10% of private college students left for public schools this year — CHED

After the education department reported more grade and high school students will have to transfer from private to public schools this year to save money, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) now says the trend has hit college and university students as well.

About 10 percent of college-level students in the Philippines have transferred from private colleges and universities to state universities and colleges primarily due to significant increases in tuition and other expenses this year, the CHED recently reported.

Before, the percent of students in private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) was 80 percent. Now that percentage has dropped to 70 percent. Many are now enrolling in public-funded colleges and universities, said Dr. Cristina Padolina, CHED commissioner, during a recent interview at the Department of Education (DepEd) main office in Pasig City.

"What we (at CHED) have noticed as an effect — because of the tuition increases among private higher education institutions — is that many are really enrolling in state universities and colleges," Padolina said.

She said in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone, there are an estimated 670,000 students, or one-fourth of the total enrollment at the college level in the Philippines.

Padolina said there are a total of 51 private colleges and universities in the NCR that have applied for tuition increases.

She said the minimum tuition increase sought by private schools is three percent.

There was one isolated case of a request for a 150-percent increase, Padolina said, but this was for a graduate program at the Asian Theological Seminary. Most have requested the peso equivalent of at most P100 per unit increase.

Still, the tuition increase plus the added costs for school supplies and living expenses have forced families to cut corners on their children’s education, the CHED report showed.

The CHED commissioner said the issue of tuition hikes is one of the thorniest it faces during enrollment period and the opening of classes every June.

"So in preparation for this, we have limited the increase in tuition fee to the national inflation rate, the average inflation rate of 8.5 percent," said Padolina.

She added the tuition hike cap is now in effect for school opening this June, and that higher tuition increases will have to be critically reviewed and approved by the CHED before colleges or universities can implement them.

"We have also appealed to the state universities and colleges to impose a moratorium on tuition increases. Many of them had already in place tuition fee increases that are being phased in over a few years. Many of them have in place an increase of about P50 per unit per year for freshmen. But we are asking that they postpone these increases for now," said Padolina.

She said the CHED is also asking to hear from families severely affected by the problems plaguing pre-need education companies.

In this matter, Padolina said CHED has established a student loan program.

The student loan program has been in place for many years, he added. "Last year, we did receive an increase in the funds available for such a program. That program is available to everyone and not necessarily to those affected by the problems of the pre-need industry.

"The other solution for some is maybe to transfer to state universities and colleges where the tuition would be lower," she said.

In the same interview, Education Secretary Florencio Abad said the matter of tuition increases is a bigger problem for the CHED than for DepEd.

Most, or about 90 percent, of the country’s elementary school students go to public schools, which are free. "We have very few questions or complaints raised with us. Its more that the CHED has to deal with this issue," said Abad.

Abad said the same is true for private elementary and high schools, where students transfer to public schools when tuition is also raised or when parents can no longer afford the fees.

Abad said the increase in transfers from private to public schools at the elementary level is 0.5 percent, while high schools reported an increase of 4.4 percent.

The Education Secretary said that every year, the DepEd subsidizes the tuition of students in private schools by P4,000 per student per year.