Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina (PLMar)
Marikina City University
Marikina City, Philippines
Accountability, Affordability and Accessibility of Higher
Education in a Local University: A Local Government
Initiative toward Socio-Economic Development and
Sustainability
Frederick V. Rael
Alexander De Luna
Vidal S. Mendoza Jr.
Melvin M. Malupay
PROFILE OF THE RESEARCHERS
Prof. Frederick V. Rael Department Head of the Social Sciences and Social Work at the
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina (PLMar) He is a graduate of BS Sociology and
MA in Educational Management. He has also completed his academic requirements in the
MA in Sociology and presently pursuing his MA in Education major in Social Sciences. Professionally,
he has been teaching for almost 15 years in several colleges and universities in the Philippines. Aside
from teaching, he is also an online writer and a researcher. He has been writing for various online
writing agencies for 6 years and has produced three books (Introduction to Sociology, Module in
Good Governance and Social Responsibility, and Module in Total Quality Management).He has
contributed in the PLMar Research Journal Punla Volume II and PLMar Research Journal
Budyungan Volume II. In addition, he is an advocate of workers’ rights through his membership in a
labor group.
Prof. Alexander De Luna is currently the Program Head of Public Administration in
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina (PLMar). He is a graduate of Master in Public
Administration and a former Civil Society Organization (CSO) in Marikina
Philippines for 3 years. Aside from teaching, he is an advocate for Youth Leadership and
Empowerment and founder of several community and youth organizations and a consultant of
several elected public officials in Marikina in the area of legislation and program implementation.
He is also a speaker in organizational management and community organizing for several local
government units, national organizations, and different local and sectoral organizations in the last
10 years in the Philippines.
PROFILE OF THE RESEARCHERS
Prof. Vidal S. Mendoza Jr. is the present Dean of College of Arts and Sciences at the
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina (PLMar). He graduated AB in Filipinology under the Mass
Communication and MA in Filipino. He has been teaching various subjects that are pertinent to
languages (Filipino and Nihongo), literatures, and Filipino culture. With his advocacy in promoting the
Filipino language and culture, he has occupied vital and leadership positions in several civic and
academic organizations particularly Master of Arts in Filipino Society, DAMLAY_Philippines, CLL
Alumni Association, ABF Alumni Association, Philippine Society of Young Educators of Languages
and the Arts, Inc, and Knights of Rizal. Through his dedication and talents as a young educator, he
had been given recognitions such as “Pride of the Nation of Candaba,” and a finalist in the “Ten
Outstanding Young Employees of the Philippines o TOYEP 2013. He is also a co-author in many
books in Filipino like "Komunikasyon sa Akademikong Filipino", Pagbasa at Pagsulat Tungo sa
Pananaliksik at "Retorika at Masining na Pagpapahayag", and “Muhon: Sining at Kasaysayan ng
Panitikan ng Pilipinas.
Professor Melvin M. Malupay is a dynamic college instructor with over 11 successive
years of experience in teaching and management of students in Higher Educational Institution. He is
currently a Full-Time faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences teaching Public Administration and
Social Sciences courses. He professed several researches in the field of Public Administration,
Social Sciences and Education. He also co-authored and served as a reviewer of Social Sciences
textbook and had created several E-learning modules of same discipline. He finished AB Political
Science and Master in Public Administration. He once held positions like Outreach Coordinator and
Focal Person/Coordinator in Research and Extension
Directorate.
Profile of the University
•
The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina (simply known as PLMar or
Marikina City University) is the first city government-funded university in
Marikina City, Philippines. It was established to provide quality but
affordable tertiary education to the residence of Marikina by Ordinance
No.015 Series of 2003.
•
Enrollment in 2003 was 1,424 students and has successively increased,
now almost 8,000. PLMar surpasses the national rate of graduates who
pass the professional, Regulation Commission National Board Examinations
for Nurses, Teachers, and Criminology.
•
PLMar has a commitment to produce work-ready, career-focused, and
community-oriented graduates, and has been successful in developing
globally competitive graduates that are employed internationally.
•
It is guided by its core values are discipline, excellence, and good taste.
•
The present leadership is headed by Mayor Del R. De Guzman, and with
karunungan one of the 7-k flagship programs of his administration, PLMar
gears its programs toward their achievement and hope to maintain Marikina
as a vibrant community of citizens, proud of their roots and have a mutual
concern for the common good.
Mayor Del De Guzman
Vice Mayor Fabian Cadiz
Counselor Sam Ferriol
Courses Offered
A. Short Courses
• Associate in Hotel and Restaurant Services (ladderized)
1 year Caregiver NC II
B. Four-year Programs
• Bachelor of Elementary Education
• Bachelor of Special Education (SPED)
• Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Filipino, English, Mathematics
• Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, major in Marketing Management, Financial Management,
Human Resource Development management, and Entrepreneurial Management
• Bachelor of Science in Criminology
• Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing
• Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics
• Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management
• Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
• Bachelor of Secondary Education
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology
• Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications
C. Five-year Programs
• Bachelor of Science in Accountancy
D. Graduate Programs
• Master of Arts in Education, major in Educational Management
• Master in Business Administration (Special Management Program)
• Master of Arts in Educational Management
• Master of Education (Non-Thesis)
• Master in Business Administration
• Doctor in Public Administration
• Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration
BACKGROUND
It is a universally accepted and highly regarded expectation that all
societies particularly in the developing countries should provide the
necessary social services for the welfare of its citizens. One basic
social service that a government of the state, country, or nation should
undertake is the provision of quality education. Quality education is
essential for creating a sustainable human resource base upon which
to build the development of any country (Lohani,2012).
