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The University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City recently revealed that one of their summa cum laude graduates this year — BS Biology student Tiffany Uy — got a general weighted average (GWA) of 1.004. Uy’s GWA was tagged as the “highest general weighted average (GWA) in UP since World War II.”
Uy joins 28 other summa cum laude graduates in this year’s batch of UP Diliman graduates. This high number is part of a so-called “grade inflation” trend that was discussed in an Inquirer.net article, “Latin honors in bulk.”
In the Inquirer.net article, it was noted: “Since 1949, when the University of the Philippines (UP) moved to Diliman, Quezon City, until 1984, the university’s summa cum laude (SCL) graduates on its main campus numbered in single digits.” However, as the report pointed out, there have been more and more summa cum laudes as the years progressed.
The article went on to cite some faculty members who revealed that grade inflation was a complex matter. It is this matter that, most likely, prompted a UP professor named Gerardo Lanuza to write a Facebook post, which was made available to the public, pertaining to the matter:
Needless to say, Lanuza’s comment got mixed reactions. There were those who agreed with him, saying that grades should not be the end-all and be-all of a UP education.
There were also manny comments who slammed Lanuza for having “crab mentality,” as his statement was interpreted as a potshot against Uy and other graduates with honors.
Lanuza has said that he wasn’t referring to anyone in particular with his Facebook post. In fact, it should be noted that the topic is one that Lanuza has long been passionate about.
In 2011, Lanuza had written an opinion piece for the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled, “The ‘invisible religion’ of the grade-conscious.
In the said piece, Lanuza had pointed out: “Like any religion, being grade-conscious has its doctrine: Grades are objective, and a teacher’s personality does not count for she is just an instrument for dispensing the sacrament of grades (Catholic doctrine of ex opere operato). It has also its myths: Grades are the ticket to success, grades define one being, and they predict one’s income later.”
As of early Sat, Jun 27, Lanuza’s now-controversial Facebook has gotten 1,581 likes, 497 comments, and 1,21 shares. Lanuza has explained in a follow-up post that his statement was not directed at anybody in particular.
Photo: WikiCommons
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