working),” he lamented.