Five Ways The University Of Puerto Rico Does More Than You Think

While the government of Puerto Rico is attacking the life of the University of Puerto Rico by proposing a cut of $ 300 million dollars to the budget of the UPR without reference to the reason of it, I will show you reasons for which the UPR represents not only the education of present and future generations but also a social benefit through different programs that, with this cut, would be setting their date of death.

Every single human being should have the right to get free education, or at least a low cost one. We should all know that education is not about money but about making people capable of doing things that will contribute not only for a country but for the whole world. The University of Puerto Rico brings these tools to thousands of students every year at the 11 campuses around the island. The cut of $300 millions to the university budget means lot of difficulties not only for students but for the faculty and employees too. Overall, this huge cut means the -more than possible- close of 8 campuses, the elimination of classes and sections, a poor maintenance for all campuses, they will not hire new professors to suffice the academic demand, there would be no room for all applicant students and so on.

The University of Puerto Rico is known not exclusively for its education but for other programs too. Some of the programs that will be impacted by the cuts are:

University High School

UHS / Via uhs.upr.edu

The University High School is located in University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. This program brings education to almost 500 students from 7th to 12th grade. The students are teach by UPR professors to prepare them for the college life and this will be impacted by the budget cuts.

Centro Universitario para el Acceso

CUA / Via cua.uprm.edu

The ‘Centro Universitario para el Acceso’ known as CUA, is a program that provides tutoring and mentor for low-income students from public housing and public schools. The program seeks to promote the importance of university education and help them maintain a good academic performance through their middle and high school so they can fulfill their goals and enter the university they want, being the UPR the first option since it is the most economic academic institution in Puerto Rico. This program is available in almost 6 of the campuses and it will not survive these cuts.

Programa Educación Continua

Via educon.uprm.edu

‘Programa Educación Continua’ does not provide a degree but provides classes and certifications in various areas that could be of great help to any citizen. The classes vary from some languages like Mandarin, French and Italian to interior decor and even billing of medical plans. This could be used by retired persons, those who have been removed from studies or those who simply wish to have knowledge of something else. This program is available in almost every campus of the University of Puerto Rico.

Programa Siempre Vivas

Via siemprevivas.uprm.edu

Siempre Vivas is a feminist program that provides different services to domestic violence victims like support groups for women, individual counseling, legal intercession, counseling to sons and daughters and other things that will have an impact not only the person but also the society. This program will also be impacted by the $300 million cuts and may not work the way it has been doing for the past years.

Presencias

Via uprm.edu

Presencias is an educational-cultural program that integrates Puerto Rican arts and culture not only for students and the university community but for the general public. The program brings local artists -and even ones with international recognition- semester by semester for promoting culture purposes in the Puerto Rican people that not only influence our knowledge but also in our daily life and the way we see life and the world.

We should all fight for a better education, better opportunities and for a better Puerto Rico, not only for us but for the generations that will come and will need a decent place to live. The education and the health of people are not options to cut budget excessively, but on the contrary, to implement strategies that support and improve the systems since it is economically proven that a country that has education and health of first quality is a country which thrives.

¡La Universidad es del Pueblo!

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