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Eighty-eight private colleges and universities in Metro
Manila will increase tuition by an average of 7.66
percent in school year 2007-2008, the Commission on
Higher Education (Ched) said on Monday.
Carlito
Puno, Ched chairman, said that the commission approved
the tuition increase owing to the existing collective
bargaining agreements (CBAs), between the schools and
their academic and nonacademic staffs.
The CBAs
mandate a 10-percent increase in the salaries of
teachers and school personnel on a yearly basis.
Earlier,
Ched and the Coordinating Council for Private Education
Association had a series of meetings to tackle tuition
increase as schools are not allowed to hike fees
exceeding the inflation rate. The inflation rate is
recorded at 6.2 percent.
Ched
changed its position and gave in to the private schools,
saying it will be for the improvement of the quality of
education.
Out of
the 299 private colleges in Metro Manila, 88, or 29
percent, asked for an increase, and 50 of these sought
increases below the 6.2-percent inflation rate.
Puno
added that because of the yearly increase in tuition,
students are being forced to transfer from private
schools to state colleges and universities. He said that
private colleges and universities are losing 1 percent
of their student population to state-run universities
and colleges yearly.
Namei
Polytechnic Institute in Mandaluyong City had the
highest increase at 64.28 percent.
Saint Louis
College
in Valenzuela registered the lowest increase at 0.94
percent.
Records
from the DepEd-National Capital Region identified some
of the schools as Trinity University of Asia in Quezon
City (20 percent), Jesu-Marie School in Parañaque (20
percent) La Salle-Greenhills in Mandaluyong (7 percent)
and Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA) in Greenhills,
San Juan
(5 percent to 8 percent).
La
Salle-Greenhills charges the highest tuition for the
kinder level at P75,000 compared to
ICA at P59,000.
Teresita
Dumalanta, DepEd NCR director, said the tuition increase
will cover adjustments in teachers’ salaries and
improvement of school facilities.
Dumalanta said the private schools have the discretion
to increase tuition rates but DepEd regulations require
them to submit a letter and seek approval from parents.
Party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran of Anakpawis, meanwhile,
protested the Ched’s approval of a tuition increase of
up to 8 percent for 80 private colleges and universities
nationwide.
“Ched
has taken the word of the private schools that they are
severely affected by inflation. What about the parents
of the students? Aren’t they affected by inflation?
Where will they get the additional funds to cover the
increase in tuition fees? Malacañang and the Ched
approved a tuition increase without first consulting
with students and their families. Also, it’s not just
the private institutions that will be jacking their
fees, but the government-run schools, universities and
colleges as well,” Beltran said.
“There
has been no substantial increase in the wages and
salaries of the parents of the students; how will they
accommodate this new increase in tuition fees?
Malacañang has essentially vetoed legislation that will
enable workers in both the private and public sectors to
benefit from a P125 wage increase or a P3,000 increase
in salary,” Beltran added.
He also
scored Malacañang for its promise to provide
scholarships to indigent students through a new
P187-million scholarship program.
“And how
much will each congressman give per student? P5,000 to
P7,000 maximum per year? That’s not much of a
scholarship given the increase in tuition and other
fees. Also, there is no guarantee that the P187 million
will go the intended beneficiaries. Unscrupulous
lawmakers might very well use the funds to serve their
own personal and political interests, at the expense of
projected beneficiaries,” he said. |
