Kristel Tejada, 16, a freshman Behavioral Science student at the University of the Philippines Manila, killed herself at around 7 a.m. Mar. 15, the Manila Collegian said via Facebook.
UP Manila's official student publication added that "financial constraints may have triggered the suicide as Tejada was forced to file for leave of absence (LOA) last Wednesday."
Tejada is the eldest of five children of a taxi driver and a housewife, the Manila Collegian said.
A university professor meanwhile earlier said Tejada had filed for leave of absence due to UP Manila's "no late payment" policy.
"[S]tudents are advised to file LOA if they failed to meet the deadline of tuition payment," UP Manila Prof. Carl Marc Ramota said via Facebook.
The "no late payment" and "forced LOA" policies have been called "anti-student" since their implementation last year.
The new rules have also been slammed for failing to ease students' financial burden amid recent tuition hikes in the university.
Reached by Yahoo! Southeast Asia, the UP Manila's Information, Publication and Public Affairs Office (IPPAO) refused to provide details or comment on the incident.
Administration officials are still confirming reports and are set to meet, IPPAO said, adding that a probe will likely be launched.
UP Student Regent Cleve Arguelles, for his part, said he was "saddened by the news [but] still outraged by the policy."
"The case of Kristel Tejada was not a suicide," Arguelles said via Facebook Friday.
"She was killed by the system--a system that refuses to recognize that education is a right, that life is measured in your capacity to pay," he added.
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