However, the onset of the 21st century poses insecurities and
instabilities to every society anywhere in the world, due to a growing
need of skilled workforce in all fields of disciplines. This perspective is
re-affirmed by the thoughts of Devesh (2008) as cited by Tham (2011)
that this increasing demand for higher education across the globe
particularly from the youth population of the developing countries is an
important pathway for greater social mobility.
Education and its Constitutional Basis in the Phil. Context
Filipinos have deep regard for education. As such, education occupies a central
place in Philippine political, economic, social, and cultural life. It has always been strongly
viewed as a pillar of national development and a primary avenue for social and economic
mobility.
According to the United Nations (2008) report, a clear evidence of the Filipino value
placed on education is the proportion of the national government budget going to the
sector. The Department of Education (DepEd), known as the Philippines’biggest
bureaucracy is given the highest budget allocation among government agencies each
year as mandated by the Likewise, the same Philippine Constitution 1987 Philippine
Constitution (Article XlV, Sec.5 paragraph 5), guarantees the right to education of
every Filipino. It provided that ‘The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens
to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make education
accessible to all.’
Supporting Laws
• Republic Act No. 9155 known as the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001.
• Republic Act No. 6655 or the Free Secondary Education Act,
(to protect and promote the rights of all Filipinos by providing children free and
compulsory education in the elementary and secondary levels. This refers to 6 years of
free tuition fees for children aged 6 – 11 years old, and free four years of secondary
schooling for those aged 12 to 15 years old.)
Prevailing Issues and Concerns
Despite the preceding legal mechanisms, budget
prioritization and increased access, Philippine education has been
dogged with issues. All the more, government effort to provide
affordable tertiary education is seen as lagging behind. Currently,
the Phil. Education is encountering:
• Rising costs of higher education making college education
unaffordable for many students and their families.
• The persistent state budget constraints have limited funding for
public colleges.
These conditions led to the existing reality in Public
Education in the Phils.,” that state funding for all public
colleges decreased, while tuition fee rises.
Local Government Efforts in Making College Education
Affordable and Accessible
In an effort to curtail the rising cost of tertiary education, local
institutions are constantly making conscious effort to establish tertiary
education accessible to its constituents. The Local Government provides
assistance to students through loans, grants, and work study programs.
These strategies enable the state to play a key role in promoting affordability
in higher education in that they provide a significant amount of financial
support to public colleges and universities.
Following the concepts provided by
Usher and Medow (2010),
access to higher education is the ability of people from all backgrounds to
access higher education on a reasonably equal basis. This is in fact the
issue that confronts all governments throughout the world.
OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of this inquiry is to estimate affordability and
accessibility of higher education offered in the City University for students and
their families. This seeks to provide more objective information for both policymakers and other stakeholders. Likewise, the analysis enables us to better
understand the impact of student assistance policies for increased enrolment.
This very issue inspired the researchers to venture on this study to ascertain that
the efforts of the city government of Marikina to create a local university is a well
– meant strategy in providing affordable and accessible tertiary educational
service to its constituencies as a token of assuming its public accountability.
These are important goals but unfortunately, the same issues are rarely studied
systematically or rigorously
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Specifically, this study attempted to answer the following question:
1.) What affordability indicator/s can be used to define the affordability
and accessibility level of higher education offered by the City University?
2.) What is the cost of higher education offered at the City University?
3.) What other strategies can be adopted by the city government to
enhance the affordability and accessibility of higher education in the City
University?
Methodology
To examine the affordability and accessibility of higher education in this local
university in Marikina City, an acceptable range of indicators as identified by Usher
and Medow (2010) was used. According to these authors, there are four possible
types of indicators that can be used to determine the affordability of education,
namely:
1.) Costs as a fraction of ability to pay (ATP). These are relatively easy to
measure. It encompasses tuition including all mandatory fees, education costs (tuition
plus books and materials), Living expenses (room and board), and total coasts
(education coasts, plus living expenses). All these can be expressed as a function of
an ATP measure.
2.) Support/ATP are various forms of government support should be included in
any calculation of affordability. One way of doing so is measuring Grants, Loans, and
Tax expenditures per student; all of which can all be expressed as a fraction of ATP;
3.).Support/Costs is another way to achieve affordability by measuring
government support as a fraction of the costs student face.
4.) Cost minus support/ATP – a final way of measuring affordability is to calculate
various forms of net costs (cost minus subsidies) or out – of – pocket costs (cost
minus all government assistance) as a fraction of ATP. Any of these measures are
reasonable potential measures of affordability and choosing between them is
necessarily normative exercise.
