The ‘OOJT (Overpriced On the Job Training)’ miscellaneous fee was raised by the FEU Political Science Senior Students Batch 2009 questioning the excessive prizing of miscellaneous fees that were not used during their OJT program. The issue stemmed from what the PolSci Students then claimed as ‘unnecessary charges’ in their OJT’s miscellaneous fee – that is, they were paying for the same even when they are not using it, as they were outside the campus during the whole course of their practicum.
BREAKDOWN of the assailed Miscellaneous fee:
523php- athletic fee
138php- audiovisual fee
830php- computerization fee
138php- cultural fee
359php- email fee
459php- energy fee
137php- guidance fee
1,427php- library fee
345php- medical fee
393php- registration fee
50php- student affairs fee
8.50php- insurance fee
4,805.50php- TOTAL
138php- audiovisual fee
830php- computerization fee
138php- cultural fee
359php- email fee
459php- energy fee
137php- guidance fee
1,427php- library fee
345php- medical fee
393php- registration fee
50php- student affairs fee
8.50php- insurance fee
4,805.50php- TOTAL
Their appeal is quoted below:
“FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY, AB Political Science majors, incoming fourth year students is undergoing a six units summer internship. The said program is a subject (Pols27) which has a tuition fee of 10,805.80, inclusive of the basic tuition fee 6,288php, miscellaneous fee 4,514.50php and insurance fee 5.30php.We have inquired in the Department and were able to discuss on the issue of the inclusion of the miscellaneous fees. The discussion raised the question of why would the students pay for some miscellaneous fees when most of the time the interns will be in their respective internship offices, except for 3-4 days wherein the students will report on a classroom basis.In line with the aforementioned issues, we would like to request to waive the misc fees for the reasons that these misc fees will not be used by the interns.On the issue of the procedure of the internship, we would like to request that the internship program be regulated in such a way that the department will provide to the next batch of interns companies and agencies that they will undergo through its linkages. This is to monitor the quality of experience that the students will have in their internship. This system is patterned to other institution which we think would best benefit future students and would spare us time and effort from settling imperfections of the system.”
Since the petition became moot and academic, the PolSci students demanded for a refund in its stead.
After a painstaking deliberation, the issue was recommended by VPAA Miguel Carpio, Treasurer Herminia Maliwat and IAS Dean Jaime An Lim to the executive committee, chaired by no less than Dr. Lourdes Montinola - only to be outrightly rejected with no explanation whatsoever.
THE PAPER TRAIL
During the regular meeting of Political Science Society Board of Directors way back December 2008, then PolSci Society President and presently AYOS-PolSci Chairman, Mr. Dean Yap discussed the appeal submitted by the seniors to the proper authorities.
The PolSci Board of Directors overwhelmingly supported the said appeal and agreed to consolidate the support to the petition, so as to make an action to stop the seemingly unjustifiable charges present in FEU system.
According to Mr. Yap, It was only IAS-Dean, Dr. Jaime An Lim who supported the appeal at first and endorsed his recommendations to the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs (VPAA). Yap added that, “the Dean of IAS was very accommodating to answer all the queries and questions of the students, unlike the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences that failed to perform its responsibilities in giving the students’ offices or the companies for their internship and now, they tend to be very antagonistic towards the actions taken by students because they know that in the end, we will be able to expose their lapses and will try to bail themselves [out] from humiliation.”
As stated, the VPAA himself recommended the appeal to the executive committee believing that there was indeed an overpricing, but sadly for the PolSci students, their appeal was expunged a year later.
At present, most of the PolSci Students were dismayed with the rejection of the appeal by the administration, despite the fact that such appeal constitutes prima facie evidence of overcharging on the part of the FEU admin. The AYOS (Alliance of Youth On Service)- PolSci party, however, is still relentless in spearheading the fight against the overpricing in OJT and ultimately in fighting for the interests of PolSci students. The party was since then, founded within the lines of advancing and struggling for political science students' rights and welfare. Indubitably, the PolSci initiative could open a floodgate for petitions of overcharging in every courses of any institute within the university.
