KABATAAN Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel lauded State University and College presidents and officials in taking a united stand on the restoration of budget cuts for SUCs.

“Pinasasalamatan at pinagpupugayan po natin ang ating SUC Presidents sa pagtindig para sa karapatan ng higit 2.1 milyong iskolar ng bayan sa libre at de kalidad na edukasyon. Hinihikayat natin ang mas marami pang opisyal, estudyante, guro, kawani, magulang at iba pang bahagi ng ating komunidad na tumindig para sa edukasyon ng ating mga kabataan – para sa kinabukasan ng bayan,” Manuel said.

The 36 SUCs issued a unity statement seeking higher budget for education.

“We, the undersigned, hereby register our call to the Philippine Congress to restore the budget cuts to all State Universities and Colleges and to further augment the Higher Education Budget,” they said.

“Additional budget is needed for our learning institutions to regain their public character and provide ample support for student services and faculty development. If our state universities and colleges are to be expected to do their duties, they must be funded accordingly,” they added.

The statement said that for a long time, the Philippine Higher Education system has been in crisis especially during the pandemic.

“We have yet to fully recover from it, even though the administration has lifted the state of national emergency imposed by the Covid19 pandemic. It is more important than ever for the government to recognize, respect, and protect the Filipino people’s right to education,” the SUC Presidents said.

They reminded the lawmakers that education is a fundamental right that should be accessible to all.

“It plays a vital role in empowering individuals and shaping a just society. However, the current state of our education system fails to adequately cater to the needs of our students due to inadequate financial support,” they added.