YOUTH and students held a lightning rally early morning on Thursday in at the gates of Malacañang condemning the Palace for both its accountability for the death of Kristel Tejada and their attempts to veer away from their responsibility over the tragedy.
Kristel, committed last Friday suicide upon learning that due to her family’s financial constraints she would not be able to enroll.
UP Manila’s “no late payment” policy causes students to forcefully take a leave of absence which is exactly what happened to Kristel. This has caused massive outrage in various campuses across the nation, sparking various forms protests by students, teachers and parents among others.
The youth groups also joined the public viewing inside the UP Manila campus to mourn for Kristel and demand justice as her remains were brought to the campus. This was followed by a tribute night and a large candle lighting protest with different campuses around the Taft area participating.
“The message needs to get across to the Aquino administration, state sponsored policies like the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), Forced LOA and tuition hikes are not isolated to State Colleges and Universities. The rising cost of education, which is what primarily bars students from continuing their studies, is higher than ever under Aquino; and it is only getting higher,” said Kabataan Partylist President Atty. Terry Ridon.
As the clamour for justice spreads, Kabataan also noted the decreasing number of state colleges and universities as Aquino’s programs push for greater privatization of schools.
“With the Aquino intending to decrease the number of SUCs, pretty soon the many youths will not even think of entering their first year of college” explained Ridon.
Malacañang earlier released a statement merely deeming the tragedy as a “complex issue.” Instead of addressing the issue, government agencies have been putting all sorts of spins on what transpired, even hinting at mental problems.
“It’s no use accusing Kristel of having problems that we have no way of verifying. We should not judge her when she does not even have the right to defend herself from such accusations. What we know is that her family like many Filipinos are victims of a society that endorses the commercialization of education and an administration that creates policies curtailing our rights,” asserted Ridon.
Ridon added “in other words, this issue is not complex as it is systematic and symptomatic of the plight of the youth and people when it comes to education and other social services under this government.”
“At least Kristel can come to her Alma Mater one last time. We should honour her memory by being vigilant and indignant. There are so many other possible tragedies similar to this that can happen because of what our government has twisted our education system into” said Ridon.