IS THE Sanggunian’s autonomy threatened?
For Sanggu, the grading and defense of the Year-End Status (YES) Report before a panel of representatives from the administration threatens its independence as the student government. Sanggu President Gio Tingson said that while the Office of Student Activities (OSA) has been their major partner in student formation, Sanggu’s job is to assert its autonomy and accountability.
The YES Report or Year-End Status Report is part of OSA’s Performance Management System (PMS).
“This started as a monitoring and accreditation system for the organizations,” said OSA Director Chris Castillo. “The basic objective of the PMS is to set the goals of the organization, monitor its implementation, and finally evaluate the performance of the orgs.”
Though the YES report panels were scheduled on February 15 to 19, Sanggu decided not to participate.
Sanggu submitted their YES reports “as a courtesy to the office it has long been a partner of and in recognition of the benefits of this tool to the performance of the student government.” It is the panel and grading that Sanggu finds problematic.
“Wag niyo naman bigyan ng grado [ang Sanggu] kasi hindi naman kami accountable sa [OSA] (They shouldn’t grade Sanggu because we aren’t accountable to OSA),” said Tingson.
The incumbent Sanggu Top 4 initiated the move to not participate in the YES Report panels. The final decision was made based on a consensus by elected Sanggu officers, and different Sanggu sectors and departments.
The system
The PMS has been followed by accredited organizations for the past two years, and the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA) Central Board and Sanggu for one year.
Since its implementation, the grading and feedback system has been improved. “We know the limits of PMS, so when we decided to test it for COA and Sanggu, [we intended] to customize it to fit their needs,” said Castillo.
However, no concrete changes for Sanggu have been given by OSA, since this is still in the planning stage and will fully materialize by summer.
At the beginning of each school year, orgs set goals and success-indicators that would be the basis for the PMS.
“The goals set cater to goal standards of all orgs: leadership development, communication, membership formation and project management,” said Castillo. “There are also core competencies, which is already unique to the organization.”
“[The PMS] provides for a more systematic means of documentation and transition for succeeding administrations,” said Tingson. He added that the system aids organizations to be more focused, grounded, and directed towards a sustainable approach to the organization’s well being.
Review
“The PMS has not been particularly helpful in measuring the successes or failures of the Sanggunian’s core competencies,” added Tingson.
Tingson said that the timeframe followed by the PMS is not always applicable to certain units of the Sanggu. “It is too constricted to the point that it is hard to act major changes when the need arises, and there are emergencies.”
However, he clarified they aren’t calling for an abolishment of the PMS but a review.
The PMS, he says, limits organizations and the Sanggu in the same way that it aids in focusing yearly goals and activities. He added that the PMS limits the possibility of changing organizational goals in the middle of the school year.
“Student governments are reactive. We respond to national issues and the like,” Tingson said. He added that the PMS should have room for other indicators to measure organizational success.
“Instead of seeing the value of teamwork in the org or in Sanggu, students only think of the PMS,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Tingson said that aside from openness to changes, there are other things that need to be adjusted in the PMS. “Other things we are pushing for are greater emphasis on core competencies and better documentation.”
Not restricted
Castillo said they acknowledge and respect the autonomy of the Sanggunian as a student government. “But in the end they are still students and this autonomy entails a level of maturity and responsibility, which we are helping provide for them.”
“Before one can learn to stand and walk on its own, someone has to guide them first. And I can say with pride that the group has now matured as compared to the previous ones,” he added.
Regarding the success indicators and grading system, Castillo said that not meeting these indicators does not translate to the failure of any project. “These are goals to give them direction, but in situations where it is not met, we also take into consideration other factors.”
“The indicators do not limit these groups, rather the results of these indicators will serve as a point of discussion for further improvement,” added Castillo.
Dialogue
As of press time, Sanggu and its various units dialogued with OSA in order to clarify and improve the PMS.
“It’s a political move to position ourselves as Sanggu. But I think that in the long run, the Sanggunian and OSA will benefit from this move,” Tingson said.
Castillo said that OSA is still conceptualizing the changes to the PMS system.
“The changes that will occur are still in the conceptual level but the ideas are already in place and the groups are amenable to it,” said Castillo.
Castillo said although OSA is taking the necessary measures, he pointed out that the student group who should strengthen their checking and evaluation of Sanggu is the Student Judicial Court (SJC).
“Being the arm or unit in charge of checking, we still have to teach SJC how to properly audit Sanggu,” he said.
