The phenomenon of ‘grade inflation’
If you think inflation is just an economic term, not anymore. Apparently, it also applies to academics now.
Randy David, an opposition stalwart, writes about grade inflation as a result of UP producing a record-high number of graduating students with Latin honors. The highest honor is Summa Cum Laude. Magna Cum Laude is second. Cum Laude is average.
The phenomenon first reared its head with the first digitized bar exams. If before the passing average barely reached the 50% mark, that bar exam for 2020 – 2021 hit the 72.28% mark. This was adding insult to injury in a country which has too many lawyers to begin with.
UP always prides itself in being the premier academic institution in the country and it is a state university which makes for an even higher distinction since most state universities in the Philippines are dispossessed of rigorous academic standards.
David attributes the higher percentage of graduates with Latin honors to the pandemic, with the directive of leniency for students given the exigencies faced by students and the inability of faculty to fact-check papers for authenticity. Gen Zers and millenials are known as the copy-and-paste generation in the academe. Then again, this is not only true for undergraduates but those who are also enrolled in post-graduate programs.
It’s also not limited to students per se, but also adults who are government employees or those employed in academic institutions, where the basis for promotion is continuing higher education.
This is one of the reasons why our education system is in such a mess. It is not anymore about the quality being measured in terms of efficiency and effectivity, but more in the credentials of faculty members. It’s also about the fact that anyone with an Education degree who passed the Teacher licensure exam, can be employed as a teacher. But nowadays, a Master’s and PhD can be bought in some public educational institutions. Teaching positiions thereafter can be had through political patronage which is inherent in higher educational institutions. Even the appointments of President’s to these institutions is fraught with politics which is why open selection, even if supervised by the CHED, is a joke. CHED itself is a snakepit when it comes to the selection process.
What David doesn’t recognize is how the quality of UP alumni have come down in recent years. It’s related to politics as most UP alumni are active in espousing leftist-liberal ideology.
The best example is Jan Carlo Punongbayan of the UP School of Economics. Punongbayan has been proselytizing about economics while writing for Rappler as a Thought Leader. He’s become controversial because he deems himself an expert when he’s not which is why he has difficulty hiding his asininity.
In fact, a study should be made about academics in government when it comes to policy formulation. There is a gap between theory and practice. Technocrats tend to be academics who don’t have experience in the private sector. Think of the NEDA heads in the past whose economic theories didn’t actually translate into real growth along with their policy formulas for business.
Contrast this with Duterte’s economic team which was composed of both academics and actual entrepreneurs. The level of economic reforms under Duterte has been praised because of its practicality and impact on the realities on the ground. It’s defnitely not lip service legislation.
Latin honors isn’t just the issue. It’s also about the lack of meritocracy and professionalism both in government and the private sector. What David says about the system is true but he doesn’t see it with objectivity in mind. It’s all about protecting the ecosystem and reputation of UP.
What David and UP should be concerned about is how the institution doesn’t contribute as much as it should to nation-building given it is a state university. UP faculty and students think of themselves as an independent republic, paying no heed to the fact that its taxpayers who fund the institution.
This is why we continue to lag behind our more progressive ASEAN neighbors.
Comments