CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Thirty-five out of 185 private colleges and universities in Central Luzon have increased their tuition fees by about P50 per unit this coming school year.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) regional office here said the increase is about 22.2 percent of current rates and would be used to increase the salaries of teachers and upgrade facilities.
CHED Regional Director Dr. Virginia Akiate said 36 colleges and universities in Central Luzon actually sought approval for tuition fee increase. Only one was not approved.
All the petitions underwent the usual process before their approval or disapproval, Akiate added.
She cited CHED Memorandum Order No. 13 issued in 1998 which provides that increases in tuition fees could be done by private schools only in consultation with the affected sectors.
“It’s a process. First, the schools must inform the CHED 15 days before they will inform the public regarding the tuition fee hike. School officials need to discuss it with students, parents, alumni, especially the student organizations,” Akiate said.
She also said the 35 schools which were allowed to increase tuition are required to submit to CHED a certificate of intended compliance with their proposal to use the funds from the tuition hike for teachers’ salaries and improvement of school facilities.
Akiate noted that 70 percent of tuition fees in colleges and universities normally go to the salaries of teachers and 20 percent to upgrade of school facilities, thus leaving only 10 percent profit.
“We hope the number of enrollees in the private colleges and universities would not decrease due to tuition fee hike. But we have to understand that private schools need to upgrade their facilities in order to cope with the times,” she said.
Akaite said that tertiary level students have many options, anyway. She said they can opt to enroll at state colleges and universities with standards no lower than private schools.
