By ILOILO CITY – Different student groups and councils criticized the new enrollment compliance form issued by the West Visayas State University administration as part of the enrollment process.
Said student compliance form was announced by the Office of the Student Affairs as part of the requirements for enrollment through Memorandum No. 2023-027. Under the said memo, students are obliged to sign a form to show their “commitment to abide by the rules and regulations set forth by the university administration”. Moreover, students, by signing the form, also acknowledge that “failure to comply with these rules and regulations may result in disciplinary action, including but not limited to warnings, probation, suspension, or expulsion from the university”.
Sandigan ng Mag-aaral para sa Sambayanan (SAMASA) – WVSU, together with other organizations and representatives from the University Student Council and College of Communication Student Council, was alarmed by said compliance form.
In a position paper, said student organizations and councils highlighted the vagueness of the ‘rules and regulations set forth by the university administration’ as there is already a student handbook where university rules were stated. Moreover, they also said that they were not consulted prior to the implementation of the policy even though they have the “right to participate in the formulation of policies of the university” as stated under the revised student handbook.
According to Arlie Bosque of SAMASA-WVSU, they worry that this might be used by the university administration to arbitrarily enforce rules that may affect students’ rights and welfare.
It can be noted that said memorandum was announced last December 22, 2023, but students report that they were only informed last January 6, 2024, days prior to the start of the enrollment.
Meanwhile, some students have signed the compliance form under “duress” as a form of protest./PT
