University of Puerto Rico Professors Denounce Budget Cut And Tuition Hike Would Reduced Enrollment

[TexasTowelie]

The vice-president of the Puerto Rican Association of University Professors (APPU), Javier Córdova, denounced on Thursday that the budget cut to the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and the increase in tuition proposed by the Financial Oversight and Management Board would actually reduce the number of students who enroll at the university and will cause the dismissal of employees.

“The blow is going to be so severe that it will cause a deep restructuring in the university that will involve leaving people without work, not hiring people ... I understand that if we cannot avoid reducing these $300 million that they [the Fiscal Board] are spoking about for the next few years, they [UPR’s administration] will have to get to that [deep restructuring]. But we will keep fighting to prevent it,” Cordova said in a radio interview.

Córdova reacted to the new $86 million cut to the budget of the UPR proposed by the Board, as well as the increase from $115 to $124 for each university credit at the undergraduate level, as well as an increase to credits at the graduate level.

“That [tuition hikes] starts for classes in August. They will receive that blow despite the blow they already received this year. Many students are taking fewer classes because they have to work in order to pay tuition. This is the plan of the Fiscal Control Board, to reduce the number of students,” he said.

Read more: http://www.sanjuanweeklypr.com/pdf/Jun-7-19/local.pdf
(San Juan Daily Star) (Page 6 of 6)