304 colleges to hike tuition, other fees
The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) yesterday announced that 304 private higher education institutions (HEIs) have been given the go signal to increase tuition and other school fees for Academic Year (AY) 2016-2017.
CHEd Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, in a statement said, the “average increase in tuition is 5.10 percent or the equivalent of 143.39 per unit, while increase in other school fees is 5.41 percent or 1115.58.”
CHEd approved the applica-
tions for tuition and other fees increase of the HEIs during its 471st Joint Management Committee and Commission en banc meeting.
“Considering the total population of private HEIs, the average increase in tuition or other school fees is less than one percent (1%),” the Commission said. “These increases vary depending on the HEI and the region,” CHEd added.
Data from CHEd showed that in regions with the highest number of HEIs, the “average per unit increase in tuition is 168.44 or 5 percent for NCR; 123.39 or 3.2 percent for Region IV-A; and 133.41 or 6.14 percent for Region III. For other school fees, the increases are 157.52 or 5.14 percent for NCR; 1138.36 or 3.22 percent for Region IV-A; and 1487.71 or 5.28 percent for Region III.”
CHEd said that in deciding on the reasonableness of tuition and other school fees, the Commission is guided by (a) Section 42 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 232 or the “Education Act of 1982” which provides that, “each private school shall determine its rate of tuition and other school fees or charges… subject to rules and regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports” (now DepEd, TESDA and CHEd).
CHEd said that the second guiding principle in allowing tuition increase is the Republic Act 6728 or the “Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act,” which requires HEIs, for every incremental tuition increase, “to allocate 70 percent of the increase for the payment of salaries, wages, allowances and other benefits of teaching and non-teaching personnel; 20 percent for the improvement and/or acquisition of facilities, or modernization of buildings, equipment, libraries, laboratories and other similar facilities and the payment of other costs of operation; and 10 percent for the return on investment if they are stock corporations, otherwise, the remainder is to be utilized for the operation of the institution.”
Thirdly, CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 3, series of 2012 or the “Enhanced Policies, Guidelines and Procedures Governing Increases in Tuition and Other School Fees, Introduction of New Fees, and for Other Purposes,” which takes into account the following factors: “regional inflation rate, financial standing of the institution, financial capacity of the general studentry, impact of force majeure or calamities, quality track record of the school, and the mission and vision of the institution.”
Next is the “education deflator” which “measures the average cost of providing education services based on the regional inflation rate.” CHEd said that the use of this framework “will be further strengthened and fine-tuned in the coming years.”
The Commission said that their approach to the issue of tuition is “holistic.”
“In light of contending concerns and interests in society, there is a need to balance access issues with sustainability of educational institutions,” CHEd said.
For its part, CHED ensures that 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.”
Meanwhile, the Commission has programmed close to 280,000 Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs) slots amounting to more than P5.7 billion for AY 2016-2017.
“StuFAPs support deserving students enrolled in public and private HEIs,” CHEd said.
CHEd said that a large portion of these funds will go to more than 40,000 poorest of the poor students enrolled in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) under the Expanded Student Grantsin-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA). These students belong to families identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
CHEd added that in “order to sustain the positive impact of democratized access to higher education as manifested in the recent graduation of the first batch of SGP-PA students and the significant infusion of funds aimed at benefitting even non-poor students from families with cash flow problems,” the Commission worked on the passage of Republic Act No. 10687 or the “Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST)” Act, a landmark social legislation penned into law by President Aquino on October 15, 2015.
CHEd said that designed to unify all modalities of publicly-funded StuFAPs (i.e., Scholarships, Grants-in-Aid and Student Loans) for tertiary education, the UniFAST rationalizes the allocation, utilization and client-targeting of government resources and improves access to quality higher and technical education for those who need it. It also serves as the ultimate national human resource development mechanism and strategy that will direct beneficiaries to priority degree programs needed for economic growth and development.
In SY 2015-2016, CHED approved the applications of 313 private HEIS for increase of tuition and other school fees. Across all regions the average percent increase was 6.48 percent.
Earlier, the DepEd also announced that 1,232 or 10.21 percent of the total 12,072 private elementary and secondary schools in the country will increase their tuition fee for this coming school year.