Educational Prestige Should Never Become Educational Prejudice
*Dr. Rodolfo John Ortiz Teope, PhD, EdD, DM
One evening, like millions of Filipinos, I found myself watching the Senate impeachment proceedings. Bilang isang professor, hindi lang ang legal arguments ang pinakikinggan ko. I also pay attention to the narratives, the words being used, and the subtle messages that public officials unintentionally communicate to the Filipino people.
In one part of the proceedings, I noticed a senator-lawyer repeatedly mentioning UP Law and Ateneo Law while discussing the legal profession. Let me immediately make one thing clear. There is absolutely nothing wrong with recognizing these institutions. They have earned their reputation through decades of academic excellence and have produced some of the country’s finest lawyers, jurists, legislators, and public servants.
But as I continued watching, one simple question quietly entered my mind.
“Wala na bang ibang law schools sa Pilipinas?”
That question was never meant to criticize those universities. It was directed at a mindset that has quietly existed in our society for many years.
Because somewhere in the country, there was probably a lawyer watching that same hearing—a lawyer who graduated from a state university in Mindanao, a provincial law school in the Visayas, or a private college in Luzon. Like every other law graduate, they spent countless nights studying the Constitution, memorizing jurisprudence, reading case after case, and preparing for one of the most difficult professional examinations in the country.
When the Bar Examination was checked, nobody asked where they graduated.
Only one thing mattered.
Did they pass or not?
That realization made me think that the issue goes far beyond the legal profession.
It is about educational discrimination.
For decades, our society has unconsciously developed a culture where the name of a university is sometimes treated as a shortcut for competence. In conversations, in professional circles, and even in recruitment, certain schools are mentioned as though they alone define excellence. The unintended consequence is that graduates from hundreds of other universities and colleges are made to feel as though they must first overcome prejudice before they can prove themselves.
That is unfair.
This is not just happening in law.
Makikita rin ito sa accounting, engineering, architecture, nursing, education, criminology, information technology, business, at maging sa government service. There are still job advertisements that openly or subtly prefer graduates from selected universities. Some applicants are judged by the name printed on their résumé before anyone has even looked at their experience, their professional license, or their actual accomplishments.
Sa madaling salita, nauuna ang pangalan ng paaralan kaysa sa kakayahan ng tao.
Yet the reality of professional life tells a different story.
Every year, we see graduates from state universities, local colleges, and lesser-known private institutions becoming board topnotchers. We have seen regional universities outperform larger institutions in certain licensure examinations. Across the country, outstanding judges, doctors, engineers, accountants, police officers, military leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, researchers, and public servants have come from schools that are rarely mentioned in national conversations.
Excellence does not belong exclusively to a handful of universities.
Pare-pareho lang naman ang Board Examination.
Pare-pareho lang ang Bar Examination.
Pare-pareho rin ang professional standards na kailangang maabot upang maging lisensiyadong propesyonal.
Hindi nagbabago ang passing grade depende sa pangalan ng eskwelahan.
And after graduation, the real examination begins.
Hindi tinatanong ng pasyente kung saan nagtapos ang doktor habang siya ay nasa operating room. Ang gusto niyang malaman ay kung mahusay ba ang doktor.
Hindi tinatanong ng kliyente ang engineer kung saan siya nagtapos kapag gumagawa ng tulay. Ang mahalaga ay kung ligtas ang disenyo.
Hindi rin tinatanong ng isang litigant ang abogado kung UP ba siya, Ateneo ba siya, o galing sa isang provincial law school. Ang gusto niyang makita ay kung kaya bang ipaglaban ang kanyang kaso nang may husay, integridad, at propesyonalismo.
The workplace is where competence is measured.
Not the classroom.
This is why I believe it is time for the Philippines to have a serious national conversation about educational discrimination.
Again, this is not an attack against UP, Ateneo, De La Salle, or any other prestigious institution. In fact, they should continue raising the standards of Philippine education because the nation needs excellent universities.
The problem begins when admiration becomes exclusion.
When prestige becomes prejudice.
When the name of a school is treated as if it automatically determines intelligence, competence, leadership, or character.
No university, no matter how prestigious, has a monopoly on excellence.
Talent exists in every province.
Brilliance exists in every classroom.
Leadership exists in every community.
And potential exists in every Filipino willing to learn, work hard, and serve.
Perhaps it is time for Congress to study whether stronger safeguards against unjust educational discrimination in recruitment and employment are necessary. Such a policy should encourage employers to evaluate applicants primarily on competence, experience, professional qualifications, integrity, and measurable performance rather than relying on assumptions based solely on educational pedigree.
Government should lead by example. Public service belongs to every Filipino who possesses the qualifications required by law, not only to graduates of a select group of institutions.
Sa bandang huli, hindi naman ang pangalan ng paaralan ang naglilingkod sa bayan.
Hindi ang pangalan ng paaralan ang nagliligtas ng pasyente.
Hindi ang pangalan ng paaralan ang nagtatanggol sa inosente sa hukuman.
Hindi ang pangalan ng paaralan ang nagdidisenyo ng ligtas na tulay.
Hindi ang pangalan ng paaralan ang nagtuturo sa isang bata na maging mabuting mamamayan.
At hindi rin ang pangalan ng paaralan ang lumalaban para sa interes ng sambayanang Pilipino.
Ang gumagawa ng lahat ng iyon ay isang taong may kakayahan, may integridad, may malasakit, at may dedikasyong magsilbi.
Perhaps it is time that we stop asking,
“Saan ka nagtapos?”
And begin asking the questions that truly matter.
Ano ang kaya mong gawin?
Ano ang napatunayan mo?
Ano ang naitulong mo sa iyong propesyon, sa iyong komunidad, at sa ating bayan?
Because in the end, the name of a school may introduce a person.
But it never defines the person.
Competence defines the professional.
Integrity defines the leader.
Character defines the individual.
And service to the nation defines a meaningful life.
If we truly believe in equal opportunity, then it is time to end educational discrimination—not by lowering standards, but by ensuring that every Filipino is judged by merit, performance, and integrity rather than by the name of the school printed on a résumé.
That is the kind of meritocracy the Philippines deserves.
#DJOT
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