INCLUSION OF MECHANISM FOR STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND TRANSPARENCY CLAUSE IN THE PROPOSED CHANGES
IN MSU SYSTEM CHARTER
(Position Paper formally submitted
during the consultation on HB____ otherwise known as An Act Strengthening the
Mindanao State University System and Appropriating Funds Therefor in Dimaporo Gymnasium, MSU-Marawi Campus, Marawi City on January
29, 2015)
Over the years,
Mindanao State University has been successful, as an academic institution, in
producing quality graduates who have been serving as manpower of growth not
just in the region but in the entire country. With students coming from
different regions of Mindanao whose backgrounds are socially and culturally
diverse, MSU has been a haven for cultural integration, thus recognized as
“melting pot of the south”.
With so much
changes and development since its creation, there is indeed a need to enhance
its more than 60 year-old charter to make it more responsive to the present condition,
needs and demands of the society and of its constituents.
As we support
this endeavor, we as well see two important points that need to be addressed in
the proposed new charter of the MSU System.
Firstly, we
believe that as the majority of the constituents of this system that comprise
more or less 69,000 in number, the students in each of the campus under the MSU
system must have a voice in the decision-making especially on the matters
related to tuition fee increase, student rules and other student welfare
issues.
As per
experience in this Campus, the previous tuition fee increase and the removal of
tuition privilege (TP) for students who have good academic performance did not
undergo a proper consultation. It is important to note that majority of
population of the students in this campus is coming from the poor section of
the society. That is why they chose this university because it does not only
offer quality education but also affordable tuition fee. As such, any increase
in the tuition fee may jeopardize or worse, deny the students of their chance
for education and defeat the social responsibility of the university which is
stated in Section 8 of the proposed
charter.
While the
proposed charter emphasized the role of the student council, it is a fact that
student body organizations have only limited power and therefore inadequate to
participate in the actual decision-making. Thus, we suggest that the proposed
charter should add, in the Section 9 Democratic Access, “Consultation as mechanism for democratic
participation of students on matters pertaining to their welfare and interests.
Any decision contrary to this process will be rendered invalid.”
Secondly, in the
exercise of its functions as democratic institution, MSU has to be transparent
and accountable to all its actions and decisions. There must be a mechanism for
easier access on the decisions, project engagements and monetary collections of
the university. This way, the university will establish a transparent
relationship with its stakeholders.
Moreso, the
unresolved criminal cases involving students and faculty members inside the MSU
Marawi campus actually question the accountability of the university itself.
Hence, issues of this kind have to be immediately addressed.
We, therefore,
suggest that there must be a separate
section pertaining transparency and accountability in the proposed charter
which would address the above-mentioned issues.
To the men and
women in congress, we ask your serious consideration of this position paper in
the crafting of the proposed changes in charter of the MSU-System. As students, we view ourselves as active
contributors to the development process and success of the Mindanao State
University.
Signed:
Liga ng
Makabagong Kabataan-MSU Chapter
Samahan ng mga
Mag-aaral ng Panlipunang Agham at Humanidades (SAMAPAH)
College of
Agriculture Student Society (CASS)
Samahan ng mga
Mag-aaral ng Filipino (SAMAFIL)
______________________________
This
document is a result of consultations among students and student leaders in the
Mindanao State University-Marawi Campus.
