SC urged to stop tuition hike in tertiary schools

MANILA--Party-list group Kabataan joined other student leaders on Wednesday in asking the Supreme Court to nullify the freshly approved increases in tuition and other fees in private universities and colleges for failing to meet the constitutional requirement.

Asked to be invalidated are the bases for the tuition hike, namely, Section 42 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 232 or the Education Act of 1982 and Commission on Higher Education (Ched) Memorandum Order No. 3 series of 2012, which Kabataan said does not constitute “reasonable regulation and supervision of all educational institutions” as required by Article XIV Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution.

The petition also calls on the SC to issue a temporary restraining order on the implementation of higher fees in 354 educational institutions for school year 20132014 and declare invalid all increases in tuition and other school fees that were based on the BP 232 and CMO 3 in the previous years.

“Policies that merely serve as a stamp pad for approving hikes and are powerless in controlling the actual tuition rate in the country are unconstitutional and should therefore be expunged, with tuition hikes approved using the said policies rendered illegal,” said Kabataan president Terry Ridon.

Respondents for the case include Ched, and several schools that increased tuition such as the University of Santo Tomas, University of the East Caloocan and Adamson University.

The petition came after the Ched en banc approved 354 out of 451 tuition hike applications on Monday. The average tuition increase per unit is P37.45 or 8.5 percent nationwide, which Ched said is the lowest in the past decade.

“Ched’s 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,” said Ched Chairman Patricia Licuanan.

In contrast, the 111member Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) passed a resolution last month imposing a nationwide tuition moratorium for the incoming school year.