Students launch tuition monitor

CEBU, Philippines - Various student organizations recently launched the Tuition Monitor Cebu to pressure the different colleges and universities to stop tuition fee hikes. 

Klen Quinanola, chairperson of the Rise for Education Alliance (R4E), said that for the current school year at least 28 higher educational institutions in Cebu have implemented an average of 8-percent increase in tuition or equivalent to P53.15 per unit.

Quinanola said that students are expected to pay an at least P709.23 per unit more every year.

“With this amount, how could we expect a family who earns a daily minimum wage of P340 to send their children to school?” asked Ed Bacaltos, vice president for Visayas of College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP).

Tuition Monitor Cebu is an initiative of the alliance of various student organizations aimed at addressing the continuing issue of tuition and other increase of school fees in HEIs.

The alliance also aims to gather data of previous school fee increases and proposed increase of tuition fees for the upcoming school years especially for school year 2016-2017.

Through the TM Cebu, students can express their complaints to the hotline 09238124203 or to their Facebook page www.facebook.com/TuitionMonitorCebu and they will be assisted.

The data gathered by the alliance from the Commission on Higher Education showed that more than 40 percent of the students since 2011 have dropped out of school.

Niño Olayvar, coordinator of Kabataan Partylist Cebu, said that the increase of tuition fees happens every year most specifically in private institutions.

“Sa nakit-an nako nga thread, nga tungod anang mga increases, nitaas pud ang mga dropout rates sa mga colleges,” Olayvar said.

CHED-7 director Dr. Ferdie Bernal, however, denied the claim of the alliance.

“In a single year, hindi lahat,” he said.

Bernal said that there are several factors why students drop out of school. He said it could be “family problems, pregnancy or other reasons” but not the increase in tuition fee alone.  (FREEMAN)