The perks of studying at a public university, such as free tuition, allowances, and bragging rights, can only go so far, especially when you seem to greet the reaper and be urged to shed sweat, blood, and tears to survive a school year full of semestral examinations, departmental tests, and high expectations.

Having free education also means having high qualifications and standards that the university imposes on its students in order for them to remain worthy of the entitlement. Retention grades and passing departmental examinations are just some of the trials an "Iskolar ng Bayan" needs to overcome for us to continue studying in universities. Though school activities, reports, assignments, and assessments are a natural part of studying, they become unreasonable when they become too much. There are frequent times when the university throws spears from left and right, giving us one task after another and asking us to complete assignments in a small amount of time, leading to sleepless nights, irregular routines, and unhealthy living.

Teachers, parents, and students have different views regarding how much school work is considered reasonable. Educators provide considerations to help the students catch up and comply with their requirements. For instance, class discussion topics are taught one chapter at a time. University professors also give activities that are supposed to be completed and passed until the next class or week. In addition, examinations are also scheduled as discretely as possible within the span of the examination week. Some projects are done by peers to lessen the work load and the resources needed such as the money required in buying materials. These seems reasonable enough from the perspective of the teachers and yet the students are still piled up with school works. The main reason is that, students that are “Iskolar ng Bayan” typically come from a poor family and their life does not only revolve in studying. They have other responsibilities and needs that are not covered in having free education. Furthermore, college students do not study only one subject course. A single semester usually consists of 9 courses with 27 units in total. Thus, idealistically achievable and attainable tasks from a single subject course is multiplied into the total subject courses a student is taking becomes challenging and exhausting.

It is rather normal for such circumstances to happen inside an educational institution because the university just wants to bring out the best in their students. However, a study at Harvard conducted by Sarah Green Carmichael shows that regardless of the reasons for working long hours, overworking does not help us. The same notion applies in an educational setting; even though we study for longer hours, it won’t help us achieve the objectives of the university; it is more likely to backfire when our health, both mental and physical, deteriorates. In addition, a research conducted by Clifton Parker in Stanford University states that spending more than two hours in doing homework can be detrimental to the students in facets such as health, balance, and socialization. Studying hard is a common concept being imposed on students, especially scholars, but it is far different from studying smart. Studying hard can be stagnant and stressful, whereas studying smart will provide you with more productivity, more efficiency, and reduced stress, according to a blog author, Krati.

Education is naturally challenging, but there is a clear line between challenging and draining. A strict public university does not realize how much pressure, burden, and difficulty they put on students just because their vision of a scholar is someone who can deal with all the academic feats. Though it would be seen as an excuse for excellence, "Iskolar ng Bayan" are just like any other students that are still learning, progressing, and making their way to becoming a significant part of society. It is disheartening to think that the price for free public education are the things that are much expensive and valuable than money. Is the essence of strict universities’ free education just an irony and illusion that deludes and chains the students into doing things that are beyond reasonable?