169 private school scan raise tuition fee

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Education - 7 has approved the application of 169 private schools offering pre-school and senior high school for tuition fee increase.

Of the 169 schools, 42 are in Cebu City.

A total of 935 private schools are authorized to operate in Region 7.

Dr. Benjamin Tiongzon, chief education supervisor of DepEd-7's Quality Assurance Division (QAD), said at least 318 schools applied for tuition fee hike as of last week.

Of the 318, only 169 were allowed to increase their fees.

Meanwhile, 149 schools told DepEd they will stick to their existing fees.

Tiongzon said all private schools are required to inform DepEd on changes in their tuition rates. Those that fail to do so will be sanctioned.

As far as increasing tuition fees is concerned, the school head will send a formal request to the division office superintendent. The superintendent will then forward the documents to the regional office through QAD.

Tiongzon said if all required documents are submitted and authenticated, the department will recommend to the assistant regional director to approve the request.

He said the rate or percentage of increase of the tuition fee is determined through an agreement between the school administration and the parents.

The private school's operations, including wages for teachers and improvement of facilities, are dependent largely on the tuition.-/JMO (FREEMAN)