LOA Campaign Reaches 51%
Mapua or Malayan? Students say No to Change of Name

What's in a name?  For students of Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), it is a sacred legacy that must be upheld. At the same time, many of them believe that retaining MIT’s name is also a protest against the intrusion of big business to education.

BY RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat

Fifty-one percent of students from the Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) in Intramuros, Manila filed notice for leave of absence (LOA) for this summer term to dramatize their demand to retain the name of the school. During a rally on April 20, they reiterated their protest against the plan to change the institute's name to Malayan Colleges.

The protesting students wore black shirts with words that read, "Mapuan forever," "Graduating class ako ng Mapua," (I belong to the graduating class of Mapua) and "Astig maging Mapuan," (It's cool to be a Mapuan). They also chanted "Malayan: Wala 'yan!"  (Malayan: That's nothing!)

Although the atmosphere was festive, complete with yellow and red balloons and a car show, their struggle was no joke.  Their campaign is now on its third month.  The February 14 protest marked the peak, gathering more than 10,000 students.

In an interview with Bulatlat, Armando Cristobal, spokesperson of United Mapuans (UM) revealed their LOA campaign was successful. Cristobal said that in the previous summer terms, enrolment rate stood
at 100 percent.

The Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC) bought the MIT from the Mapua family in 1999.  It was built in 1925 by the first Filipino architect Don Tomas Mapua.  The Yuchengcos own the Malayan Insurance
Company and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, among other business firms.

Low quality

Cristobal said that since the Yuchengcos gained control of the MIT, its passing rate in all engineering courses suffered a sharp decline. He cited the all-time low 17 percent passing rate in mechanical engineering exam.  

"You can make a businessman out of an engineer but a businessman cannot be an engineer," he said.

The MIT was known as the country's premier school of engineering and architecture in the 1970s and 1980s.  Through the years, it registered more than 40 percent passing rate in licensure examinations.

High in profits

In a statement, Rizza Ramirez, National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) national president, attributed the alleged low quality of education in Mapua to the four-semester scheme.  She said it however secured Mapua's place in the top 1,000 corporations in the country.

By the end of 2003, nine schools including MIT were included in the list of the Philippines' top 1,000 corporations, based on the data from the Securities and Exchange Commission.   The MIT was third, next to the National Teachers College and consistent topnotcher Centro Escolar University. On the other hand, it placed 218^th among the country's top 1,000 business companies, with net profits amounting to P218.70 million.

The MIT charges five times higher than the average tuition in the country, which is now at P334.89 per unit. According to the Commission on Higher Education, the MIT charges P1,254.64 per unit. Thus, a student with a full 15-unit load pays P18,819.60 every semester. Since the MIT has four semesters in a school year, a student with a 15-unit load pays P75,278.40 annually.

Carl Marc Ramota, Anak ng Bayan spokesperson said the "relentless hikes in tuition and other fees have earned private school owners millions of profits over the last two decades, which largely explains
why most business tycoons like Lucio Tan and the Yuchengcos are now venturing into tertiary education."

Cristobal also complained of miscellaneous fees amounting to more than P3,000 per semester.  He said they are not even presented a breakdown of these fees.

Repression

Cristobal said they also demand the revision of the Students Catalogue.  He said that the catalogue prohibits the distribution of leaflets and other printed materials, formation of groups without permit, among others.

Cristobal, also the sports editor of the New Builder, official student publication of the MIT, said their paper is being censored by the Office of Student Affairs.  "Kinakatay nila mga artikulo namin.." (They kill our stories)  The New Builder's issue last semester has been put on hold.

Cristobal was one of the seven students who were suspended last semester.  He was charged with illegal assembly, forming/joining clandestine groups and harassment against the students. He said, however, that the administration failed to present any witness to prove their allegations against him.  Still under preventive suspension, Cristobal said he is not allowed to enter the school premises and the MIT enrolment system no longer identifies him as a bonafide student.

Cristobal also told Bulatlat that protesters are being threatened by school officials. He quoted John Jodilla, dean of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, as warning them, "Kaya kong magpabura ng tao sa mundo"  Other leaders of United Mapuans, he said, are constantly hounded by security guards.  "Parang martial law" (It's like being under martial law).

Bulatlat tried to get the side of the administration but was told no one was available for interview. Bulatlat

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