Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) – The youth group Kabataan Party-list is calling on President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to issue a moratorium on the impending tuition hike of over 1,000 schools nationwide.
“Ordering a blanket tuition moratorium is the least the government could do to help ease the burden of students and their parents. It is doable, it is possible,” incoming Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago said in a statement on Thursday.
The Department of Education (DepEd) has approved the applications of 1,232 private elementary and secondary schools to increase tuition and other school fees as of Wednesday.
This is 10 percent of the total 12,072 private schools in the country.
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A total of 304 colleges and universities will also increase tuition and miscellaneous fees after getting clearance to do so from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
According to CHED, the average increase in tuition is at 5 percent or P43.39 per unit and around P115.58 more in miscellaneous fees.
DepEd and CHED said the approval of tuition hikes underwent due process.
“Schools who were approved for the tuition fee (sic) hike had undergone steps to ensure that the increase is reasonable and in accordance with DepEd guidelines which states that 70% of the increase must go to teachers’ salaries,” the DepEd said in a news release.
It added the schools were asked to submit proper documentation proving that consultation was done among stakeholders.
It also said only 12 percent of the 24 million elementary and high school students were in private schools.
For its part, CHED said it ensured that higher education institutions (HEIs) “meet the guidelines provided by law, especially the requirement of consultation, the proper allocation of tuition fees, and strict adherence with the processes that seek to make tuition and other school fee increases transparent, reasonable and affordable.”
‘Unacceptable’
The League of Filipino Students (LFS) slammed DepEd and CHED’s separate decisions, saying these were “unacceptable.”
LFS national secretary-general Aries Gupit said with the implementation of the government’s K to 12 program, up to a million students would be forced to enroll in private schools that offer the essential senior high program.
Watch: Teachers fear loss of jobs due to K-12
“This is horrendous – a crime on top of another crime,” Gupit said.
He also took a swipe at the administration of outgoing President Benigno Aquino III which “doubled the national average tuition rate from 30 to 50 thousand pesos in 2010 into 60 to 100 thousand pesos in 2015.”
The Kabataan Party-list fears the rising cost of education would further decrease the number of students who will finish schooling.
Citing government figures, Elago said “for every 100 students who enter Grade 1, only 66 finish Grade 6, while only 43 will be able to finish high school. Of this number, only 23 will be able to continue studying at the tertiary level and only 14 will graduate.”
The youth party is counting on the incoming administration of Duterte, who will assume office on June 30, to heed their call.