Results and Discussion
Table 1
Total Cost of College Education at the Marikina City University
Books, uniforms and
other school needs
School Year
2003 - 2004
Total Cost of Education
Php 2,750.00
2004 – 2005
-
do -
2005 - 2006
-
do -
2006 - 2007
Subsidized by City
Government officials and
other government
agencies
-
do -do-
Php 3,250.00
-do -
2007 – 2008
-
do -
2008 – 2009
-
do -
2009 – 2010
-
do -
-
do -
2010 – 2011
-
do -
-
do -
2011 – 2012
-
do -
-
do-
2012 – 2013
-
do -
-
do
2013 – 2014
-do -do -
Php 4, 250.00
2014 – 2015
-
do -
2015 – 2016
-
do -
-do
-
do
-do-
Table 2
Data on Financial Assistance per Government Agency
Government
Number of Recipients
Agency/Program
College Education
Assistance Program
800 students
Marikina
800 students
Congressional
Financial Assistance
(District 1)
Marikina
800 students
Congressional
Financial Assistance
(District 2)
DOLE Special Program
160 students
for the Education of
Students
Department of Social Number of recipients
Welfare and
vary according to
Development
indigence
Former Government 1 student/government
Officials
official
Amount of Subsidy
Php2,500.00/student
Php2,000.00/student
Php2,000.00/student
100% Tuition fee
subsidy
Php1,000.00 –
2,000.00/family
100% Tuition fee
subsidy
Analysis and Interpretations
• Table 2 above summarizes the financial assistance provided by the City Government to sustain
the affordability of higher education in the City University. Added to the financial assistance are
the various scholarship awarded to deserving students based on their academic performance
• As regard the accessibility of education in the City University,

the participation rate is that 65% of the youths in Marikina City seek admission to college
education offered by the City University.

The 35% of those students who graduated from same secondary schools and year of
graduation decided to enrol in other higher education institutions in the National Capital Region.

As regard attainment rate, data from the University Registrar supports that the attainment rate
of
students in this City University is between 55% - 60%. It can be observed that dropout
rate in this City University is very low and majority of the students finished their degree program
on time as prescribed by the City University policy, stipulated in the policy of the Commission on
Higher
Education (CHED). Majority of the students usually finish their program of study in
four years as prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education.
•
On issue of Educational Equity Index (EEI), the socio – economic background of 80% of
parents whose son/daughter is attending City University are those belonging to the working
class such as construction workers, tricycle drivers, taxi drivers, jeepney drivers, vendors,
helpers (domestic), manicurists, sales clerks, and some with some unfinished college degree.
The composition of the student body as a whole is dominated by children from the working class.
•
On the issue of Gender Parity Index (GPI), it showed that there is a slight difference between
the male and female student – attendees. Female students are slightly higher in numbers than
their male counter parts.
Conclusion
• It
can
be
concluded
that
the
over-all
accessibility level of the higher education in
the
City
University
of
Marikina
can
be
described as highly accessible as shown by
the preceding discussion.
• Furthermore, higher education provided by the
City University of Marikina is affordable and
accessible to all constituents of the city.
Based on the findings, the following strategies maybe adopted by the City
Government of Marikina to enhance the affordability and accessibility of higher
education in the City University:
1. Student loans program for students who belong to the poorest of the poor
is highly recommended to enhance the financial assistance schemes of
the City University.
2. There should be a financial assistance program to encourage students to
enroll in courses that are in-demand or with board exams.
3. Work Study program is also a viable strategy for alleviating the condition of
the poor students in the City.
References
Asian Development Bank (2012). Access without Equity? Finding a Better Balance in Higher
Education in Asia.
Devesh, K. (2008). Higher Education in Developing Countries. Paper presented at the Second
Annual GDI Forum.
Ejere. Emmanuel S. I. (2012). Promoting Accountability in Public Sector Management in Today
Democratic Nigeria
Murakami, Yuki and Blom, Andreas (2008). Accessibility and Affordability of Tertiary
Education in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru within the Global Context.
The World
American and Caribbean Region Human
Development Sector.
Bank. Latin
OECD Observer (2008). Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Policy Brief Philippine Education for All 2015:
Implementation and Challenges (2015).
Shadreck, Mandina and Herbert, Chiheve (2013). ‘Quality and Accountability in Education:
What Say the School Heads. Educational Research International, Volume 2,
No 2.
Tham, Siew Yean (2011). Exploring Access and Equity im Malaysian Private Higher Education.
ADBI Working Paper No. 280, ADB Institute.
United States Government Accountability Office (2014). Higher Education: State Funding
Trends and Policies on Affordability. Report to the Chairman, Committee on
Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions, United State Senate.
Universities Australia (2013). An Agenda for Australian Higher Education 2013 – 2016: A
Smarter Australia. Creative Commons Attribution.
Usher, Alex and Medow, Jon (2010). Global Higher Education Rankings: Affordability and
Accessibility in Comparative Perspective. Higher Education Strategy
Associates.
Marcucci, Pamela and Usher, Alex (2012). 2011 Year in Review: Global changes in Tuition Fee
Policies
and
Student
Assistance
Retrieved
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